Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
SAGE
As I pulled up to Xander’s cabin, the only light I could see for miles came from the moon and my baby’s headlights.
The house was pitch black, not a single light to be seen.
I kept the engine running and the headlights burning to light my way as I climbed out and stomped up the front porch steps. I banged on the front door then waited, getting nothing in response.
I knocked a second time and pressed my ear to the door, listening for sounds from the other side.
The place was empty.
I turned to start back to my car when I heard something clicking against the rough wooden boards of the porch.
My heart leapt into my throat, and I was just about to take off at a dead run when I saw Bear come around the corner.
“Hey, boy,” I said gently, going down to a crouch. He opened his mouth wide in a doggy yawn that ended in a high-pitched whine before loping over to me and falling to his butt right between my legs. “I’m sorry, cutie. Did I wake you up?”
He lifted a big paw and gave his ear a slow, lazy scratch.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was just looking for your daddy so I could kill him. But don’t worry,” I added, running my fingers through his soft, surprisingly tangle-less fur. “When he’s gone, you can come live with me.”
He let out a little chuffing woof, and I took that to mean he was on board with that.
Giving him one last scratch, I stood to my full height and started down the steps.
As I headed for my car, I ran through all the places he could possibly be.
I knew he wasn’t a fan of crowds, but I recalled the conversation with Gypsy at The Tap Room a while back where she’d mentioned he preferred a bar called Rebels.
It was a long shot, but it was the only one I had, and I was still pissed enough to follow it.
It was one thing not to want to hang out, but I knew for a fact he’d read each and every message I’d sent him earlier, asking where he was.
Each one had that “read” status underneath them, so he’d not only seen them, but had purposely decided not to reply, leaving me hanging when all he had to do was shoot me a reply saying he wasn’t going to make it.
That was just common courtesy, and as his friend, I felt I’d earned at least that much from him.
Not having the first clue where Rebels was, I pulled my phone from the cupholder where it was resting and did a search. Twenty minutes later I was pulling into the parking lot of a seedy biker bar on the outskirts of town.
As I parked beneath one of the only lights not burned out in the lot, the first thing I saw was an overweight dude in a black leather vest giving it to a woman, who could only be described as a bar skank, against the side of the seedy brick building.
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered under my breath as I turned away from the nauseating display to the front of the building.
It definitely wasn’t much to write home about.
Both of the Es and the S of the red neon sign that were supposed to spell out the name were burned out, and the corrugated metal awning that covered the front door looked like all it would take to bring it down was a small breeze.
The parking lot was littered with broken beer and liquor bottles, and I got the distinct impression I’d need a tetanus booster just to step foot in this place.
But I was there on a mission, and I wouldn’t be led off course.
Grabbing my purse, I pulled my ID from my wallet, stashed the bag beneath the front seat, and climbed out, locking my baby up and stuffing my keys and license into my jacket pocket.
Stomping toward the entrance, my anger grew with every click of my heels against the blacktop. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this mad.
Sometimes guys could be jerks, and this wasn’t the first time I’d been stood up, but this one really pissed me off. And honestly, I wasn’t even sure why I was so mad.
No, that was a lie. I knew why. It was the same reason I’d taken such care selecting my outfit for the evening. I just wasn’t going to allow myself to think about it at that moment.
The guy manning the door gave me a top-to-toe look as I got closer. “Not sure this place is your scene, baby,” he said when I got close.
“Not sure you have the first clue what my scene is, baby,” I fired back, pulling out my ID and passing it his way.
He took it and scanned the information before looking back to me. “You’re in the mood to slum it tonight, I’d be more that happy to give you a ride you won’t forget if you come back in a few hours. But I’m tellin’ you now, this isn’t the place for you.”
I snatched my license from his hand and planted my hands on my hips, giving him a look that said I most definitely wasn’t in the mood to be fucked with. “You gonna move out of my way or not?”
The guy studied me for a few more seconds before muttering, “Your funeral,” and stepping out of my way.
The moment I passed through the door I was hit with the scent of stale beer and sweat mixed with an almost metallic aroma of what I could only guess was blood.
God, this bar was a pit.
The place was crowded. Not like The Tap Room, but the clientele was about a thousand times rowdier.
The vinyl on most of the booths and barstools was torn, some of the chair and table legs looked like they were being held together with duct tape, and I didn’t even want to think about what fluids had spilled on the floor to make it as sticky as it was.
I kept my shoulders square and my chin up as I shoved through the pulsating crowd, scanning the long room in search of one particular man. I’d only made it a couple yards in when a hand clamped around my elbow and jerked me to a stop.
My head whipped around, my eyes going to the man’s fingers before slowly traveling up over an excessively hairy arm, a stained grey tee beneath a leather vest, to a scraggly beard, and finally landing on an unattractive face.
“Seems like my night just started lookin’ up.”
The loser with a serious beer gut and tobacco stained teeth gave me a lecherous grin that only succeeded in pissing me off further.
I let out a caustic laugh. “My man, you could have a magic lamp in your pocket with a goddamn genie inside, and you’d still never be that lucky.
I’m sure there’s some drunk piece of bar trash around here wearing beer goggles thick enough to think you’re a catch, so I suggest you stay in your lane and go find her. ”
Without giving him a chance to rebut or a backward glance, I jerked my arm from his grasp and continued on my way. I only got a few feet farther when I spotted him, standing nearly a full head above most everyone in the bar.
A path cleared in front and a haze of red coated my vision as I got my first full look at him, or more to the point, the bottled blonde currently latched onto him like one of those freaking suckerfish you always see stuck to the side of aquariums.
He was turned in her direction, putting his back to me as I came to a stop a foot away. “Fucking seriously?” I hissed.
At the sound of my voice, Xander shot up straight and jerked around to face me. “Sage? What—”
“This is why you bailed on me tonight?” I barked, stabbing my finger toward Barfly Barbie before letting out an incredulous laugh. “Really?”
“Excuse me, but he’s with me,” the chick snapped, but Xander spoke before I could say anything to her.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Xander barked, looking about as mad as I felt. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Oh, you’re right about that. And if this place is your scene and these are the people you want to hang with, I’m thinking I shouldn’t be around you either.”
I took a step back and began to turn when I was stopped by Xander grabbing my wrist. He looked down at me, his eyes flashing. “This isn’t a safe place. What the fuck were you thinkin’, comin’ here by yourself?”
“I was thinking that I spent forty-five minutes sitting at a table all by myself, waiting for a man I thought was my friend to show up, looking like a complete idiot,” I clipped.
“I was thinking that same asshole read every one of the messages I sent him tonight, asking where he was, and didn’t even have enough respect for me to reply.
And I was thinking that it was my right to look him in his face so I could tell him to go fuck himself. ”
I caught his wince, but I was beyond caring.
“Jesus, baby. Who the fuck is this bitch? She’s totally harshin’ my buzz,” Barfly Barbie stated.
I looked over at her and took in her leopard print bustier and micro-mini pleather skirt.
I had to hand it to Xander, the chick was hot.
I just hoped she was worth him fucking up our friendship.
“You know what? I’m done. You guys have fun.
” I looked back at Xander. “And if I were you, I’d double bag it, for sure. ”
I shook his hold off and turned on my heels, starting for the door.
I could feel him behind me and picked up the pace. “Sage, wait—”
“Oh, hell no,” I shouted over my shoulder as I kept moving. “I’ve waited for you enough tonight, and I’m done. Like I said, you can go fuck yourself!”
Being so much smaller, I was able to squeeze through the crowd easier than he could. I was almost home free when the beer-gutted biker from earlier cut me off.
“You know, you got a smart fuckin’ mouth. Lucky for you, I know just what to do with bitches who talk too goddamn much.” He grabbed my arm again, this time his fingers squeezing to the point of pain.
“Really, asshole? I swear to god if you don’t get your hand off me, you’ll be leaving here in a fucking ambulance.” I gave my arm a jerk, which only made his grip tighten so much I winced. There was going to be a bruise there tomorrow for sure.
He got closer, the stench of cigarettes and pure rage radiating from him. “Maybe you won’t be such a fuckin’ smartass with that mouth and cunt stuffed full of cock, huh? Me and my boys’ll fuck that fight right outta you.”
I caught movement from the corner of my eye. His boys were moving in, ready to do their leader’s bidding.
Over my dead fucking body.
My other arm shot out, grabbing a discarded beer bottle from the bar a few inches away. With a swing, I smashed it upside his head. The fat ass dropped like a sack of bricks, out for the count.
I had a few moments after that to brace while his buds shook off their shock at my taking their leader out. As soon as they regained what little wits they had, they’d jump to their boy’s defense. I had to be ready.
But before any of them could move, I heard a loud crash from behind me, followed by an angry roar that turned my blood to ice.
Before any of the other guys circling could advance, Xander came smashing into the fray.
And then shit really hit the fan.