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We stepped inside, and I was thankful to see that the crowd had fizzled out and the music was down a notch or two.
“Do you know how terrible I would feel if you went out of your way to do something like that?”
“It’s not going out of my way when I volunteer. I need my partner-in-crime to be safe. Who else is going to understand my unnatural hate for love?”
Laughing deeply, I stopped to wash my hands at the small sink at the edge of the bar. Jamie was right on my tail.
“You drive a hard bargain, Jamie.”
“Stop being stubborn and just agree.”
“Fine, Jesus.” Instructing him to pull out his phone, I quickly rattled off my number. “I’ll call you when I’m close to being finished.”
“Cool. Do not leave the building until I tell you that I’m outside, alright?”
“Damn, you’re bossy,” I frowned, wiping my hands while stepping back behind the bar.
“I guess that balances out you being so damn stubborn.”
Before I could fire off my reply, Ximena crept up on the two of us.
“Well, well, well. I guess this is why I’m creeping up on overtime because Nyx disappeared, and silently cursing my best friend out in my head for being late. The two culprits are together.”
I grinned sheepishly. “A customer got out of line when I stepped outside.”
Ximena’s eyes immediately darkened. “What do you mean out of line? What happened?”
“Nothing that isn’t already handled,” Jamie interrupted. “But I still want to come back tonight and make sure he doesn’t try anything while she’s alone.”
“Wait, wait,” Ximena waved her hands in an x motion. “Time out, flag on the play, bring it back around. How do you know each other well enough for you to be offering rides?” Her gaze went from Jamie to me. “And you’re accepting them? You don’t even like people! What the hell did I miss?”
“You’re being wildly dramatic,” I snickered. “It’s a long story, though.”
“Basically we became friends after running into each other a couple of times. And friends look out for friends, right?”
“Facts.” Mena nodded. “And I think it’s a good idea for you to have someone close with you too. I don’t know why Connor thinks it’s okay to have us scheduled for all types of hours with no security measures in place.”
“Y’all need to talk to that nigga about that,” Jamie said, his eyes on me.
“Okay, dramatic twins, I’m going back to work. Jamie, if you insist on playing security and following me home, please shoot me a text so I know what number to call. Other than that, I’ll see y’all later.”
Waving at them, I returned to work. I was handling my second customer when I got the unnerving feeling that someone’s eyes were on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as a violent chill rocked my core.
Glancing up, I scanned the bar, searching for the cause of the violation. My breath hitched as I made eye contact with the jackass from earlier. There was such fire in his stare that it gave me pause.
He watched me with longing, as if he wanted payback for the way he’d been embarrassed earlier. It was terrifying. And although I didn’t believe he’d be bold enough to try something, I was happy that Jamie had been so insistent about my safety.
We really needed to hire some damn security.
Chapter Ten
JAMES
“So, out of all of the people I’ve pictured you with in my head, Nyx was not one of them. That’s a wild card. But, I like it. You two—”
“I don’t know why after all these years, I still believe that if I tune you out, you’ll eventually be quiet.”
“Well damn, this is the thanks I get for being happy for you?”
