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The bartender sets our drinks on the counter and takes the bill Simon had laid on top and makes change.
“Keep it,” Simon tells the older woman working behind the bar.
Her eyes widen and she smiles, a few of her teeth missing. “Thanks.”
Simon hands me my glass and takes the other into his hand. “To Brad and Shelly.”
I grin at him and clank my shot glass against his. “To Brad and Shelly.” I down the contents of the bourbon in one swallow, noting how it’s nothing like what we have at home. Not too long ago, this would have been out of my price range, and now here I am, a bit of a snob at the lower quality. Funny what being around wealthy mafia men will do to a gal.
“High roller, are we?” Derek slurps some of his beer and wipes his mouth with his sleeve. “What do you do for a living, Brad?”
Simon tenses, his eyes pinching shut before turning around. “Security.”
The same answer that Coen had given me when we ran into each other in that bar all those months ago. I thought it was strange.MyCoen, sweet innocent Co who slow danced with me on top of a pizza shop, did something dangerous for a living. Little did I know, that job was much more deadly than he let on. And that version of him no longer existed. I see it sometimes, a ghost of who he once was, but that part of him is gone, as is the young girl from my past.
“Like mall security?” Derek gulps down more of his beer.
I hold back a chuckle at having said the same thing to Coen.
“Yeah, like mall security,” Simon confirms even though he’s blatantly lying.
“Sick. I didn’t know those gigs paid so well; I’ll have to look into it.” Derek grabs onto one of his friends and drags him over. “This is Brody. He works at the mall, too.” Derek aggressively rubs the guy’s head and shoves him away. He settles his sights on me. “How long you and pretty little Shelly been together?”
Simon stiffens, his body gravitating in front of mine.
I weave my fingers around his and hold on tightly. “A few years.” I place my other hand on Simon’s chest.
Derek bobs his head up and down. “I was in love once…shit, feels like forever ago.”
Simon grips my hand and runs his thumb over mine. He glances down at me. “Has it really been a few years? Time flies when you’re having fun.”
“What happened?” I ask Derek since he’s clearly zoning the hell out while he goes down memory lane.
He blinks back to reality. “Bitch cheated on me. Went through her phone and found some texts she had been sending my buddy. I went home, beat the shit out of her and never saw the slut again.”
My breath catches and Simon and I both hold onto each other tighter.
“She called and threatened to have me arrested but I told her about the tittie pics I still had saved from her.” Derek laughs. “Shut her up real quick.”
“Listen,” Simon announces. “We should get going, it’s getting late.”
Derek picks up his beer. “What, gotta curfew or something?”
“Yeah, or something.” Simon backs us from the crowd, and I let him.
I thought coming here would be fun, not fuel my desire to snap this fucking asshole's neck. First, he admits to abusing his girlfriend, then he blackmails her out of having him arrested with revenge porn.
He doesn't deserve to walk out of here, let alone continue breathing. But just because I think he's a piece of shit doesn't mean there's anything I can do about it. And asking Simon to step in when we're in unfamiliar territory, using fake names, and full of a bar of strangers, would be even more wrong.
“Sure, yeah. Let me walk ya out.” Derek slams his mug on the counter.
“Not necessary,” Simon tells him.
"Ah man, I insist. Give me a chance to check out that sick bike of yours before you leave." Derek slaps Simon and me both on the shoulders and guides us toward the door.
I cringe under his touch and wonder how much more of this Simon is willing to take. He has much more self-control than I do.
Derek calls out to his friends. “I’ll be right back, boys.”
