“I was here first,” Darrin said with a glare that was thankfully aimed at his brother because, at the moment, she really wasn’t sure that she could make eye contact with him or handle having him acknowledge her in any way.
“Too bad,” Danny said, ignoring her attempts to escape and pulling her in line right behind Darrin.
“You know the rules.”
“Yes, I do, but since you haven’t paid yet, this buffet is still up for grabs,” Danny said, getting in his brother’s face.
“There are plenty of buffets in this city,” Darrin said, standing his ground, “why don’t you go to one of them?”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
“Umm, I don’t mind grabbing pizza,” Jodi offered, not at all surprised when the men ignored her.
“When you fuck this up, and you will, you better not take me down with you,” Darrin bit out, staring his brother down.
“I’m not the one who’s going to fuck this up,” Danny said, almost nose to nose with his brother now.
Sighing, she glanced over her shoulder, calculating the cost of a taxi ride back to the hotel, when a throat cleared. “How many?”
She looked back to find the cashier eying the two large brothers nervously.
“One,” Darrin said tightly just as Danny bit out, “Two.”
Sighing, Jodi rubbed her temples as she resigned herself to the long night ahead.
“Tinkerbelle?”
No response.
“Sweetheart?”
She shook her head, but at least it was a sign of life. “Sweetheart, we have to leave. They’re closing up now.”
Squeezing her eyes shut tighter, Jodi shook her head. He sighed as he knelt down in front of the booth and reached for her, only to have her back away from him. He sighed heavily as he dropped his hand.
“Look, I’m really sorry,” Danny said, having absolutely no idea what to say to make this right for her.
“J-Just give me a minute,” Jodi said, licking her lips as she hugged her knees tightly against her chest.
“Sir? We’re closing up,” the waitress, one of the few waitresses who hadn’t run screaming when the shit hit the fan, said, shifting nervously next to him.
“We’re leaving,” Danny promised her with a smile that he hoped would reassure her that he wasn’t about to lose it like his brother and-
“Please, leave now,” the waitress whispered, shifting back away from him.
Sighing because there was nothing that he could say or do to fix this, he nodded as he reached for Jodi, who thankfully didn’t put up a fight when he scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards the door. She grabbed onto his shirt and held on for dear life as she buried her face against his chest and released a shaky breath.
“Promise me something, Danny,” Jodi whispered against his chest as her grip on his shirt tightened.
“What’s that, Tinkerbelle?” he asked, kissing the top of her head as he walked down the sidewalk towards a line of waiting taxis.
“Promise me that it was all just a bad dream.”
“Of course, it was, Tinkerbelle,” Danny said against the top of her head, wondering if a few shots of tequila would help her suppress the memory of what happened here tonight.
Chapter 30
“Morning!”
