Chapter 6
CHAPTER
SIX
GUNNER
M y body stiffens at the sound of her voice and the abrasiveness of her words. She and I have never been ones to share pleasantries, but she usually speaks with a certain level of decorum even when she’s annoyed as hell. None of that exists now, and I admit, I like it.
“Hey, Princess, you thirsty?” I tip my half-empty bottle of beer toward her.
She halts a foot in front of me and positions her hands on her hips. “Does it look like I’m in the mood for your shit, Gunner?”
I press my lips in a line to stop the grin threatening to appear and the words that I want to say because, honestly, she looks unhinged, like she just wrestled a polar bear. She’s covered in snow. Black makeup circles her eyes, and dark streaks stream down over her tomato-red cheeks. Wet locks of her deep red hair fall from her typical updo. She appears to be shaking—from the cold or rage, I’m not sure. But the entire view is something else.
Unable to come up with a response that won’t unleash her wrath, I opt to remain quiet. At this moment, if I was betting on Penny or the bear, all my money would be on her. If looks could kill, I’d be dead, for sure.
“Do you know what I went through to get here? Do you realize we’re in the midst of the worst storm this area has seen in our lifetime? The team is gone. The plane left. My Uber crashed in a freaking ditch. I had to walk here in three-inch heels!” Her voice shakes with anger. “For you! Because you’re too goddamn stupid to keep your hands to yourself.”
Anger fills my chest. No one talks to me like that. This is the moment I’d normally fight back. I could put her in her place with a single sentence. Penny and I have had years of arguments, and there have been some memorable ones. I’m not one to feel sorry for the woman. She’s not a damsel in distress. She’s a force to be reckoned with.
Yet this time feels different.
If Penelope Stellars has an edge of sanity, I think she’s there now.
The bartender, a chill as fuck guy named Frank, joins the conversation. “I’m assuming you’re the rep from the Cranes?”
“Yes, I’m here on behalf of the Crane Organization.” Her tone immediately shifts to the level of professionalism I’m used to when she addresses Frank. “Can you please tell me what happened? And have the cops been called?”
Frank tosses the wet rag in his hand onto the counter behind the bar. “Absolutely, miss. Not sure what was exactly said, but the one over there in the Canucks jersey with that stupid blue wig atop his head said something, and your guy here punched him in the face.” He shrugs. “That’s all there really was to it. I had to call the officers. I hope you understand. It’s our policy. However.” He nods toward the front door. “With the storm outside, I doubt they’ll be here anytime soon. I’m sure they have a lot more pressing issues than a little bar fight. He’s quite hammered.” Frank motions toward the guy in the blue wig. “If he’s willing to work it out and the two parties come to a resolution that everyone is happy with, I’m fine with everyone going their separate ways. To be honest, I’d like to close up and get home to my family before I’m stuck here.”
Penny gives Frank a tight smile. “Thank you. That is what I was hoping.” She turns to me and holds out her hand. “Give me your wallet.”
“Fuck no.” I scowl.
“Now, Dreven.”
With a sigh, I pull the leather wallet from my back pocket and place it in her hand. Without another word, she heads over to the table where the douche and his buddies sit.
Penny is in full boss-lady mode as she talks to the guys. I’ve seen her like this a million times, yet I can’t pull my eyes from her. It’s fascinating, and a side of her never directed toward me. She stands tall and, despite looking like she was in a bar fight herself with her haphazard appearance, wears a confident elegance that only she could pull off. She moves her hands as she talks and smiles at the piece of shit with the red cheek. To be fair, that was barely a punch. I held back—a lot. If I’d truly been out of control, he wouldn’t be sitting there staring at her with a goofy-as-hell grin. He deserved much worse.
She touches his arm with her perfectly manicured nails, and his smile grows. He bobs his head like a child who’s just been asked if he wants to go to Disney. Penny laughs, and while it appears completely natural, I know her well enough to see it’s all for show. However, the Canuck buys the charade hook, line, and sinker.
God, I hate him. Just the thought of his existence makes my blood boil. I hate how he’s looking at Penny as if he didn’t just violate her with his words. What a piece of shit. I want to punch him again, and this time harder. I should, too.
Frank places a glass of ice water in front of me. “Drink this.”
“I’m not drunk,” I spit out.
“Still. Drink it. You look like you’re about to cause more trouble. Your scowl resembles a wolverine gearing up for an attack.”
“Does it?” I scoff. “Seen many wolverines preparing to fight, have ya, Frank?”
“Look, big guy. I just want to go home and help my wife prepare for the storm, eh? Let’s all play nice.”
I turn away from Penny and take a chug of the water. “I’m not going to cause any more problems.”
“Good.” Frank bobs his chin, picks up the rag, and wipes the bar top.
Taking another sip of water, I throw a glance over my shoulder to see Penny typing something into her phone. The dumbass hockey fan grins at some money in his hand, American bills.
Great.
Releasing a sigh, I turn away and finish the glass of water. After a moment, Penny walks up beside me and drops my wallet on the counter.
“And?” I scowl.
“Two hundred dollars and box seats at a future Canucks game, one against someone other than us. Let’s go.”
“Two hundred of my dollars?”
She ignores my question and addresses Frank. “Thanks for your understanding, Frank. We really appreciate it. You and your family stay safe.”
“Thank you, miss,” he says before furrowing his brows. “Your plane left, eh?”
“Yeah. We’ll get a couple of hotel rooms and fly out tomorrow.”
Frank presses his lips together and scrunches his nose up before he releases a sigh. “I don’t know if either of those will be an option.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“Well, most of the folks in for the game have already snatched up any available hotel rooms, given the fact that no one’s traveling tonight. We also had a couple of musical events in the city today, so I’d say we’re at capacity. From what I hear, everything’s booked up, and this storm is expected to continue through tomorrow. I’d be surprised if any flights leave tomorrow either.”
Penny opens her mouth to speak as all the color drains from her face. She closes her mouth and stares at Frank. It’s rare when this woman doesn’t know what to say.
“I doubt that’s true. I guarantee there are two rooms up for grabs in this city,” I chime in.
Frank shrugs. “I’d call around before you head back out there. Don’t want to be caught out in that weather.”
Penny and I search for accommodations on our phones. A common goal at hand, we split up the list of hotels in the city and start calling. It’s all for not because Frank is correct. The city is full. We’ve called every establishment, from the one-star motels outside of town up to the five-star places. There is literally nothing.
The wind whips around outside, making an eerie sound while the bar’s lights flicker. We’re the only ones left in the joint save for Frank, who is kindly staying here for us. Douche boy and his crew headed out somewhere in the midst of our three-star hotel calls. Penny taps her thumb against the bar top and stares off as if in a trance. I can almost hear the wheels turning in her head as she tries to come up with a solution. It’s rare that she doesn’t have the answer. As annoying as it is, she always does.
I’ve put us in uncharted territory, a predicament that even little Miss Perfect Penelope Stellars can’t talk us out of. An unfamiliar sensation fills my chest, and if I have to guess, I’d say it’s something close to remorse.
She turns to me, blinking a few times before stating, “Maybe we can find someone to drive us to another town where we can find a vacancy?”
Frank chimes in. “No one out there is going to drive in this, and even if there were, any place within driving distance would be full. All the sane folk hunkered down hours ago.”
“I don’t know what to do.” There’s a quiver in Penny’s voice that I haven’t heard before, and that uneasy feeling in my chest grows stronger.
Frank releases a sigh. “Well, the wife and I own a small motel a few miles out. It’s nothing fancy, and all the normal rooms are booked up. However, we do have a room that we use for storage—you know, boxes of paper towels, toilet paper, and new towels, stuff like that. So besides the floor-to-ceiling boxes, it’s just like our other rooms. It’s not ideal, but you’ll have a place to sleep, and you’ll be warm.”
Penny stands from the stool. “We’ll take it! Oh my gosh, thank you, Frank. You’re a lifesaver.”
He chuckles. “Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t seen the place.”
“It doesn’t matter, I guarantee it’s better than sleeping in feet of snow,” she says.
“Well, that’s true.” He grins. “Let me call the wife and have her change the linens and move the boxes up against the wall to give you a little space. Then we’ll head out.”
Penny turns toward me. “You better not so much as speak to me all night. If the team wouldn’t suffer without you, I’d take the room for myself and leave you out in the cold to freeze.”
“You’re too kind,” I scoff. “Believe me, sleeping in the same room as you isn’t high on my list either, Princess.”
“Just don’t say a word. In fact, it’s fine with me if we never speak again.”
The odd feeling in my chest from moments ago has been replaced with a very familiar one—disdain. This hot mess of a woman across from me is the bane of my existence, and I have to be stuck in a room with her all night. While I’d never admit it to her, this is all my fault. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hate myself a little too.