“You two should probably take a seat,” Stone said. “You have a long night ahead of you.”
“Yeah, that’s where you’re wrong,” the talker said, then glanced at his buddy. “Come on.”
As the two men made for the door, Stone stepped back into the hall to avoid being shoved out of the way.
Right then the bartender and the pair of waiters he’d brought with him skidded to a stop next to Stone.
For a beat, both groups stared at each other.
“Out of the way,” one of the thugs said.
“We don’t want any trouble,” the bartender said. “But we’re not letting you leave, either.”
The other thug snorted and pulled out a pistol from under his jacket. “Is that right?”
“I believe these gentlemen were just leaving,” Stone said to the bartender.
“Your friend’s pretty smart,” the first thug said. “You should listen to him.”
“Enjoy your evening, gentlemen,” the bartender said as he moved against the wall.
The others followed his lead.
Before either of the attackers could take another step, they heard the drone of a police siren.
“Is there another exit?” one of them asked.
Reluctantly, the bartender pointed the opposite way down the hall. “Emergency exit around the corner.”
The two men sprinted away and disappeared around the bend in the hall.
The moment they were out of sight, Stone rushed into the restroom, with the bartender right on his heels.
Weston was still curled up on the floor and appeared to be unconscious. Stone checked his pulse. It was steady but weak.
“Did you tell nine-one-one we’d need an ambulance, too?” he asked.
The bartender nodded.
Stone’s phone rang. When he saw it was Dino, he said, “I’ll be right back,” then returned to the hallway and answered the call. “Dino?”
“Where are you?”
“At Liesel’s. Where are you?”
“At Liesel’s. I don’t see you.”
“Because I’m at the restrooms.”
“That’s more information than I need to know. We’ll be waiting at the bar when you’re done.”
“That’s not why I’m back here.”
“Do I want to know why you’re back there?”
“Probably.”
The police siren that had been growing louder suddenly cut off.
