Page 64 of A Dirty Business
I closed my eyes, just a second, and let the curse word slip in my mind.Shit.
“Okay.” Anthony’s chair squeaked as he stood up, and he held his hands in front of him in surrender. “I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know about whatever the fuck that was between you two, or why you obviously have a black eye. You’re tough and threatening, and it’s not my job to worry about you, so all that said, what are you doing in here?”
“To threaten you.” I pointed outside. “You know how full it is out there? Your guys at the door aren’t sticking with the capacity limit.”
“We got a temporary permit for tonight. The DJ’s a celebrity.”
“Your temporary permit is bullshit. Scale the people back, or you don’t want to know the consequences.” I began reaching for the door.
“Or what? You’re going to call us in?”
I stopped, my arms folding over my chest. I gave him a cool look. “You kidding me? I’d be shocked if there haven’t already been one or two people who’ve already been trampled or near trampled. I’ve had to pull girls over the bar. It’s too crowded out there. If the fire guys come here and see that I wasn’t the one who called them, you bet your ass this will affect my other job. Get your shit together. I’m not playing.”
I yanked open the door.
The two bouncers scattered, and I marched right back. No one got in my way, so I was guessing my irritation was clearing the way.
There was no change in the next fifteen minutes, but the fifteen after that, the bouncers were wading through the crowd and pulling people out. It was thinning, enough where I didn’t need to be tense about seeing some of the fire guys I knew.
I went back to work, even spotting Kelly a few times.
Justin came over at one point. “I have no idea what you did, but I noted the timing. Thank you.”
I grunted, jerking my chin up.
He flashed me a smile, with two thumbs up in a cheesy grin.
I almost missed our manly normal greeting, but it was easier to work now, so I was relaxed enough to give him a half grin back.
Anthony showed up not long after that, one of his eyebrows still raised. “Happy?”
I lost my half grin. “Yes.”
He rolled his eyes but kept moving through the club.
I watched him go. He was checking everything over, and Justin shared a look with me after he moved past his section too. I was thinking it was the first time he’d seen Anthony actually walk through the club. My threat of people trampled must’ve rattled him.
Either way, the DJ was good, and the people weren’t going to get crushed. I was content for the rest of the night. It was an hour later when I was getting low on vodka. The people who were supposed to help us keep stocked up must’ve fallen behind. I grabbed one of the bottles and raised it in the air to get Justin’s attention. He looked and I shook it, showing that it was empty.
He gave me a nod, raising one thumb up this time.
I slipped out and headed for the back where we kept the extra stock. It was a bit of weaving through a hallway because I rarely cameback here. The sounds of the club faded, and I came to the room and went inside.
It was dark.
Finding the light, I switched it on, and at that time, the door opened.
Trace shoved in.
“Wha—”
His hands were on me, and he snapped out, “Yes.” He locked the door and barricaded it, but when I braced myself, thinking he was going to kiss me, his hands turned gentle, touching my face. He leaned over me, moving me more under the light so he could see me better. He went eerily still, his touch so soft that it was soothing, and he traced the edge of the bruise, before moving my head gently from side to side.
He was looking for more bruises, and he wasn’t content with just my face. He moved me around, his touch still so gentle as he had me turn around in front of him, lifting my hair so he could inspect my neck. “I’m fine.”
He stopped me in front of him when he was done, but he was focused back on the bruise. “Who?”
I flushed, starting to shake my head. I began to step back, but he stopped me, taking my hips and moving me closer to him. He leaned fully back against the door, opening his legs, and he fit me in between them.
