Page 50 of Melody

Finally, she said, her voice low, “What do you want?”

“I ain’t here for a shot of tequila—but we could start with that anyway, seeing’s how I’m here already.”

Alcohol and Tommy were a bad combination, like gas and flame—but she hoped pouring him a shot would buy her a little time to think. How could she get Al out of his office? Although Tommy had never hurt her in front of people, there was always a first time for everything. The man had never been predictable, so she didn’t trust her judgment.

“Patrón?”

“Nah. Don Julio—‘cause you’re buyin’.”

Although her insides felt like they’d melted into jelly thanks to the fear churning through her veins, she found something else burning inside that allowed her to talk back—something she’d stopped doing not long into their relationship. “That’s funny—because ifI’mbuying, you’re getting Jose Cuervo.” Without another word, she pulled that bottle off the shelf, proud of herself that she’d had the guts to turn her back to him for a couple of seconds. From past experience, she knew that,regardless of a barrier like a bar between them, Tommy often struck when she was most vulnerable.

When she turned around, though, he was still sitting. As she poured a shot, she could almost feel the negative energy emanating from him, pulling her right back into that state of feeling like a caged animal. It hadn’t been that long ago, but the half a year she’d spent here had given her a buffer that had lulled her into a state of complacence and comfort. With Tommy back here so close, it was as if not a day had passed.

At least she managed to keep her hand from shaking.

When she pushed the shot glass toward him, she asked the only question—the onlything—on her mind. “How did you find me?”

“I hired a private investigator. You kept your car. It didn’t take him long to find you.”

She wasn’t about to ask how long ago he’d hired the PI to figure out just how long it had taken him or her, but she still wondered how he’d actually located her—after all, she hadn’t registered the car in Pike County and she hadn’t gotten any tickets. She’d sworn it hadn’t been a bad move.

Obviously, she’d been wrong.

And that meant she had to get the hell out of here as soon as humanly possible. Now that he knew where she was, she was in extreme danger—and she’d compounded it by leaving in the first place. Now she was at risk of losing her life.

“All right. Let’s go.”

“I’mnotgoing with you.”

“Oh, but you are. I didn’t come all this way to leave empty handed.” With that, he walked down the length of the bar and lifted the bar flap as if he’d been working there for months—and then he was approaching her.

Her heart started thumping in her chest, panic infusing every vein. If she hurried, she might be able to climb onto the rackwhere they left the glasses to dry. From there, she could climb up and over the bar. Then she’d run through the back and out into the alley. Although she could get to her car quickly, she didn’t have her keys—but she had to get out of here regardless. She’d been walking around the neighborhoods enough that she knew a couple of backyards without dogs where she might be able to hide. She’d just have to make sure to grab her coat out of the office before she left.

Ifshe could get out of from behind the bar where she was trapped.

Before she even moved, though, she heard Al’s voice from across the room. “Sir, you can’t be back there.”

Tommy ignored him—but Scarlett could see Al continuing to move across the room. Meanwhile, Tommy continued inching toward her like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey. She’d forgotten how lean and mean he looked—like every inch of him was pure sinew infused with hate and anger. She remembered Tommy watching a nature documentary one day when he’d been high as a kite—and she had never forgotten the vicious sight of a wolf and a wolverine fighting, the wolverine stealing the wolf’s food. Ever since, she’d thought of Tommy as that wolverine: mean, vicious, willing to take from someone for his own benefit, regardless of what he took, leaving carnage in his wake.

And that was what he’d done to her. Even today, she couldn’t quite understand how he’d managed to override her brain, so that she’d given him everything. But it wasn’t just the material things. She’d given him her heart, her soul, her self-confidence. And he’d trashed them all, only to benefit himself.

Now, like that wolverine, he was sneaking up on her, ready to tear her apart.

Al finally got to the bar, but Scarlett didn’t take her eyes off Tommy. “You can get out of my bar now or you can wait for thepolice to escort you. I’m dialing 911 right now.” To emphasize his point, he put the phone on speaker.

“911. What’s your emergency?” came the calm woman’s voice over the line.

Scarlett didn’t see even a glimmer of concern in Tommy’s eyes, but he did stop moving forward. While Al said, “I’m the manager of Tequilaville and we have a customer refusing to leave,” Tommy’s upper lip curled, a sight she’d seen many a time and had almost forgotten.

“I’ll leave.” He took one step closer to Scarlett, almost within touching distance, and said, “But I’ll be back.”

As he backed up and Al continued talking, Scarlett felt cold all the way to her bones. If Tommy knew where she worked, did he know where she lived? She had to get the hell out of here this instant. She was now on borrowed time.

Once Tommy left, Al, finished up the call and said, “They’re on their way.”

“I need to leave before they get here.”

“What?”

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