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“What’s wrong?” Hallie asked. She followed her friend’s gaze to the door where four men had just entered. She didn’t recognize three of them, but one of them was definitely Kenny. Oh no, he must’ve made bail. “Do you want to leave?” Hallie asked Meg.
Meg sat up straighter and jutted out her chin. “Hell no. If anyone’s leaving, it’s going to be him. He has no right to wreck our shops and then run us out of here.”
As if hearing her despite the dull roar of the bar with all the patrons, Kenny walked right up to their booth and stood glaring at his soon to be ex-wife. To her credit, Meg didn’t seem the least bit worried. If anything, she sat up taller, shoulders back, head held high. “Unless you want to wear my drink, you’ll move along.” Her voice was low and threatening. Her eyes shot daggers at the tall blonde man whose arms were covered in tribal tattoos going up past the short sleeves of his too tight black t-shirt.
“You’re in no position to threaten me, Meg. You have no proof of any wrongdoing, and my lawyer is going to take you to the cleaners with the bullshit you’ve been pulling lately.” Kenny might have only just arrived at Madigan’s, but he’d clearly already been drinking. The stench of sweat and alcohol coming off him was so strong it nearly made Hallie gag.
“I’d like to see you take your best shot,” Meg spat out. “Oh wait, you already did. And for the record, your little stunt was caught on tape, so you’re not getting away with anything. You messed with the wrong woman.”
Kenny seemed to take a step back, but then bent over the table, nearly engulfing it with his sheer size in an attempt to get in Meg’s face. “If you think that was my best shot, you have no idea what’s coming next. Back off, Meg, and be grateful with the crumbs I leave behind, or else you’ll get a piece of something you’ll never crawl out of.”
Meg nibbled on her lower lip, but then busted out laughing, her whole body shaking with it. “I wasn’t afraid of you when you came home drunker than my Uncle Harry, and I sure as hell am not afraid of you now. But you should be afraid, because you’ve got the Dallas Police, a Texas Ranger, and an FBI Agent all gearing up to throw your ass in prison. So, you might want to consider eating your own shit before dishing it out for others to try.” Meg stood, and in a whirlwind move, just as Kenny was about to grab her arm, another larger arm came up on his shoulder from behind and spun him around until his ass nearly hit the edge of the table.
“Harassing your soon to be ex-wife who just took out a restraining order on you is not only not recommended, it’s actually illegal.” Luke held the man’s arm as he slapped a cuff on one wrist, then spun him around again like he was nothing more than a stuffed animal, to lock down his other wrist behind his back. “You’re under arrest,” Luke said, then looked at Orly, his features instantly softening. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and offered her husband a forced smile. “We’re okay, thanks.” Orly said.
Luke considered her answer for a moment. “I called Caden. He and Garrett are on their way here to take you ladies home whenever you’re ready to leave. Stay put until they get here.”
Orly nodded and Hallie could practically feel the emotions emanating between Orly and her husband, but he was on duty so they kept it brief.
When Luke left, shoving Kenny out the door with him, everyone at the table breathed a sigh of relief. “You ladies, okay?” Skyla asked, coming over with a tray of drinks. “These are for you. On the house. I overheard that Caden and Garrett are coming to take you home, so a little buzz won’t hurt.”
“Thanks.” Hallie eagerly accepted her refill as did the other women at the table. They were all slightly rattled, but determined to salvage the night. “I had no idea you were such a badass,” she said to Meg.
The other woman laughed, but no one missed Meg wiping a tear as it escaped just below her lashes. “That brute doesn’t scare me. I won’t let him.” She took a long swig of her cocktail.
“Good for you,” Alicia said. “Maybe a night in jail will sober him up.”
Meg shook her head. “Unlikely, but it sure will help me sleep better.”
“Men can be such jerks,” Alicia said. “I mean, I know there are good ones out there, but why do they have to be so hard to find?”
“Because if they were easy to find, they wouldn’t be such a hot commodity, and no one would covet them anymore,” Meg said, her words slurring just a little now. “I mean, we can’t all be as lucky as Orly and Hallie here.”
Hallie recoiled a little at her friend’s words. “I wasn’t always lucky,” Hallie said, feeling the odd need to defend herself. “The last guy I dated took pleasure in making me feel like shit every chance he got.” Finn had been the complete opposite of Caden, and she hated thinking about the times Finn made her feel like she was ugly or useless or just plain dumb.
“Been there,” Orly said with a distant sadness in her eyes. Hallie suspected she was thinking about Russell Graham, and she hated how this night had turned into the complete opposite of what it was supposed to have been.
“Me too,” Alicia said. “Rick started off being all nice, but in the end, he cheated on me with three women and I didn't even know about it until the third one took pity on me and told me.” She huffed out a breath. “I think it’s like a woman’s right of passage to date a jerk who makes her question her worth. Maybe it’s meant to teach her who not to be with.”
Everyone shrugged and then laughed nervously, only wanting to ease the tension that had settled over the table.
Hallie looked up in time to see Caden and Garrett walk through the front door. She smiled the moment her eyes locked with Caden’s. The men joined them at the table, and Skyla came right over to take their order, then hurried away. “It’s never a dull night with your woman,” Garrett joked.
“Hey,” Caden said in protest, taking mock offense at his friend’s words. He put an arm around Hallie and she leaned into him, grateful to be in his arms again.
She smiled at the guys’ easy banter, then remembered the last time she saw Garrett was the night her store windows had been smashed in. “No, he’s right. This has definitely been an eventful week for everyone. I for one could use a little more dullness.”
“For sure,” Orly added. “I mean, I admit, I came out tonight looking for some fun, but you ladies gave a little more than I bargained for.” She laughed at her own words while shifting in her seat.
“Actually, that was kind of fun,” Alicia said. “I mean how often do you get to see a woman go toe to toe with a man, and win hands down? Hell yeah!” She high fived Meg and both women laughed as though Kenny wasn’t some jerk who could’ve easily hurt them.
“How did Luke know to show up when he did?” Hallie asked Caden.
“Skyla called him as soon as Kenny walked in the door,” Caden said, placing a soft kiss on Hallie's temple. “Are you ready to go?”
Hallie was more than ready to leave, but just gave a little shrug. She didn’t want to leave before her friends did, even though she didn’t really owe them anything. Meg’s words had gotten under her skin, more than she wanted to admit. She knew the other woman was hurting even though she was putting up a brave front, but it still didn’t make it right for her to say those things. Hallie couldn’t blame her for being jealous, but she also didn’t want to sit around being envied by the woman either.
