Chapter 9
Nine
Charlie
“I’m fine. Really. It’s good for me to be on my feet for a bit and move around,” I explained for what felt like the umpteenth time as Axel hovered near me behind the bar. “Plus, since I’m staying with you, it would be nice for me to earn my keep. I don’t mind working, so please let me.”
“Alright. But if you get tired, I want you to take a break and rest,” he countered with a frustrated sigh. “You can go upstairs and take a nap, or sit in here and put your feet up. Whatever you need.”
“Relax, she’s fine,” Jo said as she climbed onto the barstool and smiled at me.
It was weird how quickly she went from seeming like she hated me to defending me in less than a day.
I still didn’t know anything about her past other than that she had been in a similar situation to mine.
Perhaps knowing some of what I was going through was what led to her change of heart.
Same for Axel, though he had been kind to me from the start.
If anything, it just made him super overprotective.
After my visit with Dr. Foster this morning, I’d been able to let my guard down enough to trust that I was safe for now.
If anyone was working with the people Jason pissed off, they had ample opportunity to take the baby this morning while I was at the clinic, but they didn’t.
Instead, I was treated with care and compassion.
I had the support of people who didn’t even know me, yet wanted to help.
The least I could do was give back by helping out at the bar while I stayed there.
“See, I told you,” I teased over my shoulder as he shook his head and headed to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and walked over to where she was sitting. “What can I get you?”
“I will have a BLT with extra lettuce, sea salt and vinegar chips, and a Diet Coke, please.”
“Sounds great.” I grabbed the notepad I had seen Axel use earlier and jotted down the information.
Just then, the front door opened, and a gust of wind caught it, flinging it against the wall. My heart skipped a beat as I held my breath and watched to see who came in.
It had been six days since I went on the run, but I had no idea who was looking for me or when they would find me. I had only been in Nowhere for less than a day, which meant they might have been able to catch up to me before the storm blocked all entry into and out of the town.
A shaky breath escaped my parted lips as an elderly couple walked in. The wind howled as a guy sitting in the corner of the bar got up to close the door behind them. He smiled as if he knew them and then returned to his seat.
“Don’t you hate that?” Jo asked, pulling my attention to her.
“Hate what?”
“Living in fear and never knowing when they’ll find you.”
My eyes clouded with tears as I quickly tried to blink them away.
“When did it stop for you?” I asked, grabbing a glass and filling it with ice.
“Usually when I bury the body ten feet in the ground.”
I frowned, turning to look at her for a second before focusing on not overfilling the glass with Diet Coke.
“I thought it was six feet?” I questioned as I set the glass in front of her.
“It is. I like to go a little deeper, just to make sure those fuckers are in there for good.” She winked, and while it sounded like she was teasing, I didn’t doubt that she really buried someone ten feet under. The more pressing question was just how many people had she had to bury?
“I’m going to go get started on your lunch,” I said, not knowing what I was actually supposed to do with the food order since I had technically only been working there for thirty minutes—if that.
It wasn’t like Axel had talked about it, nor was he on board when I proposed helping out after we saw Dr. Foster.
I walked around the bar, heading back toward the kitchen, when Axel rounded the corner at the same time, nearly knocking me over.
“Oh my God, Charlie! Are you okay?” His eyes wildly scanned my body looking for any sign of injury as his hand protectively wrapped around my waist.
I could feel the heat from his body against mine with how close we were standing next to each other, yet neither of us bothered to move.
His brow furrowed deeper as he continued to scan my body as if I might be injured and he didn’t know it. The overprotectiveness from earlier was at an all-time high now.
“I’m fine. Really. But I have a food order and don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it.”
“Go ahead and run it back to Ashley. She’ll get started on it and will bring it out when it’s ready. All food orders go on the counter by the door. Have her show you while you’re back there.”
“Will do. Thank you.” I smiled and stepped out of his way as I headed into the kitchen.
I met Ashley briefly this morning when we were headed out to the clinic, and she was coming in to get started on the food prep.
She seemed super friendly, and there was this calm energy about her that made me feel relaxed—which was weird, given I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt relaxed about anything.
“Hey,” I said as I entered the kitchen, surprised by how big it actually was. No wonder Axel didn’t complain about not having a kitchen in his apartment when he had this luxurious one downstairs. “I have a food order and Axel said to bring it to you.”
“Sweet,” she replied with a smile as she wiped her hand on her apron and then reached out to take it. “Is this for Jo?”
“How did you know?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as I wondered how she knew who it was for just based on the order.
“She’s the only one who comes to a bar and orders a Diet Coke and extra lettuce on a sandwich,” she replied with a laugh. “But given that there’s not much around here, the bar doubles as the only restaurant that’s close by. I’ll get started on this right now.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled and turned to head to the door when Axel suddenly appeared, concern etched on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as a shiver ran up my spine.
“There are two guys who I’ve never seen before who just came in. I want you to stay back here until I come to get you.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it when I couldn’t get the words out. He turned and stormed out the door, leaving me behind.
Fuck. They found me.