Page 14 of All the Missing Pieces

The bartender slid my check and card back across the bar top. “Good?”

“The best.”

His lips twitched. “Tourist?”

“Kind of,” I hedged.

He studied me for a long moment. “You got a cat named Tater?”

My entire body turned to granite. I hadn’t gotten the superfan vibe when I’d walked up, but maybe this guy was atrue-crime junkie. I didn’t like to put my face on camera much, but I did so occasionally to avoid people gettingtoocurious about me.

He barked out a laugh. “Shit. You should see your face. Small town. Heard about a run-in over a pretty tourist’s cat. That’s all.”

My shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Careful. You could read stalker real quick.”

He leaned on the back bar, arms crossed comfortably over his chest. “In small towns, everyone’s a stalker.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Fair enough.” I took another sip of whiskey. “Well, stalker, I’m Ridley.”

He reached across the distance and offered me a hand. “Trey. Nice to meet you.”

“You too. Especially if you stock the good stuff.”

Trey grinned as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket, fingers flying across the screen. “Got a friend who’s partial to it.”

“Well, that friend has excellent taste.”

Trey’s smile only grew at that and he shoved his phone back into his pocket. “I think so.”

The sound of heavy footsteps lifted just above the music and Trey’s gaze shifted to my left.

“Get a bottle of Jack?” a deep voice asked.

I looked up to see a man with a long, gray beard. The leathers he wore told me he was a biker, and the patch over his heart readAce.

“That depends,” Trey said coolly. “You gonna destroy half my bar again?”

So he was the owner, not just the bartender. That meant Trey would likely be my best source of information in this place.

The biker’s cheeks reddened a fraction. “One time, man.”

Trey raised a brow. “Once is enough for me.”

“Not gonna happen again,” Ace muttered like a petulant child.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing as Trey crouched, going in search of a fresh bottle.

Ace tilted his head toward me. “You wanna join, darlin’? We got plenty to go around.”

I was sure he meant that in more ways than one. I simply lifted my glass. “I’m good. Thanks for the tempting offer though.”

“Open invitation,” he answered with a wink.

Trey broke the seal on a bottle of Jack and handed it to Ace. “Remember, I got your card. This bottle and any damages go straight on it.”

Ace grabbed the bottle. “Piss off.”

Trey just grinned, shaking his head. “I swear this job is more daycare attendant than drink slinger sometimes.”

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