Page 122 of Break Me
I threw my hat into the passenger seat, tousled my hair, and patted my back pocket. Since my weapon was still back at the house and I hadn’t thought about asking Kristine to bring it for me, all I had was a Swiss Army knife Sean had given me as a Christmas gift our first year together.
Maybe it would come in handy for keeping me safe.
After glancing at both sides of the street, I jogged in between traffic to the other side. Another deep breath and I threw open the door.
The very first time I’d walked into the bar, the entire crowd had stopped talking, turning their heads toward me with scowls on their faces. Until they’d noticed Sean walking in behind me.
Even then, their attitudes had barely been friendly. Sean had even made an announcement that I was his girl. That had been the only reason they’d treated me with anything other than a cold shoulder.
After that, I’d been one of the crew then a member of the family. They’d looked past the fact I wasn’t Irish. Yet I’d never truly felt as if I was a member of the family.
Just tolerated.
As soon as I walked in, I relived that first moment all over again.
It took a couple of seconds for the group of burly men and a few women to realize who’d walked in through the door. As soon as they’d digested who was standing in front of them, you could have heard a pin drop. That didn’t deter me in the least.
I walked in past them, nodding to a couple as I headed for the bar.
Finn was behind the bar, Sean’s best friend and a guy who carried both a switchblade and a pistol with him wherever he went. After finishing rubbing a glass dry and placing it on the bar, he tossed the towel, placing both fisted hands on the edge. His glare was harsher than the others.
He was considered the bouncer or given what I knew about Alexsey, more of an enforcer. He’d followed me to the car more than once after my shift. I’d thought it had been to ensure my safety.
Now I was beginning to think otherwise.
I caught the eye of a man on my right, his eyes more imploring than the others. As if he was warning me to be careful.
“How are you doing, Patty? Is Margaret feeling any better?” I asked one of the regulars, an old guy with a big heart.
While he appeared sheepish, he smiled. “Doing fine.” I had a feeling the guy sitting next to him punched him under the table since Patty turned away from me as if I had the plague.
That forced me to purposely glance toward another asshole who’d recently been hitting on me. “Hey, Rory. Still interestedin that drink or you just prefer pawing me for free?” At least my caustic words had caused his face to pop a shade of beet red.
I swung around again, looking from one to the other. While they didn’t resume their conversations, they acted like I wasn’t in the room. I tried to think of something to say to all of them. It was strange how I’d never cared whether they’d liked me or not. This wasn’t high school. But today it felt wrong. I deserved better.
But in trying to find those right words, tears kept coming to my eyes instead of a perfect statement. Thankfully, the television was droning on about whatever afternoon bullshit was going on and that allowed a cover for any strangled sound I might make.
As my luck would have it, a news bulletin flashed onto the screen about my worst nightmare. My daughter’s kidnapping. I immediately lifted my head, studying the screen.
With no one talking, I could hear what was being said.
“The kidnapping of a local kindergarten student has parents frightened for their children.” At least this reporter was decent enough not to mention my name as others had done before. It still made me angry that there was a chance my baby girl would be forced to relive the horror all over again.
The fact that not a single man inside the bar or Finn was paying any attention to the news shouldn’t upset me. They couldn’t care less about anything in their lives but what was important to them.
However today, I was livid.
“Do you see the picture on the television set up there?” My voice was raised and I pointed to the television. And was ignored.
When I didn’t hear anything and not a single person in the bar even grunted in my direction, I spun around in a circle. “Hey! I’m talking to you. Listen to me and pay attention.” Yes, I’d raised my voice and yes, I was bordering on losing my shit, but I was through with playing the victim of some crazy turf war. “That story about a child being kidnapped? Well, guess what? That was my daughter, Emily. Sean’s daughter. She was stolen from her school on the first day of kindergarten in broad daylight by two nutcases. Do you know what could have happened to her? Do you have any idea the kind of nightmares she’ll have for years to come, maybe the rest of her life? Do you even care?”
The goddamn silence was incredible. At least a few of the bastards appeared uncomfortable, but after a few quick looks, they even started talking again.
“She is family. She has Irish blood in her.”
“Yeah, well, you should have thought of that before fucking some Russian.”
I wasn’t entirely certain who’d tossed out the horrible barb, but it just didn’t matter.
