“So it was that bad.”
“Ah, yeah. You should’ve seen it…. Most of them were left unconscious, and the ones still standing were only standing because they had both hands knifed straight into the bar top.”
“They pinned them down.”
“Ah, yeah. It was gruesome. They even had a couple of them bite the table.”
I had no idea what he’d meant by bite the table, but it was clear from his expression that it was bad. Really bad. And just hearing about it had my head spinning.
“I’ve been a medic for ten years, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy shit, but nothing like that. My partner and I had to pry them lose before we could get them on the stretcher… Even the bartender got it.” He shook his head. “They had him hanging up on the wall. No idea how long he’d been hanging there before someone found him.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Yeah, poor guy. They made a real mess of his bar. Chairs were thrown all over. Tables and bottles were busted. And blood was everywhere. It’ll take him weeks to get back up and running.”
“You have to wonder what they did to set these guys off.”
“Probably won’t ever know. That’s how it is with these guys.”
Christina muttered, “Jesus,” and then the room fell silent. All you could hear was the sound of her clippers, and now, they suddenly sounded sharper and louder. My pulse thudded in my ears as my mind was bombarded with images I didn’t want to see, much less think about.
Tables and chairs overturned.
Men, broken and bruised, sprawled out on the floor.
A bartender hanging from the wall.
Men’s palms splayed across the bar’s countertop with a knife jabbed in the center, holding them helplessly in place.
My heart was already racing when Luke’s face flashed through my mind. I thought back to the moment when Memphis came up to us at the casino, and the calm intensity in his eyes as he pulled Luke to the side. They both kept their cool, but it was clear something wasn’t right, and then, he was gone.
My chest tightened as all the pieces of the puzzle started to click into place. I was still missing pieces. Big pieces. Pieces that involved me.
His brothers had a fight, and it was clearly a bad one. But that didn’t explain why he’d been avoiding me. Curiosity was getting the better of me, so I grabbed my phone from my purse and slipped in back. I stared at the screen, thinking of what I should say, but everything I thought of made me sound desperate or pathetic.
I didn’t want to take that chance, so I called Lila. It rang a couple of times before she answered, “Hey. I was wondering when I was going to hear from you.”
“Sorry. I’ve been busy with work and everything. Have you talked to Smitty lately?”
“No, he’s ghosted me. I’m not sure why. I guess I’m not his type or whatever.”
“I highly doubt that. There has to be another reason.”
“Maybe. Why don’t you ask Goose about it?”
“You’re calling him Goose now?”
“It seems fitting, especially after hearing why he got the name.”
“Smitty told you?”
“He might’ve mentioned it.” Lila giggled as she said, “I can’t believe he got attacked by an actual goose.”
“Yeah, I know.” I didn’t laugh. I didn’t have it in me. “So, I haven’t heard much from him lately.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s called and texted a few times, but I haven’t actually seen him since we met at the casino.”
