Page 15 of The Pact

Joe isn’t an asshole, so once it’s clear that the cops won’t be called, he immediately worries about his employee.

“Are you all right? Do you need me to take you home? I didn’t see any vehicle aside from my car and Kelley’s.”

“I can drive you home, if you want,” I immediately offer when I see her hesitant to accept Joe’s offer. “I just had one beer, I was the DD anyway.”

“I ... thank you. But there’s no need. I walked here and—”

Joe cuts her off. “And you almost got raped while taking out the trash. Look, Shell Cove isn’t a dangerous place but this late at night, all the weirdos and the stragglers get out. I wouldn’t let my daughter walk home by herself at this time. So you can choose if you want me or Kelley to take you home but it’s non-negotiable.”

In the end, it’s decided that I’ll take her home with Bode while Joe, Shep and Ashton will get rid of the rest of the “trash” tonight, namely the asshole who’s still on the ground, and then Joe will give my friends a ride.

We exit the bar, Bode still has his arm around the girl’s shoulders and I try not to let that bother me. He knows I have dibs and truth be told, Bode is the soft, sympathetic one in our group, so he’s the right person to soothe someone’s nerves.

He opens the passenger door of my Jeep and helps her in as I climb in on the opposite side.

I look at her, her long blonde hair framing her face like a golden curtain. She looks so small on the seat of my car, her lean legs pressed tightly together, her fingers tucked underneath herself. She hasn’t said a word since I took care of the asshole that dared put his hands on her but she isn’t crying anymore.

I wait until Bode climbs in the backseat and then ask her a few questions. “Where do you live?”

She flinches as if my voice had taken her by surprise. “You don’t need to take me home. I can walk.”

I shake my head. “Joe is right. Not a good idea to walk home by yourself at this time. And you’ve had enough trouble for one night.”

She doesn’t look at me. “You’ve helped me enough and I don’t want you to trouble yourself with driving me home.”

There’s something in her tone that rubs me the wrong way. She sounds as if she’s used to thinking that she’s imposing. As if she were trying to make herself as small and inconspicuous as possible.

“It’s no trouble at all. Please, let me make sure that you get home safely.”

6.

A Kiss Goodnight

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Ausra

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