“Hey. How ya doin’?”
“Fine.” She looked from me to Ace and back again, swallowing before parting her mouth. I tried not to, but I stared at her lips a little too long. Ace made a noise beside me, winking when I glanced his way. Fucker.
“Turns out I have to go somewhere with Kaden, but until I get back, Ace here is gonna check on you from time to time to make sure you don’t need anything.”
Maddie forced an awkward grin at the news, but at least she didn’t appear frightened. Her beautiful green eyes roamed over Ace from head to toe, her attention on him innocent but pissing me off all the same, a feeling I kept quiet.
“I won’t be long. You can come out to the common area if you want. There’s a TV out there, a bar, kitchen if you’re hungry. Or you can stay back here. Your choice.” I gave her a faint smile, all the while hoping she chose to stay in this room alone rather than out there with Ace and whoever else might be hangin’ around.
“Okay” was all she said, no definitive answer on her plans either way.
“Okay,” I repeated before turning Ace around and pushing him out of the room, closing the door behind me. I grabbed his arm before he took another step. “Don’t scare her. Don’t touch her, and don’t let her out of your sight if she comes out here.”
“That’s a lot of instructions. You wanna write ’em down?”
“I mean it, Ace. Just don’t.”
He threw up his hands. “I get it, man. She’s yours. No one’s gonna mess with her in any way.”
“She’s mine?”
“Obviously,” he answered, disappearing before I could argue.
Did I even want to?
22
“Hey, pretty lady. Wanna join me for a drink?” The man who asked me to consume alcohol with him at two in the afternoon was the biggest man I’d ever seen. The stool he sat on looked like it was a miniature piece of furniture under his weight. Muscular, broad, intimidating, all these words described him well, and even though he was sitting when I walked up, I had no doubt he was extremely tall.
He was handsome, his dark hair short and styled close to his scalp, his beard neat and trimmed. And while his brown eyes were nice, they didn’t compare to Lincoln’s, which were soulful. I realized I sounded ridiculous thinking such a thing, but when Lincoln looked at me, I sometimes forgot where I was or how I came to be in his company.
I made brief eye contact with the man but then looked down at the floor. And that’s when I heard what I could only assume was him slapping the top of the stool next to him.
“I don’t bite.” I wanted to engage him, but my fear of strangers urged me to remain quiet. When I eventually picked my head up, he winked at me before turning his attention to an older man who walked behind the bar. “Trigger, can you get her a shot?”
“I can’t drink,” I blurted, taking a single step toward him, placing my hand on the edge of the bar top. “I’m only eighteen.” I’d only had a drink a handful of times in my life, all with girlfriends of mine at school, and learned quickly hard alcohol by itself wasn’t for me.
His hearty laugh and big smile made me relax a fraction, some of my nerves from having decided to come out of the room fading away.
“I don’t think anyone is gonna tell on ya, sweetheart,” he said, patting the stool next to him once more. After a few more controlled breaths, I finally moved forward and sat down. He shifted his stool over a bit to give me more room before extending his hand “I’m Brick.”
I stared at his palm for a few seconds before I placed my hand in his, the warmth of his touch melting away the rest of my reserve.
“I’m Maddie.” My voice wasn’t as loud as I wanted it to be, but he heard me all the same.
“So how about that shot?”
“I don’t like hard liquor.” Was I gonna upset him with my refusal? Fumbling over my next words, realizing what I said would probably be construed as an insult, I added, “It makes me sick. But if you want me to drink it, I will.”
“Why would I want you to do something you don’t want to?” Brick genuinely looked confused, the pull of his eyebrows creating an indent in his forehead. This was so far outside my element I didn’t know how to answer his question, but luckily, he threw another one at me before the interaction between us became any more awkward. “How about one of them fruity drinks, then? Do you like those?” I shrugged, not remembering ever having what it was he was talking about. He flicked his attention back to the gray-haired man. “Can you make her a mixed drink? Something girly?”
“What the fu—” The older guy looked at me and twisted his features. “Sorry ’bout that.” He turned his focus back on Brick. “Do I look like I know how to make a girly drink?”
“Well….”
“Keep it up and that’s the last beer you’re gettin’ today.” He was in front of me in two steps, extending his hand in greeting like Brick had done moments ago. “I’m Trigger.” I shook his hand and told him my name, which I was sure he heard me tell Brick. “Okay, Maddie. I think I can whip up something. Let me see what I can do.” He moved toward the other end of the bar and bent down. Not wanting to put him out, I leaned forward to tell him he didn’t have to make me anything, and the stool slid back.
“Whoa,” Brick said, catching my arm before I fell on my ass. “Careful. If you get any new bruises on ya, Linc is gonna beat my ass.”
A couple things about what he said baffled me. Firstly, why would Lincoln be that upset I’d fallen that he’d go after Brick? And secondly… the image made me chuckle to myself. While Lincoln was a trained fighter, besting his opponents in the few fights I’d been dragged to, the sheer size of Brick compared to Lincoln was laughable. Then again, sometimes the big ones weren’t coordinated enough and were too slow.
“What’s goin’ on in that head of yours?” Brick bumped my shoulder with his before taking a healthy sip of his beer.
“You’d squash Lincoln.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. I meant to leave them floating around inside my brain, but apparently, I gave them life.
“What?” He tilted his head to the side and stared at me.
“You said that Lincoln would beat your ass if I got any new bruises.” My eyes raked over him. “You’re the biggest man I’ve ever seen, and unless you’re oddly clumsy, you’d squash him.” I hoped my blunt comment didn’t offend him in any way.
“Probably.” He raised his head in faux cockiness, or maybe it was real, and laughed. “But I’ve been in the ring with him a time or two, and the man’s got some skills. He got in a few good shots,” he said, pointing to the side of his face. Brick finished the rest of his beer at the same time Trigger placed a tall glass of yellow liquid in front of me.
“We don’t have much back here. Hope you like this,” he said, wiping down the corner of the bar afterward. I stared at the glass but didn’t reach for it, the small voice in my head roaring to life and shouting, What if he drugged it? I couldn’t help it. I didn’t believe any amount of reassurance from Lincoln or from the women who visited me, or even from these guys, acting as nice as could be, would ever tear away my reservation completely. “Take a sip,” Trigger urged. “Tell me what you think.” He folded his arms over his chest, his mouth curving up into a smile. If I hesitated too long, would I be punished in some way?