I turned to meet his gaze. The stranger smiled warmly at me, and I returned the gesture.
"Who said you were too late? I have another hand," I replied, my belly full of booze and my heart full of drunken confidence.
The man brushed the reddish brown hair out of his eyes and nodded toward Rose. "I'm Nathan.”
I held out my hand to shake his. “Elle."
"Are you, uh, meeting someone here?" he asked, hesitation rippling through his voice.
I shook my head. "Just me tonight.”
Rose handed us two shots, and by the smell of them, I instantly knew it was tequila. Brilliant neon flags flashed in my brain, warning me not to take this drink. But, being the mature adult woman I am, I ignored them.
"Cheers," Nathan said.
“Cheers."
We downed the shots, me with grace, Nathan not so much. His body shuddered while his nose wrinkled. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Damn, you're a champ," he said.
I knew he meant this as a compliment, but if he knew my true drinking habits as of late, he wouldn't be so impressed.
Nathan, dressed in tight denim jeans and a plaid-button up, stood out from the typical crowd at The Hens' Den. He seemed sweet enough, and I accompanied him to a table in the corner of the club. I studied him as we walked across the tiled floor. He didn't gaze at the half-naked dancers once. Why was this guy even here if not to watch the women strip and flaunt their bodies?
We reached the empty table, and Nathan let me slide into the booth first. Unable to control my curiosity, I asked, "So, why are you here tonight?”
He smiled, his brown eyes twinkling in the darkness of the corner. "My brother-in-law's bachelor party is here tonight.”
He nodded toward a crowd of ten or so guys who sat at the tables lining the stage. By the way the men hooted and hollered and held dollar bills in their hands, it wasn't difficult to see they were at least half in the bag by now. Not that I could judge too much, as I slid deeper into the drink too.
"I'm the designated driver," he said.
"Ahhhh. But isn't the DD not supposed to drink?”
Even with the club's strobe lights, I witnessed Nathan's cheeks reddening before me. "Well, I just needed an excuse to buy you a drink.”
"You're sweet," I chuckled.
Nathan gazed down toward my left hand. "Are you married?”
I shook my head. "It's a sad story, really.”
The song ended, and the group of girls on stage bowed and collected the money which lay at their manicured feet. Nathan glanced curiously and waited for me to continue.
"Today is my fiancé's birthday," I said after a few more sips of my drink.
He didn't flinch. "Where is he?”
"He's buried in a cemetery about a hundred miles from here," I blurted.
Nathan exhaled and placed his hand on top of mine. "I'm very sorry to hear that."
His touch warmed me to my core, and not in a lust-filled sort of way, but in a comforting manner. I smiled weakly. "Yup. So, that's why I'm here. Trying to forget about it.”
"I hear that. Well, do you mind if I keep you company? Or would you rather have the table to yourself?”
"You can stick around.”
Over the next hour or so, Nathan and I chatted about where we grew up and other miscellaneous things grownups talked about. He was a genuinely kind guy. I didn't even feel the need to refill my drink. The buzz swirling inside me was enough at the moment.
"So, which one is your soon-to-be brother-in-law?" I asked.
Nathan scoffed and nodded toward a man with a crew cut sloppily leaning on the stage. A bouncer eyed him suspiciously.
"He seems to be enjoying himself," I said with a smirk.
He rubbed his temples. "Yeah, he's a character. But his brother is worse.”
"Yeah? How come?”
"They're both kinda sleazy, if you ask me. The bother, Daniel, was dating one of the strippers here.”
I paused, my interest piqued. "Yeah? Which one?”
Nathan leaned in close enough for me to smell his earthy cologne. A slight shiver shimmied down my back. "So, this is going to sound wild, but he was dating the one who died recently. I'm sure you heard?”
"Callie?" I blurted.
Nathan sat back against the booth and rested his hands on his lap. "Yeah, that's her."
"I, uh, knew her growing up," I said, my hands trembling. "They still haven't found her killer.”
He rested his hand on top of mine again. "I know. Danny is a clown, but I knew as soon as I heard about the girl that he wasn’t capable. However, I still asked if he knew anything.”
My heart thudded inside my chest. My breathing turned uneven as my eyesight blurred. I finished my drink and reached for Nathan's water. "What did he say?”
Nathan ruffled his hair with his other hand. "He said they hadn't been seeing each other for a while, actually. That she had a new boyfriend.”
"Another boyfriend?" I gasped. I clung to the booth for support while my foot tapped nervously against the table.
"Yeah, apparently word on the street was that the new boyfriend and her were going to run away to get married, but since the guy was already married, it posed a little bit of a problem.”
I closed my eyes and mentally scanned all my notes and interactions I'd had while looking into Callie's murder. No one said anything about a boyfriend. Even though Rose said Hayden was dangerous, she never mentioned marriage. How many men was Callie seeing?
One thing was for sure, Nathan unintentionally provided me with a new lead, one I desperately needed to find Callie's murderer.
Twenty-Eight
I sat there and chewed my lip, my vision growing spotty by the second as though white bubbles invaded my view.
"Hey, are you okay?" Nathan asked.
I reached for his water, tossed the straw to the side, and chugged the icy cold liquid. My heart raced as my body shuddered. "I'm not feeling so well," I admitted.
Maybe the tequila shot was one too much? No, it definitely was too much. My stomach churned while I felt like my lungs were closing up. I needed to leave and right away.
Nathan scooted closer and put his hand on the small of my back. "Is there somewhere I can take you?”
I looked over to him, wide-eyed.
"No! Not like that. I mean somewhere for you to rest, you know, safely?”
I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding inside my chest. I certainly couldn't walk back to the motel in this state. I reached for my handbag and pulled out my phone. I could order a ride, but as I looked at my phone, the numbers twisted and turned like a kaleidoscope. I'd been so enthralled in conversation with Nathan that I didn't feel the effects of the booze creep in. And now, it had hit me like a freakin' train.
"Well, I did get a room close by."
"Let me take you?”
I craned my neck to look at Nathan's group of guys by the stage. "Won't they want you to stay with them?”
Nathan smiled. "Nah. They only care that I'm giving some of them a ride home.”
Sweat trickled down my back as nausea rumbled in my belly. I needed to get out of here and fast.