The impact was so solid it almost dislodged Everett. How Az had managed to get the guy out the door and keep him out while on his own, Everett didn’t know. What he did know was that after this, Az was getting a goddamn raise.
THUD!
“He’s not going to stop,” Az lamented. He looked up at Everett with large, soulful brown eyes. “What the fuck are we supposed to do?”
“I’ll hold it. You got your cell phone on you?”
“Yeah.”
“Call the police.”
Like most public businesses, the door opened outward. As long as the idiot on the other side kept slamming up against it instead of trying to tug on the handles, Everett figured they’d be fine. There was a risk that the door would splinter or that the hinges would give from too much wear, but if that happened, Everett would have at least a couple of seconds while those mechanisms failed to brace himself for what was to come next.
Az scurried away from the door and ducked behind the counter. Everett, meanwhile, grasped the door handle and steadied the door through each new impact.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
“Where the fuck is my phone?” Az squeaked from behind the counter. “Why now? Whynow?”
The thudding stopped. Everett waited for it to pick up again, bracing himself for a blow that would knock him onto his ass, but it never came.
Whoever was on the other side got smart—he started to pull at the handle instead.
“Fuck,” Everett breathed. He braced his leg against the doorframe and pulled, struggling to keep the door in place. “Az!”
“It was here, I swear!” Az cried. “It has to be here somewhere. I was texting Lou on it like, not even five minutes ago! It can’t be far.”
Everett didn’t need his life story—he needed Az to find his damned phone.
A forceful yank knocked Everett off-balance. Hissing with exertion, he dug his heels into the floor and did his best to pull the door back, but it was no use—it had opened slightly, allowing cold night air to seep in through the crack. A new force struck. Thick, masculine fingers with coarse, broken nails wrapped around the door, and with a beastly tug, it flew open. Everett, palms raw from the effort and sweaty from exertion, was unable to hold it back.
With a roar, the man on the other side swept forward, but he came to a stop before he so much as crossed the threshold. Everett, who’d braced himself for a fight, was similarly stunned to inaction.
They’d met before.
“Found it!” Az declared from behind the counter. “And it’s—oh fuck!It’sdead!”
Everett stared into familiar, empty eyes. Familiar, empty eyes stared back. Malice bled into the lips below them, twisting them in unusually cruel ways. The expression was vile, infused with hatred so thick with wickedness that it made the man’s face look alien. Everett knew from that look alone that if their paths had crossed somewhere private late at night, the man wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.
For a long moment, they looked at each other, neither daring to look away. Then, after an eternity comprised of just a few seconds, the man stepped back. He left as if nothing had happened.
“I found my charging cord!” Az announced in a rush. “I plugged it in. As soon as it’s got enough juice, I’ll boot it up and call, okay?”
Everett didn’t reply—he was too busy watching the man slink down the sidewalk. He disappeared around a corner and was gone.
“Oh!” Az chirped. “Oh my god, I’m stupid. Everett, the club’s got its own phone. I mean, it’s not like we ever use it, but it’s right here. I’ll call right now, okay?”
“No, don’t bother.” Everett continued to stand in the doorway, watching the spot where he’d last seen the asshole. He hadn’t been wearing a sports jacket tonight, but there was no mistaking him. Everett would never forget the pallid cast of his face and the sunken look of his eyes. “I’ll file the report myself. I’ll send Brian down to watch the door with you for the rest of the night. If you see that guy again, you call me, got it?”
“Got it.” Az nodded, then slumped back down into his seat behind the counter. “What a night.”
That was an understatement.
Time moved on, and so did Everett, but the sensation of being watched by those sunken, hateful eyes remained.
