“What? I told him he had one second.I guess he wasn’t listening.”Heshrugged and walked away.
“Can somebody find security?”Michael’s voice came from behind me. “Someone needs to get rid of him.”
At first I thought he meant Dennis, but then I realized he meant the man’s body. Alan disappeared and came back with tonight’s security guard, who withdrew the knife and tossed it aside, then picked up the limp body and carried it out. Dennis came back a momentlaterwith his drink in hand.
“Is he dead?”Ari seemed on the verge of tears.“I’ve never seen someone die before.”
“If you’re gonna be around vampires, you need to get used to dead things.”Dennis took a sip of his whiskey sour.
“Are you okay?” Alan asked me. I was glowering near the wall of liquor.
“I’m fine. I just hate dealing with men. You’re all fine, but in general dealing with men fucking sucks. First I’m being hit on, then I’m being called an ugly bitch and threatened because I won’t suck his dick. Why in the fuck can’t I just do my goddamn job orlivewithout being harassed?”
“I feel ya’.” Ari held up her glass.
“If that happens again get me right away,”Michael said. “We ban anyone who harasses you. No questions asked.”
“Or I can keep killing them,” Dennis said.
“Thank you guys.I haven’t had to deal with that type of aggression at a job since I was a dancer. It’s jarring. I forgot what it’s like.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”Michael gently touched my arm. I uncrossed them and nodded.“Alright, then. Everyone go back to work. And D, how many times have I told you to stop making a mess on my bar? I can’t keep anything clean around you.”He sighed at the mess of blood and whatever else had oozed from the man’s head before leaving.
“Ithink I’ll stay with one of you guys,” Arisaid, grimacing at the scene.
“Come to my side.”Sean waved her over as Michael returned with cleaning supplies. He scrubbed until it was spotless.
“Thanks,” I said once he’d finished.
“No problem. If you need a minute, you can come in back,” he offered.
“I’m good,” I said. He nodded and left.“Thank you,” I told Dennis as he sat in front of me.“You didn’t have to kill him.”
“I did.” He sipped his drink before adding, “Hemight be fine by morning, though. He’s not entirely dead yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t bleed him, so he might heal before the damage is irreparable. But it’s hard to get that trashed unless you’re already low on blood, so he’s probably dead.” He shrugged a careless shoulder. “Unless he hasa bind. But I doubt he does.”
“What’s bleeding a vampire? And what does a bind have to do with it?”
Right then some girl came up beside Dennis to order a drink. I held back a sigh and gave him a disappointed look.
“I’ll tell you later.”He took his drink and left.
From there it got busy again. Mateo left with Nariya shortly after Dennis split the man’s face, Dennis went to play pool with his mystery friends, and I had no chance to slack off and talk to Ari—who was keeping Sean company while also avoiding Alan’s attempts at flirting between customers—until closing. I draped over the counter as soon as Michael locked the front door. I was dying of impatience. I wanted my shift to end already.
But of course, it wasn’t over. Sean walked me through the long and tedious closing process. So much organizing and sanitizing, it was awful. It felt like an eternity passed before Michael approved our work and let everyone go for the night. I breathed in the crisp night air as we left the bar.
“That was awful. I hate closing. Too much cleaning. Are you ready to go home?” I asked Ari. She and Dennis had both stayed while we closed—Dennis mostly sipping his final drink, while Ari put up with more small talk from Alan.
“Yeah. See you guys later?” She waited for Sean to agree before veering toward her car.
“Bye, Dennis. Thanks again for handling that guy.” I smiled and he returned it. “See you tomorrow? Maybe?” I kissed his cheek before suddenly feeling bashful about it. Was that corny? Was I turning sappy? Fuck. I said a hurried goodbye and ran after Ari, leaving his amused laughter behind.
Terror
Light flooded in as my eyes shot open. I jerked up, barely able to breathe through the panic. My chest was restricting, tears streaming. I clutched my sides and rocked, trying to focus on one thing. One thing to ease my mind, to distract from the overwhelming thoughts, to get rid of the nightmare that kept replaying in my head. My ears were ringing. Heart pounding. Stomach churning.
