“Go,” Beck said. “Now.”
“One,” Brook Lynn said. “Two.” She stepped forward.
“Okay, okay.” Charlene stomped from the stall.
“Come on,” Beck said to West. “Let’s get you to the house and sobered up before you cause any more trouble.”
Brook Lynn tried to branch away from them, thinking to find Jessie Kay, but Beck grabbed hold of her wrist, stilling her.
“You’re going with us,” he said.
She shook her head. “I’m going to find my sister and stick by her. I’ll be okay.”
He hesitated to let her go. “I don’t want you maneuvering through the crowd on your own.”
“I don’t care.”
“Fine. West and I will help you find her.”
West jerked from Beck’s hold. “No way. I’m not going near Jessie Kay. Not sure whether I’ll insult her or screw her.”
Screw her?
Beck had to fight him to restrain him, gritting out, “I’ll find her, then. And Jase, for that matter. It’s time. Just do me a solid and stay here with Brook Lynn. Guard her. Don’t let anyone approach her. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Fine,” West grumbled.
“Brook Lynn?” Beck asked, his brow raised.
“I’m good with that plan.”
Beck took off without another word, and West leaned against the wall, only to slump to the ground.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Not even close,” he said. “But I will be. Tomorrow.” His head fell forward, his chin banging into his sternum.
Falling asleep?
Yep. The next thing she heard was a snore.
Brook Lynn paced the small confines of the stall, kicking pieces of straw out of her way, as well as— Gross! A pair of panties. Not wanting anyone else to discover them, she picked them up and, grimacing, flicked them into the trash can.
A pair of brown boots came into view. Expecting to see Beck, she glanced up—and spotted Stan.
Gasping, she scrambled backward. He’d changed the color of his eyes with contacts, and he’d shaved his head. His lips were chapped and pressed into a thin line. He wore a staff uniform, white button-up and black slacks.
“Alone at last,” he said, sparing the unmoving West a glance. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all night. Hell, long before. I heard about the party and decided there was no better time or place. Only fair.”
Only fair? “Dressing as a waiter. Is that how you got in the building?” she demanded, stalling as she scrambled to plan her next move.
“After our little chat at the Inn, I knew Jase would be coming for me, so I moved in here, where you planned to have Tessa’s party. You may have hired guards to keep me out, but I was already inside. Now sit,” he commanded, pointing to a chair that had been pushed against the wall. “We’ll wait for Jase together.”
Her heart seemed to tumble into her stomach as she locked her finger on the lid of the pepper spray. “I’m not sitting. I’m leaving.” Actually, no, she wasn’t. She couldn’t leave the vulnerable West with this guy. And she didn’t want to wake West up, either. In his current state, he might say the wrong thing, provoking Stan, and might get himself stabbed.
Stan lifted the switchblade he held, the sharp silver glinting in the light. “You’ll sit or you’ll bleed. Your choice.”
Her legs trembled as she weighed her options. She could close the distance and spray him, risking being stabbed...or she could do what he wanted and risk being stabbed anyway. “I don’t care what you threaten. I like where I am and I’m not sitting.”