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His shocked face was frozen as he went back to his computer. “I need to see what’s going on.”
Sam had a disgruntled look on his face as he turned to glance at Simone. Knowing what was going on, she was nervous. Something like this might trigger Brad’s explosion. She held her hand up like she was making a call and signaled to Sam to get into the office and make it.
He caught her meaning—she saw it in his eyes. He knew that Brad would find something that made him even angrier. “Let me know when you work it out, Brad,” he said, and headed for the office.
Brad was frantic as he pointed and typed. Then he slammed the computer shut.
“You fucking bitch!” Brad screamed. He glared at Simone from his chair, and she saw a look of pure hatred. “How did a loser bitch like you do that to me?”
“What are you talking about—I didn’t do anything to you,” she said, trying to be calm. She looked around the room. The customers were mostly from a construction crew, not regulars. It was too early for them. A couple of them were watching intently, clearly expecting something to happen. The tension in their upper bodies told her they were waiting. They might be a resource if Brad got physical before her guys arrived.
As Brad stood up, he looked menacing. He intended to do something, and she wished like hell that Rafe and Max were already there.
Chapter 11
Rafe and Maxwere still working on setting up Simone’s accounts. Gemma would run them and eventually teach Simone how to do it, and they wanted them done right, including putting in their own security protection and alerts. Rafe had just finished when his phone rang.
It was Sam, and he put him on speakerphone. “Brad’s here.”
“Is he causing trouble?”
“Not really. He’s drinking by himself, but he came in with a serious attitude. Not like he intends to do something specific—more like a guy looking for a reason to explode.”
Rafe frowned as Max got to his feet and started pacing. “Did you call the police?”
“Right. And tell them what? The guy isn’t doing anything. Half the guys in here have attitude problems. Besides, I don’t pay protection money to the cops, and they can be slow getting their asses into this neighborhood even for emergencies.”
“Does anyone pay protection money anymore?” asked Rafe.
“I don’t know.”
“You want us to come in?” asked Max.
“Yeah. If nothing else, that might make Simone feel better. I’ve told her and Trudy to stay away from Brad, and I imagine I can handle him if he tries anything in here, but I can’t watch him constantly. Simone thought it would be nice if you dropped in for a drink.”
“Sure. That sounds good.”
Suddenly Rafe heard a lot of shouting in the background, and Max stiffened. “What’s going on?” Rafe asked.
“I’m in the office, let me look… Shit! That asshole Brad’s got a fucking gun. He’s shouting and waving the damn thing around. Let me… Hey, it’s my gun. That bastard took the gun out of my desk.”
Rafe’s heart was racing in his ears. “Where is Simone?”
“Right now, she’s standing at the bar, and Brad is right next to her. He has my damn gun pointed right at her head.”
Rafe’s heartrate further accelerated. He heard patrons shouting in the background and the authoritarian voice of Brad telling them to shut up, not to pick up their cell phones, or even move… the usual crap.
“Keep him occupied and distracted as much as you can. We’re on our way.”
Sam let out a disbelieving laugh. “Keep him occupied? Did I mention the fucker’s got a gun?”
“You did.”
“Damn fool.”
When he hung up, Rafe assumed the ‘damn fool’ referred to Brad, but it was hard to tell. Sam could well have meant him, and he wasn’t sure that would be wrong. He’d made dangerous assumptions, and now Simone was in deep trouble. He’d been expecting Brad to make another online assault. Having the guys watch Simone coming and going to work and him and Max picking up Gemma from school were just supposed to be precautions—overkill. Now those things seemed pathetic.
There was no time for recriminations now. More than ever, he needed to focus on the present moment. He was going into combat. Max was tense and ready beside him. They shared a mutual look of determination.
