Page 79 of Cruel Savior

A sharp whistle from the back drew my attention and I looked over to find Cash and the other guys waiting in our usual spot. I lifted my chin in a nod, but did not make my way back to them. They were going to have to wait because I had other business to attend to first.

Instead, I crossed to the bar and took the seat next to hers.I didn’t say anything right away and after a couple of minutes of silence the bartender came over and asked if I wanted my usual. I nodded and he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured two fingers into a glass and then slid it in front of me.

He then asked her if she wanted more water, and she shook her head no. I looked at her curiously, thinking it odd that she didn't have some fancy chick drink in front of her.

The silence stretched awkwardly between us, until it was clear she had no intention of saying anything.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” I said, feeling some of the hope I’d let in begin to deflate. If she wasn’t going to talk we were going to get exactly nowhere.

She toyed with her empty glass, tilting it back and forth in front of her until I was ready to growl in frustration.

“I’m surprised I came here,” she finally admitted, still moving that glass nervously back and forth.

“I heard you were still in town.”

Her gaze shot to mine. “You did?”

I nodded, surprised by her surprise. “It’s a small town, remember? It’s impossible to keep secrets or for someone not to notice your comingsandyour goings.”

“It sounds creepy, not charming, when you put it like that."

"I don't think I've ever promised charming anything, that’s not my style. Although creepy was not my intent either."

A small smile cracked her lips, and I chose to take that as a positive sign.

"I've kept secrets," she whispered, so low I almost didn't hear her.

"Then I guess some of us are better at keeping them than others." I took a small sip of my whiskey and let the familiar burn make its way into my system. At this rate, I had a feeling this was going to be a more than one glass night.

"You might be right."

When she didn't elaborate or make any other comment I wanted to reach over and pull her to me. What was it going to take to get past those damned walls? She'd obviously come here to say something, but this reluctance was pissing me off again.

"What are you really doing here, Mandy?" My question came out gruff and unfriendly despite my intention to go for some patience.“Are you trying to drive me fucking mad?”

"Well, I actually came here with some work friends. But they hooked up with some guys from the club and left me here. I was about to leave and go home."

"Really? You came here? To our bar, where you knew I'd be, and you're just going to leave?"

She turned to face me, her cheeks now pink with anger. "What do you want from me, Axel? You already made it clear that we have trust issues, so why bother? For a second, I got weak and thought maybe… but then I chickened out. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"And yet you still came. So you must have had something to say. So stop being a little girl and say it." I was taunting her now, but I couldn't seem to help myself.

"I came here because I'm an idiot. Are you happy now?" Her voice rose and I could see she was getting wound up now. Good. Maybe now we could make some progress. "For weeks, I've been going through the motions. I can't go anywhere or do anything without people looking at me weird because of these." She held up her arms and pointed to the small bandages still attached to her wrists. "I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I tried to kill myself."

"Then why not set them straight?"

“I don’t like people knowing things about me. Especially if it’s bad. I don’t need or want their pity. They don’t know me. Some might think they do, just because I grew up here, but they don't. I'm not a part of this community. But they sure as shit assume the worst. It might even be safe to say they hate me."

I looked around the room, taking notice that no one at all was paying attention to us. Her paranoia aside, everyone else had their own thing going on.

“So then don’t tell them. Why would youorI give a fuck about what anyone else thinks? We aren't talking about them, Mandy. No one else is here. It's just you and me and your precious secrets."

"That's another thing!" She leaned over the bar and closer to me. "What fucking secrets? You act like what I did for a living and what went down with it was a big mystery when we both know damn well that you and your club have access to every little detail."

I frowned. "I like that you have that much faith in us, but we aren't all-knowing. Well, maybe JD is because he can be creepy like that."

She laughed, nodding her head. "Yeah, he can." I had a feeling there was a story that went with that look. However, JD was not my concern at the moment. We needed to stay focused.

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