My hand went to the scarf around my neck. He’d marked me in more than one place. No way was I going out in public today without the scarf. I scowled at her but didn’t say anything.
She’d just arrived at work and went to put her bag out in the back. Damian had called in sick today so Jess had agreed to come in to help Annie and me. Annie stood at the other end of the bar, stacking glasses. I watched her for a moment. She was doing well, even seemed to be okay with the fact Gary hadn’t come after her. I’d given her phone back to her, and she hadn’t called him. I checked up on that every day just to be sure.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Who is he?” she asked.
It was the first time she’d asked anything about me since she’d moved in. Up until this point, she’d been completely engrossed in herself and her problems to have it in her to think of anyone else. I took it as a good sign. “His name’s Donovan, and he’s a customer who’s been coming here for about a year.”
Jess came back out to the front of the bar and started helping us get ready to open.
Annie kept the conversation going. “What’s he like?” She had that dreamy look in her eyes. Annie was a born romantic. Probably the reason she flitted from guy to guy with hardly a break in-between. She craved love and didn’t do well on her own. She was so different from me.
“He’s complex. Unlike any man I’ve ever met.” I paused to think about him. “I don’t know him that well yet, but I think he’s like those sour lollies you like: sour at first, but sweet when you get to the centre.”
“I can’t wait to meet him, Layla. You deserve someone good.”
I smiled at her. “Yeah, I do.”
Jess joined the conversation. “When are you seeing him again?”
“I don’t know. He said he’d call today. We’ll see.”
“He will,” Jess said, adamantly, like she knew something I didn’t.
“Do you have a crystal ball?”
She winked. “No, but I told him not to fuck you around last night, and he assured me he wouldn’t.”
“It’s so unlike you to trust anything a guy says,” I mused.
“I know,” she said, quietly. “But there’s something about him that makes me totally believe everything he says.”
Me, too.
We finished getting the bar ready and opened about fifteen minutes later. A couple of customers wandered straight in, and I sent a prayer to the universe that we’d be busy today. My bank balance needed it.
The three of us worked well together and had some fun. I loved watching Annie loosen up, and I especially loved seeing the smile on her face. It’d been too long.
A couple of hours after opening, the day went to shit.
Mario and his goons came in, and I sucked in a breath. The look of malice on his face scared the shit out of me.
My hand went to my phone in my pocket.
I need Donovan.
Mario’s face curved into a sneer as he said, “Seems we meet again.”
“What do you want?”
He slammed his hand on the counter, making me jump. “I want my fucking money!”
My heart fell into my stomach. “I told you, I don’t have your money, and I haven’t heard from Dale.”
My words seemed to really piss him off. “You’re a smart bitch, aren’t you? Fucking feeding me lies about having no money.”
What’s he talking about?
“I’m not feeding you any lies. Look around my bar. Does it look like I have enough customers to make me rich?”
He leant across the bar at me, his foul breath polluting the air between us. “I know who your family is,” he spat out.
Fuck.
My stomach rolled.
He expected me to go to my family for the money.
He gave me a smug look as he stepped away from the bar. “Two days, bitch, and then I’m coming for you.”
I watched him leave, my legs almost buckling from the dread surging through my body. I staggered back against the wall behind me and clutched my stomach as it threatened to expel its contents.
“Shit.” Jess gave me a worried look. “You need to call Blade.”
I pulled my phone out and dialed him. “Layla,” he answered, his voice tight as if he was distracted.
“Mario came back.”
I was met with silence and then, “Fuck.”
I waited.
“You okay?” he asked, the concern clear in his voice.
I blew out the breath I’d been holding in.
Donovan will fix this.
“Yeah,” I said.
“I’m gonna send someone over to stay with you until I can get there, okay?”
“Okay.”
Silence.
And then, “Call me if you need me. I don’t care what the fuck it is, you ring me. Yeah?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Yes.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you.”
He ended the call, and I placed my phone down on the bar. I looked up at the girls who were staring at me expectantly. “He’s taking care of it.”
“Thank fuck,” Jess muttered.