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“You don’t have to work here; you know that right?” Merrick said, his brows furrowing as he held my gaze. Kellan pushed a stray strand of hair back behind my ear, the soft caress sending a hum of electricity over my skin.
“I know that.” I smiled back, rubbing my thumb over the top of his hand. “I want to though; besides it looks like you could use the help.”
I tipped my head up, gesturing to Eve hurriedly pouring drinks behind the bar.
“I can help out in other places too,” I continued. “I do have a business degree so I can help you both with any of your accounting or marketing.”
“Now that I could use your help with,” Merrick groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face. “You have no idea how much I despise all that paperwork.” He squeezed my hand appreciatively. I could tell he was much more comfortable with the idea of me in the back office, despite knowing I could handle myself. No matter what I knew, they’d always be concerned for my safety, just as I would be about theirs.
“I can only imagine.” I chuckled, squeezing his hand back in a sign of gratitude. I knew they didn’t save me to put my business degree to work, but I wanted to do this for them. I wanted to help out however I could because I cared for them, not out of some sense of obligation.
“We don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to,” Kellan murmured low enough for only the three of us to hear. “But if you’re comfortable, I’d like to hear more about your life, aside from you know who, there’s so much more we don’t know.”
I looked at Kellan as an uneasy silence settled over the table. We’d skated around anything to do with the past the entire night, but it had to come out at some point. And there were some bright spots I could tell them about, some parts of my old life that didn’t revolve around the Barones that kept me from falling into the deep end.
I placed a tender kiss on his cheek, grateful for his willingness to bring it up, to broach this topic no matter how difficult it might be to hear. Because if we ever planned to move past everything, there couldn’t be six years of distance between us. I might not want to talk about all the details with Tommaso, past what I’d already told them, just yet. But I knew I would eventually, when the wounds weren’t so fresh on both sides.
So I told them about my job, about my group of friends, and about Sophia, my friend that, despite the danger, was willing to risk it all to get me to safety. Even without knowing the whole story.
“Actually, would you mind if I used your phone to call her,” I asked, chewing my bottom lip nervously as I calculated just how many days I hadn’t been able to call her. “She must be worried.”
“Of course,” Merrick said, squeezing my hand in support. I didn’t want to interrupt the conversation we were having, but I knew I couldn’t put this call off any longer or else she might just wind up in the middle of this mess and that was the last thing I wanted. “You can use the phone in my office, it’s patched into a line that’s untraceable, just in case he has her phone tapped.”
My lips pursed and I nodded tightly, internally scolding myself for not thinking about that.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Spade asked mischievously, waggling his eyebrows at me as he trailed his fingers up my calf.
“No,” Merrick growled.
At the same time, I chuckled. “Not this time.”
Spade shifted his hand from my leg, begrudgingly letting me swing them over to sit up. And Kellan placed a swift kiss on the curve of my neck, his hands slipping from my waist so I could stand.
“Besides, how would I be able to have any sort of girl talk if one of you is there with me?” I teased, my hand trailing seductively against Merrick’s collarbone as I glided past him. A groan slipped past his lips, causing my lips to curl in a smug grin.
I strode around the tables with an extra sway to my hips for my guys, knowing their eyes would be on my tight pink skirt. My heels clicked on the varnished bar floor, and I was about to turn to go behind the bar, when a sharp cat-calling whistle pierced my ears, stopping me in my tracks.
That smile slipped off my face instantly, my brows lowering into a glower as I turned to the idiot grinning at a table a few feet away. Apparently he was brave enough to try hitting on me in such a disgusting, demeaning way. As if women were there for his entertainment, for him to harass as he pleased. But I could bet he wouldn’t be such a tough guy once I got my hands on him.
“Whistle at me again, and I’ll break your fucking jaw,” I purred with a saccharine smile plastered on my face, letting the violence and delight I’d get from doing just that shine through. I brought my hands up and cracked my knuckles one by one just to punctuate my words.
His throat bobbed and he hurriedly glanced down at the wooden table, silence washing over the surrounding tables. The only sound was Spade’s raucous laughter echoing through the bar. The scrape of a chair pushing back was the last thing I heard before I turned on my heel, knowing I wouldn’t be able to call Soph, let alone stay at the bar if I watched Merrick pound that asshole’s face in. Nope, because, I would definitely join in, and then drag Merrick to the back seat where he could fulfill the promises he’d made earlier.
I continued to the backroom, biting my bottom lip as I heard the shouts out in the bar and the telltale scuff of chair legs, meaning Merrick had already pulled him from his seat. I sigh in disappointment, but despite how much I wanted to be out there and join in the violence, I also wanted to call Sophia to make sure she was okay.
There wasn’t much back here except a few offices and a stock room a bit farther down the hall. Merrick’s office was of course the closest to the bar and the action. Huffing out a breath of amusement, I paused to take in the mess of a room. Papers were strewn everywhere, laid haphazardly it seemed, with a L shaped desk along the far wall with a computer atop it. I pulled out the fabric swivel chair and grimaced as the itchy material brushed against my thighs.That is definitely one of the first things on my to do list, redecorating and organizing this office.
“I’m glad that asshole is going to get some sense knocked into him,” a deep masculine voice rumbled from the doorway, catching me off guard.
My heart jolted, but I didn’t let him see the surprise, and instead turned to face him slowly as though my senses weren’t on high alert. The hulking form of the bouncer I’d aptly named Mountain Mike last week loomed in the doorway.
“Spade asked me to bring you this—said you wouldn’t want him coming in here,” Mike grumbled, placing the glass down onto the desk.
“Thanks.” I grinned, knowing Merrick and Kellan had probably deterred him from coming back here like he wanted to.
“Let me know if you need anything,” he muttered, backing out of the office and closing the door behind him.
I turned in the chair so I could keep the closed black door in sight. I couldn’t let someone sneak up on me like that again. Sure this may be Merrick’s bar and his people, but who knew what could happen.
