Page 27 of The Gentleness of Rage

“Just give Rock what he wants when he wants it. And Gunner, Texas, and Drake. They’re surly bastards,” Banshee said.

“So I see,” I replied and grabbed my tray to deliver drinks.

As it was a Monday, it wasn’t too busy. Alexa and I took it in turns for one of us to take orders, and the other to clear the dirties. Not a single guy put his hand on my ass nor harassed me. I’d have been insulted, but Alexa stated that Rage and Hellfire were well known for putting a beatdown on someone who sexually abused their staff.

That was a nice feeling. It was also good that the two bikers helped. Alexa explained that there was always a Rage or Hellfire behind the bar permanently. Sometimes, they overlapped and pulled longer shifts. Mac ran the bar for Rage, but it was a shared venture with Hellfire, which was why one was always present.

Towards the end of the night, I was shocked when a woman grabbed hold of me and spun me around.

“You’re the thief,” she accused.

“I beg your pardon?” I spluttered, offended.

“You stole my job, what did you do? Give them a blowie in the toilets?” the girl kept accusing.

“How dare you!” I exclaimed, yanking my arm free. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alexa waving in Rock’s direction.

“There was no reason to sack me, Hailee, or Skylar,” the woman hissed in my face.

“Ariel, let her go. You got yourself fired by not turning up on a busy shift. The three of you bragged on social media, for fuck’s sake, about being at that concert. You abandoned us on a Friday night!” Alexa yelled as she stormed over.

Ariel gave me a shove and turned to Alexa. “What are you going to do, bitch?”

I regained my footing and pushed Ariel back hard. “Don’t push me. I didn’t do anything and didn’t deserve that. I didn’t steal your job.”

“Did you just touch me?” Ariel demanded, her voice turning high-pitched.

“You shoved me first. What gives you the right to shove me?” I exclaimed.

“You stole my job!” Ariel shrieked.

“The fuck she did. You pissed it off yourself. You went to a concert after being told you couldn’t have the time off. Ariel, you left the bar and the staff in shit creek. Don’t fuckin’ come here running your mouth because you fucked up,” Rock snapped, appearing.

“Rock, I need the money, please,” Ariel begged with tears in her eyes.

I felt bad for her.

“We needed you Friday. You didn’t give a fuck about us then,” Rock snarled in her face.

“Rock, the Hell’s Rage pays well, and the tips are amazing. Plus, I never went home with bruises on my ass! Where’s the loyalty, I did a good job!” Ariel exclaimed.

“You want us to be loyal to you now? Where was your loyalty, Ariel? Time to go, bitch. You did this to yourself,” Rock said and nodded towards the door. “Leave on your own accord, or I’ll put you out.”

“Rock. Don’t be like that. Honestly, I’ve worked Hell’s Rage for ages and never missed a shift before,” Ariel insisted.

I was starting to feel sorry for her.

“Ariel, you fucked us over. Nobody fucks Rage or Hellfire over,” Rock boomed and grabbed her arm. “Then you come and assault our new waitress. That shit don’t wash!”

Ariel began yelling as Rock dragged her towards the entrance, and I turned and looked at Alexa with huge eyes.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, she asked for it. And there were images all over social media of them partying while we were snowed under. I think Ariel and the others thought they’d get away with it. Which is crazy because that shit is seriously bang out of line. Bad enough they didn’t turn up; to advertise it, well, that’s spitting in Rage and Hellfire’s faces,” Alexa replied. “Are you okay? Ariel shoved you quite hard.”

“I’m good. Thanks for coming to help. I’d no idea who the hell she was,” I responded.

“Closing up,” Banshee yelled from the bar as he rang the bell.

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