Page 164 of Burning Daylight
“There’s the man of the hour. Where you been?” Merrick’s loud enough to draw a few looks from nearby tables as Benjamin saunters over.
“What’s up, Benny?” I give him a chin nod.
His eyes narrow in response.
What the fuck did I do?
There’s a commotion at the front of our table, and then an older woman stands in front of us, a hat pulled low over her eyes like she’s trying not to be seen.
“Hello, gentlemen.”
“Hey, lady. You’re blocking the view of the match.” Merrick gestures to the UFC fight on the TV behind her.
She turns to look at the fighting and then back at Merrick. “What kind of a man are you? Barbaric, those fights. Disgusting.”
Merrick laughs. “You’re in the wrong place to be saying something like that.”
That piques my interest. What’s so wrong about saying that in a dusty bar that serves generic food and beer?
“Besides, I’m just a man like any other,” Merrick continues. “Just like the men in the fight. God made them, and he gave them the free will to ruin themselves if they want to.”
I chuckle. “Don’t worry about him, ma’am. He’s always talking nonsense; nobody understands what he means half the time.”
“He’s not lying, though, is he?” Her eyes lock onto mine, a knowing look in their gaze. “We all have the free will to ruin ourselves…and sometimes others.”
Nodding, my brows furrow, a heavy sensation hitting me with the seriousness of her gaze. “I guess you’re right.”
“Roman Montgomery?” she asks, her entire focus now on me.
I sit forward. “Depends on who’s asking.”
“I need to speak to you.” Her eyes flick over the other men at the table. “In private.”
Benjamin snorts and taps Merrick on the arm. “She’s either here to confess her sins or beg for a good time.”
“Oh, she’s not here to beg.” Merrick laughs. “And definitely not for him. No offense, honey, but Roman’s not really known to go for the women who remember dial-up.” He pauses, giving her a saucy look. “Me, on the other hand…”
Benjamin scoffs. “Jesus, Merrick, you’d flirt with a ghost if it had legs and liquor, wouldn’t you?”
“And you wouldn’t?” he fires back, grinning. “You’ve got that graveyard type of energy all over you.”
“Merrick, you may know Benny, but you have no idea whatI’dgo for,” I interrupt, then glance back at her. “What’s your name?”
The woman glares at Merrick before looking at me with her chin raised. “I won’t talk in front of rude men who think they can speak to me like I’m beneath them.”
“He’s harmless,” I reiterate. “Just loves the sound of his own voice.”
“In private.” Her jaw clenches, and she lowers her voice. “I believe you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
Benjamin’s eyes narrow, recognition flaring through them. “Wait a minute; you look familiar. You a friend of Freddy’s?”
She stiffens her spine. “I am, but I work for the Calloways, actually.”
My head snaps to her, seeing her in a new light. “You work for the Calloways?”
“Roman, come on.” Benjamin laughs like I’m being ridiculous. “You’re not seriously going to talk to her in private, are you?”
I cut a glare at him. “Don’t think because you’re my father’s bitch that I’ll be yours, Benny.”
