Cole winked. “You got it.”
Sending the guys off to a table, I got started on their drinks.
“Hey, bartender!”
I turned around, seeing the two girls looking at me expectantly.
“Oh, crap, I’m sorry. I forgot your bill.”
The redhead’s eyes bulged. “Forget it! We’re not leavingnow. You’ve been holding out on us, girlfriend! Who the fuck is that?”
Her friend had turned around on her stool and was looking at Ezra and Cole, fanning herself with her palm.
The fierce surge of jealousy that coursed through me as I put the situation together was a shock. I glanced between the women and the guys who had just settled into a booth, suddenly at a loss for something to say.
“Well?” the brunette asked, looking at me over her shoulder. “What’s up with those two hotties? Are you dating the blondie who gave you a hug?”
That, I could answer easily. “No, he’s just a friend.” Something in me wanted to correct her and tell her that his hair was in fact a light shade of red, but I knew that would be a ridiculous thing to say. “They’re coworkers actually.”
“They work here?”
“No, my other job,” I clarified.
“Please tell me it’s a male strip club.” The redhead was now fixing her hair in the reflection of a small pocket mirror.
“Nothing that exciting, I’m afraid.” I was pretty sure these two weren’t big metal fans, and I wasn’t about to blow the guys’ cover.
“They’re not like serial killers or anything, right?” the brunette asked.
“The Jon Snow look-alike could stick a knife in me, and I’d say thank you,” the other retorted. I couldn’t help but laugh at the comment.
“No, they’re not serial killers.” I knew I was giving them encouragement to approach the guys, but who was I to stop them? What I’d said was true. Cole and Ezra were my coworkers. I had no claim to them, no right to feel this coldness in my heart as I watched the two women climb off their stools and prowl toward the guys’ booth.
A few minutes later, I was bringing over their old fashioneds, telling myself to play it cool.
That lasted all of two seconds once I saw the brunette clutching Ezra’s arm, and the redhead practically sprawled over Cole’s thigh. The guys looked somewhat amused with their new guests, and I noted that neither of them were pushing the girls off.
“Here you go,” I bit out, my voice sounding curt to my own ears.
A hint of alarm appeared in Cole’s eyes as he took in my expression. He opened his mouth to say something but didn’t get a chance to before I spun on my heel and marched back to the bar.
The sharp anger coursing through me was completely irrational, but despite knowing that, I still opened the next order of five beers with way too much force. The bar sounds I’d found calming before, were now loud and infuriating. What right did I have to be upset? None. And yet an intense feeling of possessiveness over both of them was threatening to swallow me whole.
I didn’t drink on the job very often, but I could see no way of making it through the remaining three and something hours of my shift without a drink. I threw back a shot of whiskey before focusing my attention on a regular who appeared at the bar.
“Hey, is that two of the Bleeding Moonlight boys cozying up to those chicks?” he asked, looking at the booth.
“Sure is.” Apparently, I was done with protecting their identities. Maybe if a bunch of the patrons turned out to be huge fans, the guys would get inundated with requests for autographs and leave.
“Huh. I heard they’re still in town. Didn’t think they’d come out anywhere without a bodyguard, but I guess they’ve stayed down to earth. We raise ’em well in River Valley, don’t we?”
I glared at Jim or Jack. “Sure do.”
“Well, we’ll just leave ’em alone, won’t we? The boys deserve a night where they can be normal people and meet some ladies at a bar. Our secret, eh?” He winked at me, his lopsided grin revealing yellow teeth.
Shrill female laughter erupted from the guys’ booth.
“Uh-huh,” I pushed his whiskey toward him before going to the back to turn up the music.
