Page 32 of Entertaining Distraction
As the four men followed him, Mike kept his empty hands at shoulder height and tried to figure out what the fuck was going on. He hated the feeling of helplessness that came over him as he walked through the door. Charlotte, Jake, and the others, had the same flash of confusion in their eyes before the weapons pointed in their direction registered in their brains. After that, it was a mix of reactions. Jenn and Daniella had looks of horror on their faces as they held onto each other. Reggie stepped in front of his gaping wife, the lawyer ready to slay dragons for her if he had to. Jake, Nick, Henderson, and Charlotte, however, had frozen—not in fear, but in a manner that told Mike each was assessing the situation and analyzing how to end it without no one but the bad guys bleeding or worse. Charlotte may not have had military training the three men standing next to her had had, but one wouldn’t know that by looking at her. Her eyes had that same “you’re fucking with the wrong people” glare in them. Mike knew she was carrying her weapon hidden on her body, so were Nick, Jake, and Henderson, but no one moved to draw them. They’d wait until they were certain they’d gained a tactical advantage instead of having a shootout with unarmed people in their midst.
A hand shoved Mike forward, and a growl came from one of the men behind him. “What the fuck? You said he’d be fucking alone or there’d only be a bartender this time of night.”
“That’s all there usually is!” a second man responded, the nervousness in his voice a huge contrast to the pissed-off tone of his buddy. It was also awfully familiar, despite the mask muffling it. Mike saw a flare of recognition in Charlotte’s eyes before it disappeared again.Damn it.His success in hiring an ex-con just dropped from batting .500 to .333—not bad for the Major Leagues, but it sucked at Donovan’s.
“Look, you can take the money or whatever you want,” Mike said, with a calmness he didn’t feel. “There’s no need to shoot anyone.”
“Shut the fuck up!” The tallest of the four was apparently the ringleader and, as such, was the one they didn’t want to piss off. “Get on the fucking floor, now! All of you!”
Jake held up his hands in a placating manner. “All right. Just chill. Everyone do as he says.”
They all lowered themselves to the ground, slowly. Mike, near the kitchen door and his two waitresses, the others in the middle of the room by the bar. Once they were all down, the ringleader strode toward the front door and locked it. “Bring the shit in and let’s get this done.”
The nervous guy and one of the others went back into the kitchen, and Mike’s brow wasn’t the only one furrowing in confusion.“Bring the shit in”? What the hell was going on? Is it a robbery or not?
Returning to the far end of the bar, the leader bent down and grabbed Daniella by the hair. She screeched in pain as he forced her to stand. Growls came from the Dominants in the room, in addition to Doug, and Mike started to get up from the floor to help his employee. “Leave her—”
“Shut the fuck up and get down on the floor!” He held the gun to Daniella’s head, and whatever color had still been in her cheeks drained. Her eyes wide in fear, she tried to keep herself close to the man to ease the pain in her scalp. After Mike laid down on his stomach again, the punk gestured to the others on the floor and barked at his friend. “Search them and grab their cell phones. I don’t want any fucking surprises or anyone calling the cops. If any of you move, I’ll put a bullet in this bitch.”
Mike didn’t know how his brother, Nick, Doug, and Charlotte were staying so calm, but it had to be from their training. Meanwhile, the rest of the hostages seemed like they were barely holding things together. When asshole number two patted down Jake, he found a 9mm at the operative’s lower back. Pulling it out of the holster, he pointed it at Jake’s head. “What the fuck? Are you a fucking cop?”
“No! He’s not!” With his mask still on, Jose had returned with the fourth accomplice and a bunch of equipment that confused Mike even more. “He’s a-a bodyguard—not a cop! He’s the owner’s brother.”
“Bodyguard, huh?” He nudged Jake’s thigh with his foot. “Think you’re a tough guy? Try anything stupid, and I’ll pump you full of lead.”
Jake glared at him. “I’m not looking to get shot, but you should know those two guys and the lady in the red shirt work with me, and they’re probably carrying too.” He’d jutted his chin toward Doug, Nick, and Charlotte.
Stunned, it took Mike a moment to realize his brother knew the guy was going to find the weapons on the other three anyway, and as much as Jake had probably hated to announce they were armed, it was for the best. That way, these punks wouldn’t think any of them were cops and shoot them on principle. Mike was glad Charlotte’s state ID and shield were in her purse behind the bar where he’d put it for safekeeping. What he couldn’t figure out was why Jose had stepped in and possibly saved Jake from being killed. Jose had met Jake and Nick the other night when they’d stopped in for dinner. Charlotte had told Mike about her suspicions that his new employee might be in trouble—looks like she’d been absolutely right. Even if the two of them hadn’t already figured out who Jose was, it was now obvious to everyone in the room that he knew them—and, in return, they knew him. Hopefully, his cohorts didn’t figure that out, too. They were covering their faces, and Mike had seen enough movies and TV shows to pray it meant they didn’t plan on killing anyone as long as they couldn’t be identified later. If only Mike could get behind the bar where there were two silent alarm buttons. One was near where the waitresses placed their orders at the rear end of the bar, and the other was below the register closest to the front of the room.
Once everyone had been searched and stripped of any weapons and cell phones, the leader released Daniella. He glanced around and stepped over to the entrance to the darkened party room. Finding the light switch, he flipped it up, bathing the room in a soft glow from the overhead, recessed lights. The prick pointed at Daniella and Jenn. “Get in there.”
Scared, Jenn looked at her Uncle Jake, her wide eyes brimming with tears that hadn’t spilled over yet. With a stoic expression, he nodded. “Go ahead, Baby-girl. It’ll be alright.”
She stood and held Daniella’s shaking hand as they cautiously disappeared from Mike’s view into the smaller room.
The leader snarled. “Sit down.” He then waved his gun toward the others. “You two bitches get in there, too.”
Slowly, Charlotte got to her feet, and Mike could tell she wanted to kick some serious ass, but had to wait for an opportunity. And it scared the hell out of him. If something happened to her, he didn’t know what he’d do. He couldn’t deny it anymore. Sometime between her birthday party and tonight, he’d fallen in love with her. And now, they were all in danger and still had no idea what was going on. Charlotte put her arm around Colleen’s shoulders and walked with her across the expanse toward the party room.
As they passed Mike, Charlotte glanced down at him. It was then he saw the fear hidden behind her brave front, and he tried to give her a reassuring smile. Somehow, he knew she was more afraid for him and the others than for herself. She had that same nature Mike saw in his brother. Jake had always said if he died trying to save an innocent’s life, it would be worth it. Now, it was clear to Mike that Charlotte would martyr herself if the choice came down to her or someone she cared about. God help him if that happened. He couldn’t let her do that for him and would do everything he could to ensure she never had to make that choice for anyone else.
