Page 71 of City of Salvation

“She’ll have a Long Island,” Boe ordered, drawing my attention back to him.

“No, I’ll have a beer. Canned and still closed, please.”

Boe’s fists tightened where he had them resting on the bar top. “Oh, come on. You’ve got to at least take a shot with me. Don’t be like that,” he said, rubbing a finger down the side of my arm.

“Don’t be like that.”The only other phrase a man could say that pissed me off more was, “You should smile more.”

It took everything in me not to throw up on him. Or throat-punch him. The only reason I refrained was because I was on his home turf, and he was a patched member.

All I was here was Dex’s fake girlfriend.

Truthfully, I wasn’t too worried about what would happen to me. How much worse could my life get? I already had a crazy Russian ex-husband possibly putting bounties on my head. I didn’t damage Boe’s larynx because I didn’t want to make a mess for Dex.

“Why don’t you come home with me tonight, huh? Get away from wherever Dex’s got you stashed away at,” he asked, oblivious to my violent thoughts towards him.

I plastered on a sweet smile, needing to move this whole conversation along so I could get back to Dex and ask how much his brothers knew about our protection detail.

“What do you mean stashed away?” I asked, adding a giggle to sell the airhead act.

His mouth opened and shut a few times before he finally answered. “Oh, I just mean I haven’t seen you around, is all, and that can’t be because youwantto be around that idiot.” He laughed. “I mean, who would want to be with him? He’s an asshole who thinks he is so great at everything, but really, he’s a dick with anger problems.” He leaned in closer, his rancid breath flooding my senses. “Agood girl like you doesn’t want to be with someone like that, right?”

Good girl. Dex was right. I hated that fucking term.

I needed something stronger than beer. “Hey, I’ll take a tequila, please,” I called to the kid behind the bar. He had on a leather cut, but there weren’t any rockers on it, only a patch that said prospect.

“She’ll have whiskey,” Boe corrected, shooting me a wink as if it was cute to blatantly disregard what I’d ordered.

“No. I’ll have tequila. And make it a double, actually.” The poor kid didn’t know what to do. He was probably supposed to follow patched member’s orders to a T. “Tell him, Boe. If you want to order for me, have at it, but I will drink what I want,” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest, making sure to push my boobs down rather than prop them up.

I didn’t need his creepy eyes exploring any more of me than they already were.

Part of me expected him to yell at me, but the only tell of the anger burning inside was the flare of his nostrils and the narrowing of his eyes. He looked at me the way my father used to when we were in public—the look that told me when we got home, I’d suffer the consequences for my insolence.

He had never beaten me.

The man learned to manipulate me with his love. Toying with me by dangling the promise of his affection and pride like a carrot—and I’d fallen for it, all the way up to the altar. Even as I’d stood there in front of Yuri, I’d thought maybe my father would rush up and object to the union and admit he was wrong to give me away like cattle.

A pang of…something erupted in my heart.

My dad fucking gave me away as a bride without my consent, and Istillhad nights where I thought about him.Wondered if he’d felt bad about it. Like maybe it’d been a mistake, and if I hadn’t killed him that day, he would have been out looking for me.

Stupid. Fuck him.

“Fine. Get her a double of tequila.” Boe practically spat out the words, reminding me I was still dealing with this bitch of a man.

The glass appeared in front of me, and I snatched it up before Boe could touch it. He was shady as fuck, and I didn’t want him touchinganythingI drank tonight.

The smile he’d slapped back on slipped, but he quickly replaced it, raising his shot to me. “Cheers,” he sneered, throwing the liquid back.

He was about to be sorely disappointed.

“Thanks for the drink that you didn’t actually buy me,” I said, slipping off the stool and out of reach, walking as fast as I could toward Dex while ignoring Boe’s shouts.

Dex’s scowl turned into a look of concern as I barreled toward him.

“You good?” he asked, looking over my shoulder toward where I’d come from as he reached for me.

I scrambled into his lap, straddling him. Thank god my job had taught me how to do all sorts of things while holding drinks. My nerves settled the moment my body touched him. His hands felt like brands where he’d placed them on my hips.

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