Page 154 of Unexpected

“Oh sweetie, you’re so close and so fucking stupid.”

FIFTY-FIVE

Luke

“That makes sense,”Josh said after I explained my thought process, beginning with how the night at Murphy’s happened years before, how she mentioned it in her letter and everything in between.

The closer we got to Murphy’s, the more of a pull I felt. Maybe it was all in my head—actually, it was definitely all in my head—but it was like I felt closer to Hazel.

It had been three hours since Hazel had been taken when we pulled up to the bar. Nothing seemed out of place as the sun set behind the dark building, and I hoped I hadn’t made a severe misjudgment. There weren’t any cars in the quiet lot, but as I knew all too well, there was a back door and a parking lot on the opposite side with employee-only parking.

With absolutely no fucks left to give, I parked in a front-row spot right by the door.

“Do you think we should call the police?” Josh asked, staring at his place of work in concern.

“We don’t have time for them to get here, and we don’t know if Hazel is actually here. Stay here and call them. If anything happens besides the police getting here, then call me.”

“You seriously want me to sit here while you go inside by yourself?”

I nodded, pulling my gun from the holster and double-checking that it was loaded. “Yes, because whether you fucking like it or not, you’re my little brother and I’m not letting you go in there. I also need someone to watch my back, and I wouldn’t want anyone else but you doing that.”

Josh contemplated it for a moment but swallowed and nodded. “Fine, but if anything goes south, I’m coming in after you. Also, Rhonda probably has the back door unlocked for the reno. That way, you don’t have to kick the door in.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks, man,” I said and closed the door.

I crouched low and carefully observed my surroundings as I made my way to the front door. The gravel of the parking lot crunched beneath my boots, giving away my approach to anyone within hearing distance. When I made it to the door, I stayed low and tried the handle. Like Josh said, it was fucking locked. PlanB.

Staying close to the building, I rounded the corner with my gun drawn. I was officially out of sight of Josh and on my own as I continued down the side street. There were several dumpsters full of trash that made the smell nearly unbearable. I quickened my pace.

I approached the next corner, which should have taken me directly to the back of the building. It had been a while since I’d been back behind our favorite bar, but if my memory was correct, the door was only a few feet away from the corner where I stood.

With a deep breath, I poked my head around the corner and even with a quick glance, I didn’t notice anyone or anything out of place. I chanced one more look just to be sure and ended with the same result.

It was entirely possible that Valerie had left both entrances unattended—especially if she wanted to give me easy access to find her. But as the thought crossed my mind, two large arms gripped me from behind. Taken by surprise and out of practice, the man easily forced the gun from my grip in only a few seconds.

How the fuck I had missed him, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t have time to contemplate my errors. I couldn’t see the guy behind me, but he had to be at least my size, maybe taller. And damn, he was fucking strong.

I stumbled forward, his arms grappling to tighten around my neck, and then slammed him backward into the brick wall behind us. His back hit it with a thud, and his arms loosened just enough for me to elbow him in the ribs and throw my head back. It connected perfectly with his nose, producing a satisfying crunch.

I freed myself, and I turned to face him just as his fist came centimeters from my nose. He wasn’t letting up even after being shoved into a brick wall by a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound man and being headbutted in the face. Blood was pouring from his nose, but he didn’t seem to care as he lunged at me again.

It only took a few seconds to realize he was big, but he was also sloppy.

I spotted my gun several feet away, but I didn’t have the time to grab it before he came at me again.

That time it was a right hook that I predicted immediately as he dipped his shoulders lower. As he moved forward, I caught him with a check hook, stepping backward as he moved forward and landing it square on his jaw. He was too aggressive for his own good, and the spray of blood from his mouth was glorious and wide.

There was a sense of relief in my muscles at releasing stress and anger upon someone who deserved it. He tripped over his own feet and landed on the ground, clutching his jaw and cursing. I could have gone for my gun, but I didn’t. I wanted to feel the bones in his face break beneath my knuckles.

With a few final hits to the face, and blood covering his gnarled features, he was out cold and possibly dead. I had an ache in my hands that I hadn’t felt in years, but the relief I’d felt only moments before evaporated as I grabbed my gun and headed toward the back door, not sparing a glance back at the mangled guy on the ground.

Inside Murphy’s, it smelled like a mixture of liquor, paint, and cleaning supplies. The back door of the building opened directly to the hallway with the bathrooms and a door with a sign labeled Employees Only. It was the door Valerie and I had slipped through years ago, which took you to the second floor and the storage areas.

If they were there, I expected them to be up on the second floor, but I checked out the first level before heading up there. With my gun poised in front of me, I swept the first floor. I searched behind the bar, the bathrooms, and the poolroom and found nothing besides materials for the renovations Josh mentioned.

With the first floor clear, I headed through the employees-only door and up the steep, dark staircase. It was so narrow that my shoulders barely fit, and although I’d never been claustrophobic, the illusion that the walls were closing in on me was intense. Once I stepped onto the first landing, my steps as quiet as possible, I expected to find another attack waiting. But there wasn’t anyone there.

I climbed the rest of the steps, sure there would be another ambush at the top, but again, nothing. Had she really placed the protection of the entire building on the shoulders of one man?

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