“Going from the navy to running small-time game in Brooklyn?” Bowen shrugged. “That’s pretty far to fall.”
“Thanks, man.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket. “You want to go paint our nails and talk about it or something?”
“Fair enough.” Bowen watched as Connor laid a twenty-dollar tip on the bar. “Listen,” he said, uncomfortable expressing gratitude. “I owe you one. I repay my debts, too.”
Connor turned to leave, then stopped.
“You might want to clean the blood off your knuckles before you go see her.”
Bowen
showed
no
reaction,
continuing to sip his whiskey. His gaze sought Sera over the rim of his glass, Connor’s parting words echoing in his head. What kind of man had to clean blood off his hands before going to see his girl? A man too tainted to touch her.
The glass froze at his lips when he didn’t immediately see her in the dining room. Quickly, he scanned the bar, panic like a hot poker in his stomach. Relax, she’s probably just in the bathroom.
But when several minutes passed and she didn’t emerge, fear replaced panic.
No way could she have passed him and left the bar. He would have sensed her walking by, would have seen her. She had to be somewhere inside the bar.
His attention snagged on the kitchen, his feet beginning to move before any type of decision registered. When they’d gone out to the alley on Friday night, he’d noticed a door inside the kitchen, one he presumed led to the basement. If she’d gone down there, he prayed she was alone. That she hadn’t been taken down there against her will. Jesus, why had he let Connor distract him? Had it been intentional?
The cook called his name as he entered the kitchen, but Bowen ignored him, taking the stairs leading to the basement two at a time. Her name burned his throat, dying to be shouted, but he didn’t want to alert anyone to his presence until he knew what he was up against. When he reached the bottom, he saw light coming from another door. An office? He went closer, stopping short when he saw Sera, rummaging through a drawer, flashlight wedged between her teeth.
Hogan’s office. She’s looking for the ledger.
The ledger I’ll have to take away.
One my name is definitely in. Probably multiple times.
His first instinct was to drag her from the office, tell her to forget everything she’d seen. The more she knew, the more imminent the danger to her life would become. What if someone else, not him, had come down and seen her?
Hundreds of customers were upstairs.
People loyal to Hogan who would jump at the chance to score points with him by turning in Sera. How could she take such a stupid risk?
Then logic resumed. This was her job.
This was why she was there in the first place. It hit him then, how much danger Sera had put herself in. God, if something happened to her…
No. He wouldn’t allow it. She might be on a mission to bring down Hogan and get justice for her brother, but that undertaking conflicted with his own.
Keep her alive and safe. He’d justified his role in guarding Sera as a way to protect his sister, but it had become more than that the second he met her. So much more.
It had become everything.
With a heavy swallow, he walked back up to the top of the stairs and slammed the door, before descending once more, slower than before. As he entered the basement, she walked out with a smile, holding up an object. A cell phone.
“Found it,” she said. “Hogan took away my cell phone. Figured there was no harm in getting it back while he’s not here to bully me.”
It was a weak cover story. She knew it. So did he. Bowen grew sick as he registered the look on her face. Fear. Of him. She might be trying to brazen it out, but she thought she’d been caught.
Thought it was over and he’d be the one to mete out her punishment. He could see it in her wide brown gaze, the bracing of her shoulders. In his life, he’d never been more ashamed of his reputation, the life he’d led.
With one hand outstretched, he went toward her. “Ladybug—”
“Have to get back upstairs.” She came through the office door and skirted him, heading toward the staircase. If he let her go, she’d run and never come back.
That much was obvious. A part of him wanted to let her. The rest of him rebelled at the idea of never seeing her again, letting her leave fearing him. It was selfish and yet he couldn’t let it happen.
Adrenaline blasted through Sera as she hastened toward the stairs, dodging Bowen’s attempt to grab her. She’d been too desperate, too impulsive, and now she would pay for it. Unless she could somehow make it up the stairs and escape through the kitchen into the alley.
Knowing Bowen and how he made his living, her chances were slim. No matter what
connection
she’d
imagined
between them or kisses they’d shared, it would all go out the window now. For some reason, the realization hurt badly.
Why did it have to be him who caught her?
Dammit, she’d seen him occupied in a conversation with Connor and thought