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“It’s all full of glass,” I reminded him, watching him deflate.
“Damn,” he said.
“There’s more in the back,” I said, shaking my head at him.
“Alright. So, I’ll go get you nature’s pain medicine,” Dezi said, rubbing his hands together. “And you can box up those goodies for me,” he said. “Can I go?” he called to the cops, having a level of comfort with them that came from a lifetime of run-ins with police.
“Yeah. We know where to find you,” Officer Judd said, waving him off.
“I’ll be back.”
“Hey,” Jackson said, appearing at my side in his place. “Let’s trade places. I think Shale needs you more than Barry here does,” he said. “Right, my man? You’ve got this?” he asked, making Barry’s chest puff slightly.
“Yeah. Go protect the girl,” Barry said.
I turned, rushing back into the cafe to find Shale’s face buried in her hands, her body quaking softly.
“Hey,” I said, voice soft as I went up to her, reaching an arm around her, and pulling her against my chest. “It’s okay. You’re alright. It’s over,” I told her as she sobbed into my chest.
“Barry…” she choked out between cries.
“Barry’s fine. Probably getting ready to brag about being shot to his shut-in gamer followers,” he said.
“I’m… his… follower,” she cried.
“He’s fine. Dezi is getting him some weed to distract him. He doesn’t even need stitches. He’s going to be okay. And no one else is hurt.”
Aside from her poor shop.
She was going to need to close up for a while now.
And, honestly, it was for the best.
If money was a factor, I’d float her the cash.
I wanted her somewhere safe until this shit was over.
That meant with me.
“How are you not freaking out?” she asked, sounding a little more together, but she was still clinging to me. And I was fine with that.
“It’s hard to shake me,” I admitted.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
I couldn’t have prepared myself for how much I liked hearing that.
We.
What arewegoing to do?
“We’re going to pack up the food in the case, toss it, turn off the machines, pack up the food in the back for Dezi, then get the fuck out of here.”
“But… what about the shop? The glass? The windows?”
“I imagine Malc has…” I started, turning us, so I could look out. “Yep, Malc called in reinforcements. Looks like they have wood to board shit up.”
“Really?” she asked, turning her head, but not moving away from me. “Why?” she asked.
