“How has she been?”Nilay was almost shouting. “How has she been? Are you crazy? You, of all people,do notget to ask that.Now leave!Before I make you.” With that, Nilay was able to push past his sister, so he was toe-to-toe with Steven.
Steven chuckled. “You’re going to make me?”
At sixteen, Nilay was taller than Annika, but he was skin and bones. He was forever lifting weights and drinking protein smoothies to “bulk up,” but it hadn’t taken yet. Next to Steven’s tall, muscular build, Nilay looked even more like a kid. Nilay did not seem perturbed by the fact that Steven towered a good six inches over him. Not to mention that Steven probably also had a good twenty pounds of pure muscle that Nilay did not. He glared at Steven as if warning him that his death was impending.
Steven inhaled and exhaled with exaggeration. “Listen, kid. I didn’t even know she worked here.”
Nilay stepped up closer, almost in Steven’s face. “Fine. You’re forgiven for entering. Now leave.”
“Nilay, it’s fine.” Customers were starting to notice. The last thing Annika wanted was trouble for Phil. “I can handle this.” She noted some movement from Daniel in her periphery.
Nilay addressed Annika, his eyes never leaving Steven. “I know you can. But if I had done my job as a brother before, this asshole never would have had a chance to hurt you.”
Steven’s blue eyes turned to ice. “Who the hell are you calling an asshole?” He put his hand on Nilay’s chest and shoved him.
Nilay lost his balance and fell back into Annika. Annika also lost her balance and fell back into the closest table. While the table had been vacated, she hadn’t had a chance to clean it off. She tried to use the table to regain her balance, but instead she and Nilay went down with the table. Wineglasses shattered, beer mugs clunked and a searing pain went up her left arm.
“Nilay, get off me!”
“I’m trying.” Nilay stood and offered his hand to Annika to help her stand. She reached for him. “Aw, jeez, Didi, you’re bleeding.”
Sure enough, there was a large gash on the palm of her left hand. Blood oozed from the gaping wound. Nilay led her to a chair away from all the debris. Daniel was kneeling by her side in an instant, no sign of Steven or his friends.
“What the hell...?” Mrs. P. materialized at Daniel’s side. “How can I help?”
“Where’s Steven?” Annika searched the bar, even as a wave of nausea gripped her at the sight of her wound. She turned her focus to Daniel. His brow furrowed as he gently examined her hand with a professional eye. Pain throbbed from her hand, up her arm, and the sight of the blood was not helping her stomach. She tried not to notice the gentleness of his touch, or how it sent an electrical current through her.
“Well, our Daniel pulled him off your brother. Now Phil’s got him, don’t you worry, hon.” Mrs. P. comforted her, pride in her husband all over her face. “He’s not too old to take care of a troublemaker like that.”
Daniel glanced up at Mrs. P. “Let’s get some fresh towels to clean this off.” He looked at Annika. “Can you stand?”
She paused before nodding. Her stomach was settling, and there was no light-headedness. He held her injured hand gingerly and wrapped his other arm around her waist. With no apparent effort on his part, he lifted her to standing. If her hand hadn’t been throbbing with pain, she might have actually enjoyed his proximity.Who was she kidding?She was totally enjoying his proximity, pain or not.
His face was inches from hers as he scanned her face. “Steady?”
He was so close she was unable to speak, so she nodded again and allowed him to lead her to the sink as Mrs. P. went to the back to grab towels.
“How’s she doing?” Phil asked as he returned to the bar.
Daniel wrapped her hand with a clean towel, before finally settling his gaze on Annika.
“Well, she needs stitches.” He turned to her. “Let’s go.”
“Go? Go where?”
“The ER.” He hesitated, then looked her in the eye. “I can do them for you.”
Annika shot a look at Nilay. He set his lips in a straight line. “You have to go,” her brother said.
“Can’t you just do them here?” She knew she sounded like a little girl, but she couldn’t face the ER. Especially not right after seeing Steven.
“No.” Daniel grinned at her. “They frown on us taking lidocaine home.”
“Young lady.” Mrs. P. came close and spoke. “Anni, you do what this young man says. I know it’s hard going back there...” Mrs. P.’s blue eyes met hers with understanding.
Annika’s hand throbbed. Her heart began to race, and she started to sweat, her breaths shallow. “I don’t like the ER.”
Bobby had already started righting tables and Phil was sweeping. The few customers slowly went back to their conversations now that the excitement was over.
