“Doesn’t matter.” The tall one smiles, and it’s not a nice smile. “What matters is you disrespected him. And nobody disrespects Mr Peterson.”
Oh god. Just my fucking luck. The one time I have the balls to stand up to someone, I go and stand up to a sleazeball who has thugs.
Felix shifts beside me. Is he getting ready to make a dive for the baseball bat? Or to run out the back door and leave me?
“So here’s what’s going to happen,” the tall one continues. “You’re going to apologise. Publicly. You’re going to post on social media about how wrong you were. How Mr Peterson is a respectedman in this community. How you were having a bad day and took it out on him.”
“No,” I hear myself say.
The word hangs in the air. Defiant. Stupid.
The man’s expression darkens. “That wasn’t a request.”
He reaches across the counter, his hand going for my shirt collar.
Then the lights flicker.
Once. Twice. The overhead fixtures swing slightly on their chains.
Coffee cups on the tables start to rattle. A low vibration runs through the entire building, like a bass note played too loud.
The two men freeze. They look around nervously, their confident swagger evaporating.
The temperature drops. I can see my breath misting in the air. Frost spreads across the windows in delicate patterns.
Felix starts grinning. A wide, vicious grin that makes him look absolutely feral.
“Yeah,” he says conversationally, like we’re discussing the weather. “You don’t want to fuck with Adam. His boyfriend will feast on your souls.”
A glass explodes. One of the empty cups on a nearby table just shatters, sending shards everywhere. The sound is deafening in the tense silence.
Both men flinch violently. The tall one backs away from the counter, his face pale. “What the hell…”
Another cup explodes. Then another. The lights flicker more violently now, strobing like a nightclub. The vibration intensifies until the entire building is shaking.
“We’re leaving!” The shorter man is already heading for the door, fumbling with the lock. “We’re leaving right now!”
They scramble out, nearly tripping over each other in their haste to escape. The door slams behind them with enough force to rattle the frame.
Immediately, everything stops. The lights stabilise. The temperature returns to normal. The vibration fades away as if it never existed.
Felix lets out a whoop of laughter and slaps me on the back hard enough to make me stumble forward. “That was awesome! Did you see their faces? They looked like they were about to piss themselves!”
I’m too dazed to respond. My hands are shaking. My heart is still racing. That was Hex. That was Hex protecting me. Even though he’s not here, even though I can’t see him, he was watching. He knew I was in danger, and he did something about it.
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
With trembling fingers, I pull it out.
Are you okay, My Love?
My breath catches. My love. He keeps calling me that. And he was here. Somehow he was here when I needed him.
I type back quickly.I’m fine. Thank you for your help.
I shove my phone back into my pocket and just stand there, staring at the broken glass scattered across the floor.
Felix is watching me with knowing eyes. “He’s got your back, huh?”
