Page 52 of In For a Penny
“You could have just asked if you wanted in my pants,” he answered. He tried to laugh but ended up coughing. He moaned and lay back on the bed.
Ronan walked into the bedroom carrying a bottle of water and a couple of painkillers. She helped him take the pills before settling him under the blankets.
Liam and Ronan were in the kitchen when she emerged. They had pulled the ingredients for sandwiches from the pantry. She shooed them around to the other side of the bar.
“What’s the rest of the story?” she asked when they were seated. They gave each other a look before Liam shrugged.
“I guess after Dad’s stroke,” Ronan said. “Parker ran out of money. He was trying to pay the hospital bills, run the bar and keep food on the table. None of the banks would loan him any money. The bar is free and clear. But at the time, Dad still owned it. Parker couldn’t use it as collateral.”
Ronan stopped to take a bite of his sandwich, leaving Liam to continue.
“He went to some loan shark and borrowed enough to stay afloat,” Liam continued. “Of course the interest is staggering. He said he got behind in the beginning. Dad’s rehab center takes most of the budget for the month. What was Parker supposed to do?”
“Anyway,” Ronan said, picking back up the story. “That's why the safe was open. They caught them going inside. They pushed their way in to collect on the debt. Parker put up a good fight. They emptied the safe and then began to rail on him. Teach him a lesson is what they said.”
“Yeah, but they only got in a couple of shots before Ro came out swinging the bat. They dropped Parker on the ground and left.”
“You were there, Liam?” He nodded, and she shot around to wrap him in a bear hug. “Did they hurt you?” She pushed back so she could search him for any obvious injuries.
“I’m fine. They only beat on Parker,” he said.
Astrid thought about the situation while she watched them finish their sandwiches in silence. Both boys had put on a brave front but she could see they were both shaken pretty badly by what had happened.
How dare a couple of thugs show up and terrorize two innocent boys. Nope, no one fucked with her family and got away with it. There was a solution to this problem, she just needed a plan. She took their empty plates to put in the sink. They mumbled thanks before disappearing into their bedroom.
Astrid turned out the lights and slipped quietly into the bedroom. Parker had fallen asleep with the bag of ice balanced on his face. Carefully, she removed it.
She sat on the bed and watched him sleep for a long time. She mulled over different plans. They were going to need help. There was no reason to keep fighting this alone. Tomorrow, she would reach out to her friends for help. She moved to the couch and fell into a restless sleep. Her dreams were plagued by baseball-wielding thugs.
ChapterEighteen
It had beentwo days and Parker’s face was starting to turn from a deep purple to a sickly yellow.
Liam was still shooting glares at him. He knew that would become tiring soon and his brother would move on. He knew the anger stemmed from fear more than anything. He didn’t blame him. If they had turned on Liam, he would have died trying to protect him. The thought made him shiver.
He would just have to try harder to make the payments on time. The alternative was not an option. At least he could see out of both eyes now.
Bartending with one had been an almost impossible challenge. He wasn’t sure how much alcohol he wasted because of his bad depth perception. Astrid tried to talk him into calling in the other guy, but he was upstate visiting one of his kids.
To say it had been a rough night at work was an understatement. For the first time, he was the one sent home early.
“Are you awake?” Astrid asked quietly. She was standing in the bedroom, fully dressed. He still couldn’t understand how she could work half the night and still be raring to go first thing in the morning.
Moaning, he pulled the blankets up farther. It wasn’t that he wasn’t awake–he just didn’t want to start a bad habit.
Not that it would matter soon. In a week, he’d move her back to campus. She would see less of him and finally drift on to greener pastures. It was inevitable. But whatever happened, he would always remember the summer with her as the best of his life.
“Get dressed and come downstairs.” He groaned again. “There’re donuts!” she called. In that case, he’d make an exception.
His ribs had only been badly bruised. Getting out of bed, though, was still painful. He threw back the blankets and sat up. Slowly, he pulled on a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt. He slipped on his boots since they were the closest.
It was oddly silent in the apartment. He assumed the twins were still asleep. Quietly, he slipped out of the apartment. Walking down the hallway toward the bar, he came to a stop when he found a table full of people.
“Fuck, this isn’t an intervention, is it?” he asked. Sitting around the biggest table were Liam, Ronan, and Astrid, as well as their friends Sam, Dean, Max, and Karlie. He searched his brain briefly for any hint of something he had missed. Like a birthday.
“Don’t be scared,” Karlie said. “I promise no one is going to get drunk and bounce quarters off your ass again.”
Parker chuffed out a laugh before walking to the table. The first time he had laid eyes on Astrid, she had gotten drunk with her friends and participated in a “who has the best ass” contest between him and Max. He had won, even though Max tried to claim the title.
