Page 17 of Beast

He stretched his legs out.“Nope.That was a damn good burger.I’ll have to keep this place in mind the next time I’m out this way.”

“You travel a lot for work?”

“Not a lot.I don’t like to leave the twins too much.”

We worked our way through the jug of beer, and watched as the next few singers went up and tried their luck.The crowd was generous and even applauded the one fellow who sang an entire song off-key.

“Most of them are probably too drunk to notice,” Beast pointed out.“You told me you’re a singer, right?”

“Yeah.Why?”

* * *

Beast

“You sing country?”

“Country.Folk.Jazz.Easy rock.”She wrinkled her nose.“I’m not much on hip hop or rap, and definitely no classical.”

I gestured at the stage.“You want to give it a go?I’ve never heard you sing.”

She looked cute when she frowned.“I thought we were supposed to be keeping a low profile?”

I made a point of looking around the dimly lit bar.“I doubt there’s anyone here connected to your ex.This is more of a redneck crowd, and I’m guessing if anyone did come after a woman in here, these cowboys would consider it a good excuse for a bar brawl.”

I could see the longing on her face as she watched person after person get up to try out the karaoke.I’d never heard her sing, and I hadn’t considered what this mess might do to her personal life or her career.I’d been too busy plotting our trip across the country and making sure she was still breathing at the end of it.“Go for it.”I patted the gun hidden in its shoulder holster.“I’ve got you covered.”

She threw her arms around my neck.“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.Just don’t make it a mushy one.”

“You mean like a sad one?”That grin I was starting to recognize as meaning trouble crossed her face.She dropped a quick peck on my cheek and stood up.As she headed to the stage area, I kept an eye on the crowd.No one seemed overly interested.

“This is for a special guy.He knows who he is.”Piper’s voice came over the speaker system with just a hint of laughter.She looked straight at me as the music started and she launched into a raunchy song about a guy in a classic car and the love of his life who liked to make love all over, under, in and out of that vehicle.The crowd roared with laughter, hooting and calling for an encore when she finished.She grinned over at me, and I nodded encouragement.

She looked happier than I’d seen her since the first time we’d met, and I didn’t see any threats coming from a crowd of cowboys.The place was so packed, anyone trying to get in the door at this point would have to use a shoehorn.Sneaking in would be impossible.It was like the eye of the storm, a brief moment of calm when we could both just relax and enjoy ourselves before the real world crashed back down on us.

She finished up her second song, an old ballad I remembered from my high school days, and handed the microphone back to the guy running the show.The crowd gave her an enthusiastic round of applause as she made her way back to me.

Her face flushed, she slid back onto her seat beside me and gave me a naughty grin.“Not mushy, right?”

I shook my head.“Definitely not mushy.You were great.The crowd would have listened to you all night if they could.”

A sad look crossed her expressive face.“I was hoping to go on tour starting in a couple weeks.A few practices to get to know each other, and then I’d take over as lead singer for an up-and-coming band.Technically, I hadn’t accepted it yet but only because we were still negotiating.I guess that’s a no-go now.”

“Your agent set this up before your ex started this shit fuckery?”

She nodded.“He was working on it.I thought it would be my big break, you know.First step on the road to an awesome career.”

I wanted to tell her it was fine, that she could go ahead and accept the tour, but I wasn’t into giving people false hope and chances were it would be too risky.Unless we managed to resolve the threat to her it would be like telling the hit men where to find her.Not a good idea.

“You’ve got a great voice, and you really played to the crowd.What do they call that?Stage presence?I bet country songs wouldn’t be your first choice, but you gave the crowd exactly what they wanted.You heard them cheering you on at the end.Mark of a good performer.You might not be able to accept this tour, but there will be others.”

“Yeah.Sure.”She didn’t look convinced.Picking up her beer, she drained the glass.“I’m getting tired.Can we go back to the room soon?”

Fuck, this sucked.I hated that look of defeat on her face.I gulped down the rest of my beer and stood up.“Sure.Let’s go.”I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and we worked our way over to the door.Every few steps we had to stop as someone wanted to tell her how much they liked her singing.One woman even suggested she consider making a career out of it, which brought a smile to her face.I made a mental vow to talk to Ace and see if we could make that tour work for her.

I briefly considered going back to Las Vegas and putting an end to her ex.I’d enjoy that, but realistically I knew it wasn’t an option.The mafia didn’t take kindly to having one of their own executed, even if the asshole deserved it.

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