Page 27 of Pining for Pierce

And hell is gonna have to freeze over before I leave Harley here alone with that man.

I stash my gloves in my jacket pocket and wander to the bar, my eyes fixed on Harley, hoping she’ll give me some kind of signal… let me know what she needs from me, because whatever it is, she’s got it.

“Are you okay?” Dawson’s voice reaches me as I lean on the bar and I nod my head.

“Yes, thanks.” I don’t turn my head to look at him, but keep staring at Harley. She’s leaning back in her seat now, and although Kaiden’s talking, it’s like she’s not there.

“You know her, don’t you?” Dawson says.

“Yeah, I do.”

“I thought so.” I’m aware of him leaning a little closer. “Something’s not right between them,” he says and I quickly turn to face him.

“What makes you say that?” I ask, turning back to Harley, who hasn’t moved an inch. She looks so damn tense, her muscles must ache.

“They were in here yesterday,” Dawson says. “I noticed he wouldn’t leave her alone, and that she looked…”

“Scared?” I say and wait a second.

“I don’t know. Uncomfortable, definitely. I managed to bump into her accidentally, if you get my meaning, and I gave her a note, asking if she was okay, and if she wasn’t, to just nod her head. It’s a method I’ve used occasionally when I’ve spotted things that don’t seem quite right.”

“Okay… but what did Harley do? Did she nod her head?”

“No. She said she was fine. I could hardly argue with her, but I wasn’t convinced, and I kept an eye on her when she went back to their table. The problem was, they left not long afterwards, and I don’t know what happened then.”

I dread to think, but I nod my head and murmur, “Thanks for trying.”

“Do you want me to do something now?” he asks.

“No. It’s okay. I’ll handle it.” I glance at him. “Thanks, though.”

He smiles and I move further along the bar, closer to the booth Harley’s sharing with Kaiden. I can’t hear their conversation, but I don’t need to. Harley knows I’m here, and I just need a signal from her… anything will do, and I’ll act on it.

I watch them, noticing how every time she opens her mouth to say something, he interrupts, or talks over her. Her leg is twitching too, like she’s nervous, and a part of me is wondering whether I should just walk over there and intrude on their date. I could say Ben’s called me… or her parents. Except they’d havecalled her, wouldn’t they? Not me. There must be something I can say… some excuse I can use. I’m just trying to think of what that might be when Kaiden releases her hand and gets to his feet. They’re leaving. Or are they? He leans over and says something, then straightens and strides toward the back of the bar.

He’s going to the men’s room, and that means I don’t need a reason… or an excuse. I just need to wait until the door has closed behind him…

The moment it does, I stride across, standing beside Harley, who looks up at me.

“Are you okay?” I ask. The question is a bit superfluous, and I’m not surprised when she shakes her head. Even so, the fear in her eyes is enough to break me and I crouch down, sucking in a breath. “Do you want out of here?”

“Yes,” she whispers, just loud enough for me to hear.

I stand again and offer my hand, which she takes, letting me pull her to her feet.

“Do you have a jacket?”

“No.”

“In that case, grab your purse and come with me.”

Chapter Seven

Harley

I do exactly as he says, pulling my purse over my head and across my body as he drags me outside onto Main Street, the feeling of relief almost overwhelming me. I honestly didn’t think I was gonna be able to get out of there, and I have to admit, I was so thankful to see Pierce when he walked in the door. It was like I’d found my salvation. Or it had found me. I knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. Now we’re out here, though, and he’s leading me over toward his bike, I pull my hand free of his. He turns, a frown forming on his face as he looks down at me.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

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