Page 92 of Twisted Hearts

She didn’t seem like the kind of person who enjoyed sitting still and reading.

“Do you need a break?” I asked.

Everyone else had at least gotten their butts off the stools and taken a walk around the block or something. I didn’t know where they went exactly, but Shawn had gone for a walk twice.

As for me, the longer the night went on, the more I relaxed. I hadn’t had a niggling feeling of being watched. There weren’t customers that had sparked any sort of concern. If Daniel or whoever was looking for me was on the way, there’d so far been no sign.

“Maybe I will.” She hummed around a bite of her sandwich. “After I finish my dinner.”

“Okay then.” I turned back to the bar and scanned the restaurant. There was a slight lull before the true dinner rush and after-work crowd. In just over an hour, I’d be able to leave, go back to Shawn’s place.

“Let me know when you’re ready,” I told Charlie. “I could use the restroom.”

“Will do.”

A young guy who appeared to be in his early twenties, younger than me by only a few years but still with that fresh-out-of-college look to him, headed toward me with two beers in his hand. He reached the bar and slid them on top.

“Two more?” I asked, already reaching for the empties.

“Please, but can we try the IPA this time?”

“No problem.” I gave him a grin, popped the top on two fresh bottles, and slid them back. He thanked me and asked me to add it to his tab, and I turned to do so as Malcolm slid up to me.

“How are you doing?”

“Okay. I’ll be better once I can get out of here.” I pulled up the correct tab and added the beers.

“Good. If you need to, you can take time off until this is done.”

“Hopefully it won’t be necessary.”

I didn’t work until Monday again anyway. Maybe by then, Jaxon’s team would end this.

“Hey Addi,” Charlie called and waved her hand. “Let’s go.”

“Bathroom break.” I grinned up at Malcolm. “And thank you—for caring, for the job, for helping. You’ve done far more for me than you needed to.”

His eyes flashed with something I didn’t understand but that made the hair spike at the back of my neck. “No woman deserves to live her life in fear, Addi. It’s as simple as that.”

“Thank you.” He’d never looked at me like that. He was intense, but in a knowing sort of way, like he’d experienced a woman living in fear and somehow failed her.

“Bathroom,” Malcolm said, his voice gritty and raw. “Charlie needs you.”

“Right.” I placed my hand on his bicep and squeezed. “Thanks again.”

“Go.”

He walked away, and I turned, catching Shawn’s gaze. He’d had his eyes on me all night, and while I usually enjoyed the way he looked at me, I didn’t now. He was too focused, too intense.

I’m fine, I mouthed to him and then gestured to Charlie with my thumb.Restroom.

Be safe.He winked at me and nodded in ago aheadgesture, which I heeded.

Meeting Charlie at the edge of the bar, I lifted the bar back and scooted on out. “You ready?”

“Let’s roll. And I think when we’re done, I’ll take you up on that break.”

“Wonderful. You’re probably going crazy.”

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