Page 60 of A Bridge to Nowhereland

“She’s fine. She knows work comes first.” He smiled, as if there were something amusing in that statement.

I tried not to focus too much on him. Since he’d arrived in a black button-down shirt, hair perfect, smelling like heaven, he’d been even more unsettling than normal.

“You’re such a romantic. I don’t know how she can stand it.” I sipped more champagne, reminding myself of how unattractive he was in spite of his allure.

He did have good taste, though. Whatever he’d ordered was mighty tasty. I had to admit, if I was going to be stuck in a miserable situation, it was nicer than being poor in the same situation. The clothing I’d picked out for tonight would’ve paid for a month of my schooling. I couldn’t imagine how much the diamond hoops I was wearing were worth.

I scanned the crowd, wondering whom we were here for. Kaden kept staring at the same empty spot.

“Is the person not here yet, or was that a pretense again?” I asked, finding I didn’t mind being out, even if the night ran long. I’d been sitting cooped up in that outpost so much that hanging out here, listening to the music, was a nice change.

“We have to leave.” Kaden put his glass down and got to his feet.

“What are you talking about? We’ve got a job to do. Or testing me out?” I might not have been a tinker for long, but no one would ever accuse me of having a bad work ethic. Plus, we just got here. I hadn’t even finished my champagne.

“Billie,” he said, “this is not a request. Get up.”

I stood, but only because it was easier to stand my ground on my feet. “You can’t micromanage every moment of my life. I won’t live like that. I want to stay a little longer. I’ll make my way back to the bridge on my own.”

“We’re going,” he said as if I hadn’t spoken at all, grabbing my arm and pulling me after him.

“Let me go,” I said, yanking at my arm.

A large man stepped in our way. The guy had to be close to seven feet tall. I’d heard that this was a hot spot for celebrities, and there was something familiar about this man’s face. I had this strong sense I might’ve seen him playing football.

He clearly had an ego and something to back it up to get in Kaden’s way, because no one got in Kaden’s way. He didn’t have to have a recognizable face to be recognizable as dangerous. There was just something that lurked under the surface, something that made sense the moment you met him, that let you know he wasn’t one to be messed with. Just because I regularly did it anyway didn’t mean I didn’t see what a sane person would.

“Miss, do you need some help?” the big footballer said, speaking to me over Kaden’s shoulder.

“Get out of my way.” Kaden didn’t budge.

“Not until the lady tells me to.”

Great. Now I’d have to defend Kaden and pretend I was happy about getting dragged out of a club like a rag doll. It was that or he might hurt the big man. If a fight broke out, my money was on Kaden.

“It’s fine. I’m—”

“Move,” Kaden said, his voice deep and reverberating. The man moved, keeping his eyes on Kaden the entire time as he stepped off to the side.

I hadn’t seen Kaden lay a hand on the guy. It was just as he’d done to me, tinkering without even touching him? It was a cool trick I’d like in my back pocket for sure.

I was getting dragged past the man as I said, “Really, I’m fine!”

A second later, the sound of bullets let loose and screams erupted. All of a sudden, bodies were stampeding toward us.

Kaden grabbed me around the waist, pulling me into him as he started to steer us with the crowd.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked. He’d known something bad was about to happen. That was why he’d wanted to leave.

The crowd was shoving this way and that, making it hard to move through the room. Instead of getting out of the building, he opened a closet and pulled me out of the fray. We were shut in a small, dark place, surrounded by stacked chairs that took up most of the space. Our bodies grazed each other’s in the tight space.

The bullets were still flying in the club. Kaden shifted so that his body was between me and the door.

“What’s happening?” I whispered, hearing the screams.

He pressed his fingers to my mouth. I could see him shake his head in the small sliver of light that entered through the tiniest crack in the doorframe.

The bullets continued, along with screams of pure terror. I’d thought the yelling and crying, the stampeding, knowing that people were fleeing for their lives, was the worst thing I’d ever heard or experienced.

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