My phone rings on the workbench, and I almost let it go to voicemail while I’m lost in thought, but I catch it on the last ring.
“Hello?”
“Taking the girls to Casa Amigos tonight to dance. I did not call you.”Jesse hangs up without any more context.
Well, fuck. There goes being distracted.
* * *
“Does she know that you called me?” I approach Jesse from behind, and he doesn’t even flinch. He probably clocked me the second I entered the bar.
“No, and I will deny it if she asks. Thea’s worried about her,” he sighs, turning to lean across the high top table we’re next to.
“Why?” I glance at the sea of women on the dance floor, spotting the one I want immediately. Her rich brown hair bounces, catching every gleam of light as she jumps and sings nearly dead center in the crowd.
Her charisma radiates around her. You’d never be able to tell she’s struggling with anything.
“She’s been acting pretty nonchalant about everything but almost reckless at the same time.” My eyes narrow, and he catches it. “I mean, it’s Liv. She isn’t going out and robbing banks, but she’s talking about going to a cryo-clinic to freeze her eggs one minute and then talking about selling her cottage and joining her mom at Burning Man.”
Another guy I recognize as Jesse’s friend walks over with a bucket of beer. He sets it on the table and positions himself firmly against the wall before scanning the crowd and finding his invested interest.
He spots his redhead and then finally turns to address me. “Hayes, right?”
“Yeah.” We shake hands, and he leaves it at that, grabbing a beer out of the bucket and offering me one. “Thanks.”
“Nathan is Thea’s brother,” Jesse finishes the introduction. “We’ve served in the military together, going on… A lot of years.” He shrugs like he’s lost count, and Nathan doesn’t offer any more insight, keeping his eyes on his wife.
“So why am I here?” I ask Jesse. Not that I care to have an excuse to see Liv, but I also don’t want to piss her off when she sees me.
“Liv thought it was a great idea to come out tonight to lure her stalker out.”
The beer nearly spits from my mouth. “What?”
“That’s why I dragged Nathan along, too.”
“You didn’t drag me anywhere. Callie insisted on coming with her friends,” he corrects, forming his longest sentence yet. Jesse only rolls his eyes.
“Malec doesn’t have jurisdiction here, but he spoke to the local precinct just in case, and he should be here soon. Incognito,” he adds sarcastically.
“Yeah, you can spot him as being a cop from a mile away.”
“That’s what I told him.”
“I mean, you guys kind of give off a cop vibe, too.”
Jesse laughs, and Nathan looks at me like I just kicked his shin. “And, you look like you prefer concrete walls and slop.”
I bark a laugh, and it’s the first genuine amusement I’ve feltin weeks. Jesse shakes his head but visibly relaxes when he realizes neither of us are about to kill each other.
“What makes Liv think her stalker will come out of the shadows now?”
“She claims that baiting him will get all of this over with quicker, and I didn’t want her to attempt to do it alone.” He sighs and glances at me. “When I married Thea, I went from having no family to being surrounded by people that I cared about. Liv included. I forget sometimes that she’s not actually a sister-in-law.
“I’m used to watching over her, but to be honest, she doesn’t usually need it. Men hit on her, and she laughs in their faces. God forbid they get snippy. I’ve seen her smile like Medusa in a grown man’s face and then laugh when they run away.
“But the added variable of someone being out to get her makes me nervous. She acts tough, but I can tell she’s scared. She doesn’t like the threats. And she definitely doesn’t want to admit that she feels safer when you’re around.”
“She doesn’t want to put your family at risk. I’m expendable,” I laugh to conceal the cold pit in my stomach.
