Chapter One
The Hang Out bar wasfinally quiet as Torin dried the last glass in the dishwasher.He sighed heavily as he stacked it with the others on the back counter.It had been a busy night and he tried to get as much done before the last call.Now, the cleanup was finally over and he could go home soon.
He shook his head as he remembered the party tonight.A bunch of factory workers were celebrating one of their own crew’s promotions and had gotten a little rowdy.But his brothers Callum and Archer had settled them all down after they had gotten out of hand while breaking bottles and talking shit.
Callum mentioned the more bottles they wasted by breaking, the bigger the final bill would be.
The workers all looked surprised that they would be charged for the breakage.
So, when the final call came Callum took their bill to them.The workers grumbled and growled about it but Callum stood right there until everyone ponied up the final amount.With his size and look the men didn't argue.Then Callum said if they couldn’t behave themselves they couldn’t return.
Out of nowhere, another man stepped in, he’d been sitting there watching them and when they made a scene at the end of the night, he told them he’d never been more embarrassed by them.He also added that their jobs might be affected by their bad behavior.
From the bar, Torin had watched all of this for himself.He might need to back his brother up.
Then the five men sitting at the table suddenly shaped up.They left quietly after that.
The other man watched as they filed out of the bar.He must have been a boss at their company.Then he laid a huge tip on the table.
Callum nodded at him politely.Then he continued his clean up, bussing their table.
Twenty minutes later...
Torrin shook his head as he was still here and his brother had gone home.Just a few swipes with a mop and he would be free to go.
Suddenly, he heard a crash of some kind from the basement where they had their extra cases of beer in the bottle stored.He dropped the mop and grabbed the shotgun from under the bar.
The bar was set up with a short hall leading to the basement door.The hall was behind and to the right of the bar.
When he got to the doorway leading down, he listened carefully at the door but he didn’t hear any movement on the other side.If it was a critter they would still be moving around but he didn’t hear any movement.He carefully reached for the doorknob and twisted it slowly.
Torin gripped the shotgun tightly as he descended the steps quietly.When he reached the bottom, he scanned the room carefully.The distinct smell of beer made him wrinkle his nose.He reached out and pulled on the cord to the light at the bottom of the steps.The light lit up the space now.
He discovered what the crash had been and the scent of spilled beer was a case of beer bottles that had been knocked over.Beer seemed to be puddled in the far corner, but something else was also in the pool of amber gold.When he stepped closer he knelt a bit and saw the bright red of blood swirling in it.He gripped the shotgun tighter in his hands and stood again.“I don’t want to shoot you so make yourself known,” he growled.“Stand in the light and hold your hands up,” he called out in a voice loud enough that his words echoed in the stillness and vastness of the room.
No other sound came for a few seconds, then a whimper could be heard along with footsteps from the very back of the room.Suddenly, a small voice called out, “I’m coming out, please don’t shoot me.I’m unarmed.”
Torin waited while still gripping the shotgun.
Then she stepped out of the shadows.
Torin paused when he saw her, she looked like a child as small as she was.
She was lucky if she was all of five feet tall.She might have been small but she was a woman full grown.Her full curves were prominent under her oversized jacket.She stopped almost right below the light Torin had snapped on.Her jeans were well worn and slightly ragged.She wore a t-shirt under a dusty and stained covered jacket.Her hair had been pulled back and hidden under a cap that shadowed her eyes.It was her feet that posed the biggest surprise.They were dusty and dirty and she was wearing flip flops.Her pink nail polished toes could be seen as she flexed them under his scrutiny.
Finally, he spotted the blood staining her right foot.“Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?”Torin growled.
“Look, I had no choice, they were hunting me.I just needed a safe place to hide for a few hours.”She motioned toward the liquid mess on the floor.“Sorry about the case of beer.It was too dark down here to see where I was going.I can pay for it.”
Torin ignored the payment offer as he glared at her and asked, “You said something about someone hunting you?What did you mean by that?”
She didn’t say anything as she pressed her lips tightly together then she said, “I won’t bring trouble to your door, I promise.Just let me stay for a little while then I’ll leave.”She stumbled to lean against the nearest stack of beer cases and lowered her head.“I just need to rest for a bit.”
Torin slowly shook his head as she looked to be in a bad way.“Are you okay?”
She shook her head.“Not yet but I will be, I have to be.If they catch me now, I won’t survive.”
Felling impatient, Torin set the shotgun aside and walked over to her.
