Page 5 of Killian
Reaching over, I took her hand and held it tight, giving her comfort. This must have freaked her out a bit for her to go radio silent.
Bri looked to her phone, then turned it facedown. Obviously, Khloe hadn’t called or texted back yet.
“Fine. Want to tell us what the hell that was back there?” I fired again.
This time Killian answered, but it was short and terse. “No.”
“Too damn bad! Where did you take Landon?”
Killian’s head twitched just a bit, but he said nothing. While I knew that twitch meant something, I had no idea what. It only spurred my curiosity.
“Geeze.” My head fell back to the headrest as I closed my eyes, briefly needing to gain my control. This man was infuriating. Out of the damn blue he showed up out of the shadows, and I was supposed to roll with that because he said so?
Umm … no thank you.
The vehicle stopped, and I looked out to see a well-lit parking lot. We were at the local Spend n’ Save, and it was only a mile or so away from the bar which was good. We could get out, and I could call Corey from the bar to come and get us. There was another Escalade exactly like the one we were in parked.
“Come on,” the brute said as he opened the door. I looked at Bri in confusion, and her face was masked in concern.
“What’s going on?” I asked Killian, crossing my arms over my chest. No fucking way we were getting out of this SUV with that man. I didn’t know him at all, barely knew the driver either. It had been years since I had a conversation with Killian Graham, so he was as much a stranger as the big guy. “We’re not getting out until you answer my questions.”
Killian turned around and huffed out a breath. “Youaren’t going anywhere! Oliver here is takin’ Bri home.”
“What? No. That’s not happening.” I grabbed onto Bri’s hand tightly. She wasn’t leaving my side. No way was I letting her leave with some stranger. I didn’t get her out of one situation to put her right back in the middle of another one.
“Let me put this to you another way,” the asshole, Killian, started. “You pissed off some serious as shit men. Men who now probably think you were in on what happened back there. They’ll be after you. The both of you.”
My heart started thumping hard as Bri squeezed my hand. Killian continued, “That said. We’re getting you safe for the night. Going to check on a few things and need to make sure you don’t get into any more trouble. So Oliver is taking Bri home and checking her house. He’s gonna keep your friend alive while I deal with you, and maybe we can all manage a little sleep before we see what tomorrow brings.” That man so did not look like an Oliver, and I bet no one called him Ollie for short. He looked like he could rip someone in two with very little effort.
Trouble? “Trouble?” I questioned. “Are you serious right now? What ‘more’ trouble could we get into?”
Killian stared at me, and I was seriously starting to despise that irritating blank look.
I tried a different tactic, noting this wasn’t working. “How about you drop both of us at the bar instead? I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself and my best friend safe. Plus, if something feels off, I’ll call Elliot.”
“No. Out,” Killian barked at Bri. She jumped, and her hand went to the handle and pulled it.
I tugged her hand, holding her to the seat. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t think these are the bad guys, Ellie. They got us out of there, and I just want to go home. I’ll be safe with Oliver. My gut says we’re fine now.”
Bad guys. Hell, I didn’t know what kind of men these two were. Bri always followed whatever way the wind blew and what felt good to her. She wasn’t one to think things through. That free spirit was a beautiful and dangerous thing.
True, Killian and Elliot were friends in school, but that was a long damn time ago. Things changed. People changed. Life changed. Killian definitely changed. Good or bad was yet to be determined.
“Call me when you get home.” It was my turn to order Bri, knowing she was stubborn enough to fight me on this. She’d be home safe, and I would be too … at the bar.
“Got it.” She jumped out the door and rounded the hood, going to Ollie’s Escalade. Did these people have stock in Caddies or something? The rides were sleek black with chromed-out wheel wells and black tinted windows. It was like celebrities were in town, and these things were used to keep everyone out and wrapped in a safety cocoon. An awesome choice, though. I had to admit, there was no smoother ride than a Cadillac.
“If anything happens to her, I’ll cut your balls off and shove them down your throat,” I said to Killian whose only response was to put the vehicle in drive, pulling out onto the road. Bri and Ollie took off in the opposite direction.
When we got close to the bar, I called out, “Stop here. I need to go close up.”
“You’ve got people to do that,” he said, driving past the bar and not fazed in the slightest by my request. My head followed it, then snapped back as a thought hit me.
He shouldn’t know anything about the comings and goings of my bar, including who I hired and what they did. Not only that, but I was safe there.
“How in the hell would you know that?” From this angle, his profile was prominent. Strong nose and jaw with a slight scruff of a beard. Maybe a day or two stubble that gave him a sinister vibe. Much more dangerous than all those years ago. That was for damn sure. It made me wonder what the man had turned into. As much as he loved to talk, insert sarcasm here, he’d for sure tell me. Right?
