Page 57 of The Stolen Dagger
I sighed, wishing I could talk to Leah. She would know just what to say. She would hug and praise me for having dirty, passionate sex. She would cringe that it was with her brother, but she’d be happy for us.
I spent the rest of the day in Drew’s apartment, thinking of a solution to the stalker and Adrian. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that Jerry called, asking if I could come into work to cover for Sarah, who had called in sick.
I knew Drew said to stay inside, but the bar was a public place. I’d be surrounded by people, and Drew could meet me there after work. Thinking it would provide the perfect distraction, I agreed. Stalker be damned.
I sent a quick text to Drew, who didn’t like the idea but approved only if I stayed behind the bar the entire time until he could get off work and meet me there.
It wasn’t too long after that I stood behind the bar at Jerry’s, trying to forget my problems from the last few days and focus on work. My dark hair was pulled up into a half up-down hairdo that left my bangs out of my face.
I spent most of my shift cleaning behind the counter and restocking the liquor shelves. A few regulars trickled in as the day turned to evening, and a local rock band calledPunching Monkeysplayed on the stage at the back of the room. It was still a little early, but for a Friday night there were still plenty of people in the bar.
My phone vibrated for the third time inside my apron. Ipeeked at the screen. Drew’s name was displayed in bold letters.
Drew:
Got caught up at work. Be there in 15. Xo
As I read his text, the butterflies in my stomach fluttered and bounced off my ribs anxiously.
It had been so long since I’d felt this way about someone. Since I’d allowed myself to be happy.
I smiled to myself and replied with my own sequence of X’s and O’s before I shoved my phone back into my pocket.
Out of the corner of my eye, someone approached the bar and sat at a stool directly in front of me.
“What can I get for ...” I looked up into familiar, harsh blue eyes. Fear gripped me like an unforgiving clutch, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
No.
I dropped the hand towel I’d been holding and stumbled as far back as the bar would allow as Hunter, Adrian’s second-in-command, leaned forward with his elbows on the bar top.
“It’s so nice to see such a familiar face in this shitty town,” Hunter said.
His dark blond hair was shaved closely to his head. He wore a black hoodie that did nothing to hide his wide chest and even wider arms. I glanced between the two scars on his face—one across his upper lip, and one that slashed through his left eyebrow.
“Did you get any of mynotes, Emilia?” He rubbed a hand across his closely shaved stubble.
My legs shook with fear and my breathing turned erratic.
Notes?
Then everything clicked. It had been him this whole time.He left those notes from Adrian. He trashed my apartment. He wanted the dagger, and he was here to collect.
But he wasn’t the stalker. I would have known it was him or recognized his voice. So, who was that other man? He wasn’t working with Hunter, was he?
Trying not to show how his presence affected me, I bit into my bottom lip hard enough to taste blood.
“How—how did you find me?” I asked and frantically looked around the bar, hoping to catch someone’s attention, but the crowd had diminished and most of my coworkers were busy with their tables. “Where’s Adrian?”
“Adrian had some other business to attend to, so he sent me.” A smirk formed on Hunter’s stern face. “He was so upset when you ran away. You know, he’s been looking for you this whole time. He went crazy after you left.”
I should’ve known it was Hunter. Adrian would have shown his face that first night, not hide behind a hood. He would have wanted to see the fear in my eyes up close after all this time.
Even though the bar separated us, Hunter stood well over a foot taller than me.
“When we found out your sweet neighbor Pearl helped you escape that night, it didn’t take us long to figure out where you were.”
At the mention of Pearl, heat fueled my body and traveled up my neck. “You better not have hurt her!”
