My stomach bottoms out at her distress. “Shelby.”
“A few men walked by, and I thought I was going to die I was so scared. I realized it was either you or them, so I finally knocked. I’m sorry,” she mutters in a defeated voice.
Without thinking, I slide my hands around her back and crush her against my chest. I nudge the hair away from her ear with my chin and put my lips there. “You’re so brave, blossom. So damn brave.”
It doesn’t pass my notice that her hands hang limply at her sides while mine are wrapped around her tight, but once I praise her for her courage, she slips hers around my waist, and she fists the shirt at my back. As the seconds pass, her grip gets tighter. She takes a shuddering breath, and as she releases it, her body starts to melt into mine and relax.
“Atta girl. You’re fine.” If I could stay clamped tight, I would, but I need to let her go. As I pull away, I can feel her reluctance to step back. Using my index finger, I swipe some hair away from her eye.
Shelby steps back and swallows hard.
“Gotta grab my keys and coat, then I’m takin’ you for a ride.”
“Where’re we going?”
“You’ll see.” I snag her relaxed hand and tug her out the door.
Having her pressed against my back on the bike is no less thrilling than the first time. I just wish it lasted more than ten minutes. We pull into the alley behind the bar and park. As I move to dismount, it hits me. I look over at Shelby, but she doesn’t seem to recognize where we are. And I’m not about to point out the dumpster she was left beside just a handful of weeks ago.
I thread my fingers through hers again and unlock the back door. Music and conversation filter through to the stock area. Good. That means there are people here.
“What are we doing here?” she shouts above the music, but I just pull her along. She’ll see in about thirty seconds anyway.
We hit the main space, and fury hits me at the sight. The place is completely trashed. Garbage litters the floor, and empties cover the majority of the tables. People aren’t even sitting at them. Some are dancing, but the majority are crowding the bar where my newly hired manager, Christopher, is taking a body shot off some nearly naked bitch.
I want to wring his damn neck, but this is on me. This is what I get for hiring someone and disappearing for weeks without checking in.
Shelby chases after me as I nearly drag her through the crowd to the bar. I lift the partition and pull her through.
“Hey, you can’t be in-Oh.”
“Yeah,” I reply darkly. “Oh.”
Christopher takes a step back, and Shelby presses in behind me. She can probably feel the rage coming off me.
“Get your ass out there and clean up my fuckin’ bar, or you won’t see a dime.”
His face hardens, but he knows he has no ground to argue if he wants to get paid. “Sure. Okay.” He starts to edge past me, so I grab a serving tray and slam it into his chest. The breath leaves his lungs in a small poof.
“You’ll need that to collect the empties.”
He glares at me as he passes.
“Right. That’s done.” Craning my head over my shoulder, I see Shelby trying to merge with my back and catch her scared eyes. “Come here.”
A grin tugs at my lips when she slides around my body without letting go. She ducks under my arm and plasters her front to mine. “Yes?”
I grip her shoulders and pull her back a step. As good as she feels against me, we are here for a purpose.
“You ready to help me?”
“Help … you?”
“Look at this place. It’s clear that fucker can’t handle it himself, and I need to get my bar back in order. You up for that?”
She looks at her feet. “I don’t think I can be here.” Her eyes come back to mine, and she whispers, “There are so many men. What if one of them … knows me?”
Every single time, she eviscerates me with her fear. “Nobody is going to touch you. If one of them so much as looks at you funny, I’ll take ’em out.”
“I don’t know …” She trails off.
“Shelby.” I command her attention with my tone. “I swear to you, I will take down anyone who so much as looks at you funny. Trust me.”
Her eyes flit back and forth between mine. Indecision is written all over her face, so I make the decision for her.
As gently as I can, I move her to the inside corner of the bar. “You’ll be safe here. Help me get drinks, yeah?”
Then I step up to the bar. “Everyone, listen up.” The few regulars let out a couple of whistles and cheers while Christopher’s frat boys look confused as fuck. Wouldn’t be surprised if he told them he owned the place. “I’m back in town so business as usual. That said, this girl right here is mine, and if any of you fuckers so much as look at her the wrong way, I’ll snap your neck.” I trail my gaze slowly through the crowd, trying to make eye contact with as many of those pricks as I can. I know they receive my message when a few of them look away and turn pale.
“First round’s on the bar since you’ve had to put up with my new manager for the past couple of weeks, and I can see he’s done a piss-poor job at keepin’ up with the place.” His crowd laughs while my regulars glare at where Christopher is trying to balance a full tray of empties.
“You drop those, I’m takin’ the money out of your check,” I bark over the noise. He glares at me but somehow manages to carry the tray into the back without making a mess.
After my announcement, the pace picks up, and I’m busy filling drinks. Shelby helps grab bottles from the coolers. It isn’t long before she starts to relax and even smiles once in a while. I like that she seems to be enjoying herself. The atmosphere of my bar is pretty friendly when I don’t have douchebags trying to turn it into a frat house.
Once the initial round of free drinks goes out, we have a few minutes to clean up. I keep her in the inside corner but test her by walking farther away. The first time, I fill a new sanitizer bucket for wiping down the bar top. She tenses the farther away I go. I can see the indecision in her eyes, warring with herself to follow or stay put. When I return, she busies herself with cleaning up any spills.
The second time, I refill the ice from behind the bar. I grin to myself when I come back around the corner and find her pretending to clean the very back corner of the bar. As soon as she sees I’ve come back, she relaxes.
The thing is, I’m a dick, and I wouldn’t be Sin if I wasn’t, so I push her. I push her because it needs to be done. I don’t know what Elias has been doing with her while I was out tearing my life to shreds, but I’d guess it wasn’t much. He treats her like glass while I want to show her she isn’t going to break.
Bill, one of my regulars, calls me over, and an idea forms in my head. I give Shelby a reassuring glance and walk over to the other side of the bar.
“You feel like doin’ me a favor?” I ask before he can order another drink.
His buddy Earl leans into the conversation. “Whatchya need? I’d do anything to have you back instead of that moron you hired. Woulda called you back myself, but figured you needed some time to grieve for your old man.”
My jaw clenches.