“The hell I will,” the first man yelled, and then he punched the man who’d shoved him. Someone screamed. The rest of the group started yelling, fists flying as everyone seemed to pick sides and join the melee. And there was Josie in the middle of it all, still bravely trying to break it up.
Eve lifted her phone and dialed 911 to report the bar fight. “There’s only one female bartender on staff at the moment,” she told the dispatcher, feeling somehow as if she was betraying Josie with the admission, “and a half dozen large, drunk men fighting.”
She hung up and approached the group, hoping to lend Josie a hand if possible. Eve might be small in stature, but she generally made up for it in attitude. As she reached them, one of the men staggered backward, knocking into Josie, who fell to her knees.
“Enough,” Eve yelled, causing several heads to swivel in her direction. She extended a hand to Josie, helping her to her feet. “You guys need to knock it off. Now.”
In the pause that followed, a few members of the group seemed to have second thoughts and jumped in to restrain the two men who had initiated the fight. Blood dripped from the first man’s nose, staining the front of his T-shirt.
“Fucking asshole.” He lunged forward, attempting to get at his opponent.
“That’s rich, coming from you,” the other man sneered.
Eve resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the ridiculous display of testosterone. She turned to Josie. “You okay?”
Josie nodded, but her face was pale, eyes glassy. Eve didn’t think she was hurt, probably just shaken, not that Eve could blame her. Her own pulse was racing, her palms slick. She wasn’t sure whether to mention that she’d called the police. It might encourage them to move outside, or it might escalate things. Eve didn’t have much experience handling disorderly men. This was Josie’s bar, and she should probably follow her lead.
“That’s enough,” Josie told them. “I’m calling individual cabs for all of you.”
The first man broke free from the man who’d been restraining him, and fists started flying again. Eve gripped Josie’s wrist, pulling her out of the way. Luckily, two NYPD officers entered Swanson’s at the same time, and within minutes, everyone involved had been rounded up and escorted outside.
Jason returned from his dinner break and took over behind the bar while Josie wrapped things up with the police. Eve—still not quite sure why she was even here—ordered a beer and sat at the bar, waiting for Josie to come back inside so she could at least say goodbye before she left. But Josie didn’t come back. And by the time Eve had finished her beer, she was starting to worry.
“Do you know where Josie is?” she asked Jason.
He shook his head. “I think she needed to clear her head after the commotion. I’m sure she’ll be back in a minute.”
Eve nodded. She slid off her stool and went down the hall to Josie’s office, but it was empty. On a hunch, she checked the door at the end of the hall—the one leading to the roof—and found it unlocked. She stepped through and pulled it shut behind her, heels echoing against the wood as she climbed to the top.
Sure enough, Josie stood silhouetted against the skyline, arms wrapped around herself. Eve walked up behind her, grateful for the click of her heels to announce her presence. She came to stand beside Josie, resting her hands on the railing as she glanced over at her. “You okay?”
Josie nodded, but her mascara was smudged, betraying her answer.
“Does that happen often?” Eve asked. “Bar fights?”
“No,” Josie said. “Only a handful of times that I can remember in all my years here.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.”
“That was how it started,” Josie said, her voice small. “The night my dad died.”
Oh hell.She’d completely forgotten that Josie’s dad was killed in a bar fight right here in Swanson’s. No wonder she was so upset. “I’m sorry.”
“I was sitting at the bar, about where you were sitting tonight. We had just made plans to see a movie together the next day.”
“You were there?” Eve’s stomach pitched as if the floor had just dropped out from beneath her.
Josie nodded. “He walked over to break it up, and someone pulled a gun, and…”
“Oh, Jesus.” Eve tugged at her hand, pulling her in for a hug. “That’s a hell of a thing.”
Josie wrapped her arms around her, holding tightly to Eve, and she realized in a rush thatthiswas what she’d come to Swanson’s tonight looking for. She’d craved the touch of another human, but not any human, just the one currently wrapped in her arms, breath coming in warm gusts against her neck, hands fisted in the back of her blouse. She closed her eyes, breathing in the feeling, absorbing it, memorizing it.
“Thanks for having my back down there,” Josie whispered.
“Of course.” She inhaled the scent of Josie’s shampoo, something light and fruity. “You can’t do this on your own anymore.”
“I know.” Josie drew back, staring at Eve in the darkness, arms still clasped around her. The glow of the city sparkled in her eyes and reflected the sheen of her lips.
