36. Bridget
36
brIDGET
“ H ey, gorgeous.” Chase grinned at me, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned in the doorway of the bar’s office. He was in his lucky blue shirt from court this morning. His gun and badge were perched on his belt, and those khaki chinos made his ass look downright sinful.
I probably looked anything but gorgeous.
Somehow, Chase and I survived our first week of co-owning a bar. Unfortunately for us, it meant a serious lack of dartboard sex and an onslaught of new stress.
Yesterday, I stormed into my therapy session with Naomi ten minutes late. Instead of talking about my progress and emotions for the designated hour, I ranted about internet outages, supplier shortages, and scheduling.
When I took over the bar, the first person I turned to was Luca. I begged him to lend me a few bartenders from Revanche to train the pool of new hires I’d brought on.
Luca—the godsend—not only came through, but also set me up with a fancy new POS system. It made sales and inventory a breeze. Unfortunately, it only worked when the internet worked. Which sucked for us, thanks to yesterday’s tropical storm.
But today was Thursday. Chase was off duty. Luca’s people and my cooks assured me that they could handle things for one night so I could get to bed before four in the morning.
Eventually, Chase and I would get around to that first date we had never actually been on.
But not tonight.
Tonight was a “pizza while we watched TV in bed” kind of night.
“You almost done?” Chase asked.
“Yeah,” I huffed, raking my fingers through my hair. I was working with a four-day messy bun that could have greased the flat-top grill in the kitchen. “As soon as I get this order submitted.”
With a click of my mouse, I sent my truck order in, then scanned through my inbox to make sure I hadn’t missed anything important. Most of it looked like it could wait until tomorrow.
I shut down my computer, double-checked that the safe was locked, and grabbed an armful of files.
“Whoa—” Chase snatched the papers out of my arms and dropped them back on the desk. “It can wait. Take a break tonight.”
“But—”
“No buts,” he clipped. “Not unless it’s you asking me to pleasure yours.”
My cheeks flushed. “Chase!” I hissed, glancing at the door to make sure no one had been close enough to overhear the lewd comment.
He grinned and slowly cupped my flaming face in his wide hands. “Look at me, darlin’.”
When I didn’t meet his gaze, Chase tilted my chin up. I let out an annoyed huff as I felt the stress melting away. Damn those eyes .
“Like Wanda said, you’ve been running the place for years. Take a breath and enjoy a night off. The place won’t burn down if you don’t look at whatever the hell those were for twelve hours. You get me?”
His hands slid to my shoulders. Chase turned me away from him and began to work at the knots plaguing my shoulders.
I hummed as I closed my eyes. “That feels amazing.”
“Mhmm,” he mumbled against the back of my neck as he left a blazing path of kisses. “I can’t do much to help out here, but I can give moral support back rubs and morale-boosting orgasms.”
I smirked. “As long as I’m the only one on the receiving end of those perks.”
“How ’bout this,” he said as he used this thumb to roll one of the knots along my shoulder blade. “Why don’t you head home and get in the bath.” He kissed the side of my neck. “Light some candles. Use all that lavender-smelling shit you have stashed under the bathroom sink. Read a book or just close your eyes for a bit.”
I groaned as his hands slid from my shoulders to my ribs, then around to my breasts. He pulled the neckline of my black tank top down, exposing my bra. Chase slid his hands into the cups and massaged my boobs.
“Go on,” I managed to sputter out as I leaned back into him, teasing his crotch with my ass.
“I’ll go pick up the pizza while you’re soaking.” He gave my nipples a sharp tweak. “And when I get back, I will give you all kinds of stress relief.”
Chase slid his hands out of my bra, adjusted the cups, and pulled my tank top back into place.
I turned and snaked my arms around his neck. “How’d I get so lucky? ”
He pecked my lips. “One more thing.” Pushing me back a few inches, Chase slowly lowered down to one knee.
Holy shit balls! Was this it? Was this the real proposal?
Chase took my hands, stroking his thumbs across the back of my palms. “Darlin’, I hope you know how much I love you.”
“Yeah?” I whimpered, lip trembling. I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.
This was it. This was so perfect. Of course, he’d propose at the bar!
For so long, it had been the one thing I could count on: Chase walking into the bar with the sorry excuse that he was thirsty and needed a glass of water. He’d call me darlin’, give me a smile, and then wink on his way out.
I lived for those stolen moments. But now, he was all mine.
“’Kay,” he grinned as he reached in his pocket.
Oh my God! Oh my God! There’s a real ring! This is it!
“Then I have just one thing to ask you, Bee.”
“Yeah?” I squeaked.
“Supreme or pepperoni?”
Record screech.
“Chase!” I shrieked, swatting him as he stood up and produced a little paper ring he had made out of a straw wrapper.
He grabbed my hand and slid it on my finger. “Sorry.” He laughed, then pecked me on the lips. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “I couldn’t resist.”
“You asshole!” I cackled. “I really thought you were proposing!”
“I know, I know. But I kinda liked seeing you get all excited and nervous.” He played with the hem of my shirt, tugging me closer. “But trust me, darlin’. It’s coming. I don’t want to rush a good thing. Until then, I’ll keep asking you to marry me with hair ties, rubber bands, and paper rings.”
I pecked his lips. “And I’ll keep saying yes. ”
“Good.” Chase cut the lights and grabbed my keys, locking the office behind me.
We walked out the back door and lingered between our—his—vehicles for a few minutes. My stomach growling ended the interlude.
“Buckle up,” Chase said as he opened the door to the truck and helped me up into the driver’s seat. He stepped onto the running board. “Drive safe and let me know when you get home. I won’t be long.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He was so protective. I loved it. “Yes, officer.”
“Give me a kiss, pretty girl. I love you.”
“Love you too, handsome.” I pecked his lips before closing the door and heading home.
I swung by Kristin and Will’s house on the way home and picked up Luna. Chase and I had been working so much lately that she was feeling a little neglected.
Zoey always spoiled the heck out of her. Luna came back exhausted from hours upon hours of playing with a seven-year-old.
The pizza joint Chase and I fancied was only a mile from the house, so I didn’t plan on messing with the bubble bath. A shower was certainly called for, but I wanted food more than I wanted to turn into a raisin. Unless Chase planned on feeding me like Cleopatra while I soaked in the tub, he’d have to deal with my quick rinse.
Luna darted into the yard as soon as I opened the door. She trotted over to her favorite corner and sniffed around the flower beds as she did her business.
The tulip blooms were long gone. The fall temperatures made sure of that. It made me a little sad to see the yard back to green, though the trees were full of brilliant orange and red leaves .
Crisp autumn winds had replaced the summer heat. I loved breathing in the cool air when I walked to Naomi’s for therapy or strolled Front Street with Chase. The frequent jingle of the bells tied to the General Store’s front door had lessened as summertimers went inland for the off-season.
I was looking forward to the off-season. The profit margins at the bar would be lean, but Chase and I would have more time together. Time to just be us.
Growing season had been good to us. Figuring out how we fit together as a couple. How we complemented each other. Learning each other’s quirks—like how Chase insisted that bananas, mayonnaise, and white bread made an acceptable sandwich—and loving each other anyway.
But I was looking forward to whatever season blooming happened. I wanted us to flourish. To shine.
My feet squeaked against the wood planks on the porch as I flipped through the keyring, singling out the one to unlock the door.
Luna sided up to me and whined, wedging her fluffy body between my shins and the door.
“What’s the matter, girl?” I asked as I scratched behind her ear. “I promise I’ll feed you as soon as I get the door open.”
She yipped, snapping her snout toward the door.
I wrinkled my nose. “Were you this weird with Zoey all day?”
I unlocked the door and shoved it open, pawing around blindly for the light switch. I felt the plastic plate under my fingers and cut the lights on. Luna stationed herself in the door jamb, nudging me back toward the porch.
“Come on, you little diva. Let’s fill your bowl.”
I tossed my bag on the kitchen counter and popped open the container that Chase kept Luna’s kibble in. I filled a scoop and dumped it in her bowl .
Luna looked seriously unamused. If dogs could give an eyebrow raise, she would have been doing that. Probably throwing in a sassy head tilt for good measure.
“What do you want?” I laughed as I slowly shut the door, easing her stiff legs inside. “I don’t speak dog!”
I reached up the back of my shirt and unclasped my bra as I walked up the stairs, groaning in delight at how good it felt to have the girls free. I gave my tits a shake for good measure and grabbed a towel out of the hall closet.
Light from the bedroom leaked under the bottom of the door.
That was odd.
Chase was a stickler about leaving lights on when we left the house. He’d wax poetic about the cost of electricity. He already had his dad vibe down.
I smiled at the thought of Chase as a dad as I pushed open the door. That was a conversation that we tiptoed around. Chase and I both wanted kids, but the topic of timing was always something we seemed to be scared to broach.
If I had to guess, I’d say that Chase would probably want kids right away. But I wanted to wait a little while. Enjoy married life. Catch up on all the time we missed out on?—
“There you are, baby.” The chloroform-sweet voice I knew all too well gagged me on first contact.
My phone and towel fell from my hands, and I froze in place. My blood ran cold. It was the paralysis that came before fight or flight. I couldn’t scream. Couldn’t run. I was helpless. Hopeless.
The gleam of Kyle’s murderous grin was blinding. There was something different about him. It was the rumpled clothes that I could smell from three feet away. It was the wild look in his ice-blue eyes. He looked unhinged.
My eyes lowered to the gun in his right hand. He tapped the barrel against the side of his thigh in an erratic rhythm .
“You never texted me back, Bridget,” he seethed. “You know you’re always supposed to respond. It’s a shame we couldn’t have this face-to-face when I stopped by that little shed you were living in. I know you saw me. At least I got your new number. Foolish girl, leaving your phone sitting around like that. All I had to do was call my phone from yours to get the number. Nothin’ fancy this time. It’s like you don’t even remember who owns you.” A wicked smile curled on his mouth. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll help you remember.”
His finger twitched against the trigger guard. It was enough to break me out of the incapacitation.
“ Chase! ” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I turned and leaped for the door.
Kyle’s hand shackled my arm, yanking my back into the bedroom. I cried out as he threw me into the edge of the heavy, oak dresser. My stomach sank as I bounced off the corner.
I heard Luna’s growl as she bolted into the room, baring her teeth.
He grabbed a handful of my hair and dragged me to my feet. I clawed at his hands and kicked, trying my best to block out the sharp pain on my scalp.
“Don’t worry, baby,” he spat. “I’ll be done with you by the time he gets back. Pizza, right?” There was a vile twinkle in his eye. “This won’t take long,” he said as he dragged me by my hair over to the foot of the bed. “And I’ll be much more thorough than I was last time.”
Kyle let go of my hair long enough to take a step back and kick me in the back. The thick heel of his boot connected with my spine, knocking the air out of my lungs.
Block out the pain. Think of Chase. Buy some time.
Kyle swore as Luna sank her teeth into his leg, snarling as she braced her hind legs .
Adrenaline pumped through my veins, a last-ditch effort to give me a fighting chance. I spun around as his foot was coming back down and kicked him square in the knee.
“Bitch!” Kyle howled as his leg hyperextended and buckled beneath him.
Door. Get to the door. Get out.
The memory of free-falling down the stairs slammed into me, stealing my courage. It made my feet falter just enough for Kyle to grab the hem of my jeans and pull me down with him.
I clawed at the floor, scrambling for the door. For a moment, there was nothing except pained grunts and groans as he battled to get me in his grasp, and I fought my way out.
My phone was almost in reach from where I’d dropped it. His fingers dug into my side, nails piercing my skin. I felt the cool touch of my phone and grabbed it, smashing the buttons on the side until the Emergency SOS option popped up in a shade I would only ever call rescue red.
I swiped the screen, praying that the call would connect to 911. I couldn’t get it on speakerphone—not with the way Kyle and I were tangled on the floor. I opened my mouth to shout at the operator when his hand shackled my throat, squeezing against my arteries.
His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were dead as he watched the life fade from mine. His expression was unbothered. As if this was just a blip in his day.
“Now,” Kyle said with a heavy sigh, mocking me with the fact that he had all the oxygen. “I’m going to fuck you in his bed, and then I’m going to kill you in it. Am I making myself clear?”
Blood roared in my ears as my vision tunneled. Everything sounded so far away. I felt myself falling, but I didn’t hit the unforgiving foyer floor of Kyle’s house. I landed on something soft.
Air rushed into my lungs. I coughed, choking on the sudden rush of oxygen. I blinked, trying to clear my vision. When it did, I realized I was staring down the barrel of a gun.
Kyle was standing at the foot of the bed, the gun clenched in his right hand as he ripped his belt out of the loops with the other. “Just in case you think about getting any ideas, I’m gonna kill you either way. But if you behave, I’ll make it quick.”
Tears leaked from my eyes. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to ride off into the sunset with Chase. We had come so far only for it to end like this?
No.
If I was going to go down, I was going to go down swinging.