Page 91 of Crash and Burn
Mason swiped his key card against the electronic lock and the metal door swung open. I peeked over his shoulder expectantly.
My mouth dropped open again.
"Um." I scanned the room that had just been revealed. "What is this?"
"Welcome to Walt's bar," Mason said with a grin and a flourishing wave of his hand.
I blanched in disgust.
"This place is..." I trailed off.
"It's got character," Mason finished for me.
"That's one way to put it."
If Sin and Tonic was one of the more classy, upscale type of bars, then this bar was the exact opposite. Dim lighting, stained and mis-matched tables, and what looked like sticky floors. There were a handful of leather-clad guys playing pool in the corner, and a couple of punk-looking guys at a table near the back. The atmosphere had a dark, dank sort of feel to it.
I clung onto Mason's shirt.
"Is this place safe?" I hissed.
"It's one of the safest bars around," he replied. "Walt keeps the guys in line, not to mention Jessie would ream them out if they started acting up."
As if the name being spoken out loud had summoned her, a young woman appeared in front of us with a tray of drinks in her hand.
"Hey Mason!" she said cheerfully. "Long time no see."
I blinked at her, eyes wide.
The girl looked like she would be right at home in a biker bar. The leather corset and leather pants with heavy eye-makeup and long waves loose down her back gave her the kind of sexy, sensual look I'd never hope to achieve in my lifetime.
"I know you," she said to me with a friendly smile. "You work at the other bar?"
To me, Walt's had always beenthe other bar.
"Um. Yeah," I said, still stunned by her appearance. "I work at Sin and Tonic."
"What's your poison?" Jessie asked. "We can make pretty much any drink you want."
"I'll have a rum and Coke." You couldn't really go wrong with that one, could you?
"A beer for me," Mason said.
"Let me drop off these drinks," she said, balancing her tray in one hand. "I'll be back with yours soon. Take a seat anywhere you like."
"Thanks," I said weakly, not sure if I wanted to take a seat anywhere in this place.
Mason pulled out a chair from the closest table and gestured for me to sit. I hesitated.
"It's not as grimy as it looks," Mason said. "Walt likes to keep a certain... atmosphere," he said, carefully choosing his words. "But the place is clean, I promise."
"Who in the world would want their bar to have an atmosphere like this?" I murmured to myself, then raised my voice. "Well, thanks for showing me the place. I think I'll just head home now."
"Sit," Mason said patiently. "You wanted a drink, right?"
I stared at the chair. This one didn't look stained, at least. I gingerly took a seat. Mason sat down across from me. I didn't want to gawk impolitely, but this bar was unlike any I'd ever seen. Manny's old bar hadn't been in the best of shape, that was true, especially compared to how Sin and Tonic looked now. But Manny's had never been this bad.
I was half expecting a knife-fight to break out at any minute.
