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“Here and now are the time and place, Sam.”
Simone couldn’t just listen. “I never teased you, Brad. From day one I told you to leave me alone.”
“And playing hard to get ain’t teasing? You knew how I felt.”
“And what should a girl do? You were a customer. I couldn’t stop talking to you at all.”
“No, you enjoyed tormenting me. And then when I decide to even the score a little, just a little bit, you start putting out for bikers and then call in their friends. You told them to destroy everything I’ve built.”
“They were undoing the damage you did, that’s all.”
“You loved it and you egged them on.”
“These must be new-age bikers, Brad.” Sam almost laughed. “The ones I seen would’ve just kicked your ass, drop-kicked your balls so high they came out your mouth. Sounds to me like them was geeks.”
“Maybe it was your so-called friends who did it to you,” Simone said. “After you sent them to harass Gemma at school, shouting those dirty names, some of them find themselves facing federal charges. I’m sure that didn’t thrill them. They might have turned on you.”
He scowled and tightened his grip on her arm. “You don’t know shit.”
Brad motioned to Sam. “Get your ass out from behind that bar, old man.” He glanced over his shoulder at the other men. “No sudden moves from anyone or she’s dead.”
Sam held his hands where Brad could see them and moved slowly around to a table. “How’s this?”
“Sit down.” When Sam sat, Brad moved her around behind the bar, keeping her close. Then he stopped. “Sam, go lock the back door with the key.” Simone knew that there was a deadbolt on the door in addition to the bar, and she watched Sam go lock it. “I don’t want anyone leaving.” When he came back, he sat down and stared at Brad. “Toss me the keys,” he said. Sam shrugged and tossed them. Brad let them land on the bar, then let go of Simone. He grabbed up the keys, but in his nervousness, he missed them and knocked them to the floor. “Get those,” he told Simone.
As he turned his attention to the keys, the two construction workers got to their feet and moved toward them. One circled around the bar, the other came straight toward Brad. “Now look here, we came in for a beer. The show is interesting and all, but you’re fucking up the service.”
Brad glared at him for a moment. The other man moved quickly, trying to get behind him, but Brad saw him out of the corner of his eye and pivoted, firing. The sound of the shot was deafening, disorienting. Simone was just straightening from picking up the keys when he fired, and she lost her balance. Brad moved faster than she expected, grabbing her arm again and firing around her at the man standing across from him, the one who had spoken. The shot caught him in the chest, knocking him backwards. He spun around and crumpled to the floor.
His eyes alight, Brad waved the gun around the room, checking on the others. The shooting seemed to have calmed him. “I told you assholes to stay seated and relax. See what you did?” Clutching Simone, he moved backward toward the office door. “Now stay put,” he said calmly.
Inside the office, he let go of Simone and ripped the keys from her hand and pushed her back against a wall. Tossing the keys on the desk, he shut the heavy door and locked it. “Sam likes locks,” he muttered. He turned and pointed the gun at her again. “Now we have some privacy,” he muttered.
Simone’s pulse raced. At least no one else could get hurt in here, and if she had a chance to take the gun she wouldn’t hesitate. If things went wrong, well, then she was the only one at risk.
It was too late to worry about antagonizing him, and she wondered how much of the “bullies are cowards” axiom was really true. She’d never had to deal with one like this before. And he was more than a bully—he’d gone crazy, so whatever made sense for normal people might not apply to him.
When he was satisfied that they were locked in, he stood there looking almost normal. She stared at him accusingly, and he tried to stare back but was obviously uncomfortable.
“You know that locking the front door was a waste of time, don’t you, Brad?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, first of all, in your excitement you left all the cell phones you collected on the bar where they can get them.” His scowl told her he’d forgotten them altogether. “I’m sure the cops are on their way by now.”
“So?”
“The window by the bar… it opens. Sam has bars that he locks over it at night. People can come and go through it.”
“Shit. Well, none of that will do you any good. No one’s getting in here.”
“Eventually they will.”
“Not soon enough for you. Not before I teach you a lesson about messing with a real man. Not before I fuck you and beat you so bad no man will want to look at you again.”
She saw the hate in his eyes. He meant everything he said. “Well, you can probably beat me, Brad. But you’d have to be a real man for the other part. I don’t think a coward like you can get it up. Those bikers you hate so much are on their way. You might hurt me, but you’ll have to leave here one way or another, and when you do, those bikers will rip your balls off.”
He gave her an odd grin. “Anything like that will happen way too late for you, bitch.”
