The Presence of Grace (Love and Loss Book 2)

I watched as Randy passed in front of the bar, doing his security check. Every half hour he took a lap around the building while someone watched the door, just to make sure everything was on the up and up, and so people realized he was there. I’d found that just seeing Randy was the main reason he was so good at his job; no one wanted to mess with him. He was at least six foot four, easily over three hundred pounds, bald, arms full of tattoos, and had a beard that hit his chest. If you weren’t afraid of him just by looking at him, you were stupid. The funny part was, he was a big softy. I’d caught the tail end of a phone conversation in which he was talking to his granddaughter about Barbie, and ever since he told her that the purple shoes went better with the silver dress than the pink, I knew there was a gooey center to him.

He nodded as he passed me by, and I nodded back, which was our code for “Everything here is fine.” Had he passed by when drunk guy was still hitting on me, I would have flagged him down. He made his way through the dance floor and up onto the DJ’s stage without incident. I watched as Randy’s eyes roamed over the crowd, looking for any sign of drunken frat boy shenanigans. When he seemed satisfied that no one was going to cause any problems, he made his way back to the front door, where he acted as bouncer and general scarer of the clientele.

Roxanne, the other girl working the bar that night, slid over to my side and leaned toward me.

“I’m gonna take my break and then cover you while you take yours, all right? I just served up everyone on my side, so they should be good for a few.”

“Got it,” I said, nodding. “Have a good break.” She smiled and then disappeared toward the back where I knew she would sit on a chair, drinking Diet Coke, and text her boyfriend for all fifteen minutes of her break.

I ran my tail off while she was gone, making my way from one end of the bar all the way to the other, making sure everyone got what they needed. The crowd was a little rowdier than usual, but as the summer wore on, it was to be expected.

When Roxanne returned, she was all smiles, so I figured her boyfriend had texted all the right emojis.

“I got this, Grace. Go ahead and take your break,” she said, still smiling.

“Thanks,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder as I passed her and walked right into the break room. I never stayed in the building for my breaks, but instead took the opportunity to rest my eardrums. I grabbed the light jacket I’d brought with me and then headed out the back door.

There was a designated area for employees to smoke out back, but since it was late, there usually wasn’t more than one person on break at a time. I pulled up a crate and took a seat, letting out a large sigh, relishing the relative quiet.

It was disturbed by a drunken voice that came from nowhere.

“Here you are. I couldn’t find you at the bar, so I went lookin’. An’ here you are.”

I looked up to see drunken frat boy wobbling toward me.

Great. I hated dealing with the drunk college kids, and I definitely didn’t have the patience that night.

“Hey, what are you doing back here?” I stood up and took a step toward him, only to watch him stumble and almost hit the ground. I reached out quickly, catching his arm. “Whoa there, you all right? I think we need to go back up front and get Randy to call you a cab.”

“Only if you’re coming home with me,” he said, clumsily pushing me back against the building. The rough brick of the wall bit into my back where my shirt didn’t quite meet my pants. I tried to push him off, but even drunk he was stronger than me. His hands pinned my arms against the wall, just below my shoulders.

“Let me go,” I said forcefully, hoping that if I couldn’t pry my arms free, perhaps I could use my voice to intimidate him. I tried to pull free again, but all I accomplished was scraping my arms along the brick wall.

“Not so fast,” he said, moving his face closer to mine, the alcohol on his breath making bile rise in my throat. “You’re a tease.” His words were whispered but filled with anger. “You were practically begging me to take you home in there, and then you went all cold on me. How do I know you’re not playing hard to get now?” His face was moving closer with his words; there was now barely any space between us.

Before he could say any more crazy words, I drew in a deep breath and took the one shot I wasn’t even sure I had. I pulled my knee up as hard and fast as I could, and made contact right between his legs.

Drunken frat boy fell to the ground, groaning and clutching his crotch.

“Grace?” I turned to see Devon standing at the edge of the building, eyes bouncing between me and drunk guy on the ground.

“Devon?”

“Are you all right?” he asked, running over to me. “I went in the bar looking for you, but they said you were out back.” He glanced down, watching as drunken frat boy rolled from side to side. “Did you do this?”

My mind was whirling around, ricocheting from the scary feeling of being held against my will to the relief of putting the man to the ground, then to the shock and surprise of seeing Devon.

“What’s going on back here?” My eyes went to Randy, and even more relief flooded through me.

“This guy attacked me,” I said on a sigh, pushing the hair from my forehead, then leaning back against the wall, suddenly feeling very weak.

Drunken frat boy groaned again from the ground, then said, “You bitch.”

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