9. alessia
9
ALESSIA
“What can I do for you, Frank?” Gabe asks, clearly aware of his history.
The way Frankie looks at me makes me want to crawl out of my skin.
“I’ll take some wings, man,” Frankie tells him innocently, the smell of alcohol already seeping out of his pores and into my nose.
“Coming up.” Gabe smacks the counter and disappears.
Daegan continues to look at Frankie like gum under his shoe.
“It’s a little crowded here, don’t you think?” Zeke pulls Frankie away from Daegan and me. Frankie’s cocky wicked grin lingers as he licks his bottom lip. He blows me a kiss, and I immediately cringe, contorting my face.
Thank God Zeke gets the hint and pulls Frankie away.
The aura of dread melts away, and I sigh in relief. My shoulders relax.
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t like Ravenmore?” Daegan probes.
Another bartender stops in front of us and serves Daegan another cold drink with ice.
“Bourbon.” A tall, beautiful, dark-haired woman tells him. She’s gorgeous. Her hair is flattened so straight, and it glistens under the neon lights. She winks and brushes her hand over his, letting her fingers linger longer than usual. I pretend not to notice the way she flirts, but I do.
He doesn’t react. He deadpans, and I’m unsure if he’s welcoming her overly friendly demeanor or despises it. She blushes, biting her lip seductively as she walks away with more sway in her hips than before.
I scoff and press my lips together, unimpressed.
Watching this woman throw herself at him is not something I enjoy. I don’t like seeing this in general. Daegan isn’t special.
He takes a sip, and his lips turn into slits.
He is a whiskey man, after all—no surprise there. It’s hard and smooth. I’ve had it before, and it’s like drinking straight fire.
“Again, I take it you’re not a fan of Ravenmore?"
“It’s that obvious, huh?” I rub my lips like I want to keep them locked. If I tell him anything, I’m afraid it’ll get back to Ravenmore, and who knows what'll happen.
As if he could read my mind, he tells me, “Look, whatever you tell me tonight, it doesn’t get back to him. Your secrets are safe with me.” He holds out his pinky, and a half smile forms on my face.
A small, cute gesture, and I force my smile away.
I hook my finger in his, and we intertwine them. The touch of our skin, his finger swallowing mine whole, the veins on his big hand are evident, and God, those hands have me swooning.
What is it about big hands?
This is innocent. It was an innocent gesture, the beginning of getting to know the man who will watch over me for the next few months.
“He’s my mother’s husband. We’ve never gotten along, and I don't want to after the things I've seen. I’m uninterested in holding any sort of relationship with him that isn’t required. That’s all I’ll say.”
I let go of his finger when it’s the last thing I want to do, but I have to. The more I feel his skin on mine, the more I'm sure there’s a slight burning pink hue forming on my cheeks.
“He’s not so bad, is he?”
“You only know him as the Admiral. I know him as Henry. My relationship with my mother and him has always been complicated.”
“Fair enough.” He concedes that he won’t push me for more, and I'm grateful for that.
“Alright, men, I’m going home. I promised Ari I’d be home to our babies before two in the morning, and I intend to keep that promise. I’ll see you assholes soon anyway with the next deployment.” Danny Rider gets out of his seat and slides Gabe cash. “Have a good night, boys, and stay out of trouble. I’m looking at you, Lopez.” He points at the cowboy from Texas, and Lopez throws his hands up innocently as if he knows nothing.
Then Mr. Rider gives me a soft, gentlemanly smile, his beard fully grown out. He wears a backward ball cap, and all I can see are the tips of his dark blonde hair shaggy over his ears.
“Alessia.” He throws me a nod of farewell.
“Rider.” I bow my head and wave him goodbye.
Rooker follows suit, and they all give each other brotherly hugs and handshakes goodbye. Two Navy SEALS are now gone, and there are just three left.
“Alessia.”
A deep voice calls me. I know that deep voice anywhere now. After just a few interactions, it's become engraved into my ears.
“Yes?”
"The Admiral just wants to see you safe. I’m not happy about this babysitting gig either.” He swallows the rest of his bourbon.
Of course, he’s not happy about this. He’s a special operator. I don’t know one who isn’t obsessed with his job and taking out bad guys.
“Wait. You’ve been placed on PSD?” Gabe interrupts.
“Yeah.”
Gabe shakes a drink and slides it to Lopez. “Damn, dude, I know you’d rather be on missions and the team, saving people like you did for me.”
“Wait, you two know each other?” I ask, my eyes widening.
“Hell yeah. I would never let a man walk in here with a mask; Creature is the only one who gets a pass. Because if anyone else walked in with one, they would go straight to jail immediately. Hannibal and I go way back. We deployed to Africa once. Fucker saved my buddy’s life. I didn’t know who did it at first. All I know is the guy behind me, holding an RPG to him, got sniped. I found out later it was Creature.” Gabe raises his hand, turning them into fists, and they knuckle touch. “This was before he joined Grim’s team.”
Suddenly, glass shatters a few feet away from us and interrupts the trip down memory lane. It's loud but recognizable. It sounds like someone dropped their big glass pitcher of beer on the floor.
While I’m unphased, Daegan gets startled and stiffens. His eyes quickly search for the origin of the sound, like he's ready to fight someone. His hands clench, and his knee starts to bounce fast and hard.
He stares down the men that caused the ruckus. Customers on the other side of the bar are the culprits. They’re yelling at each over God knows what, poking and daring each other to make the first punch. Gabe shakes his head like he’s used to these things happening all the time. I assume he is, being the owner of El Devine. He throws a white towel over his shoulder and whistles to security, leaving Daegan and me alone to confront the drunken men.
I expect Daegan to continue to pry about Ravenmore, but he hasn't moved. I do a double take, watching him, concerned. His knee continues to shake, and he’s reaching into his pocket. He pulls out a bullet, spins it between his fingers, and hums a tune.
It's like I’m not even here anymore, and Daegan is somewhere else.
His eyebrows narrow inward, still watching, and another glass breaks, causing him to spin the bullet faster like he’s pissed off. His shoulders tense, and his skin begins to shine like he’s in a cold sweat.
I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. I want to tap his shoulder, but someone beats me to it.
Kane pats his shoulder three times, and Daegan stops humming a tune and fidgeting. He pockets the bullet and lifts his face to Kane.
“Let's go burn one real quick.” He holds a pack of Marlboros in the air, shaking it.
Without another word, Daegan gets up from his chair and leaves with Kane. They go towards a patio outdoors where there’s tables and a smoking area.
I retreat to Winters only to find her gone, her seat empty with no Lopez in sight. I check my watch, and realize it’s nearing closing time. People are starting to leave for the night.
Deciding to venture deeper into the bar to look for my friend, I check my phone, sneaking it on my walk through the dancing crowd to the bar for any missed messages from Jack.
But nothing.
“I’m going to eat this ass one day.” A drunken, slurred raspy voice snarls into my ear.
Frankie's slap on my ass has me stumbling over my feet. A burning sensation floods my skin, the pain intruding every boundary I have, and I yelp once his fingers dig in more over my jeans, hard like he's trying to take my clothes off literally.
“Frankie! Stop!” I brush him off, push him away with my hands, and he takes one step back. As I walk away, he tries to get a hold of me again. Thankfully, my reflexes are fast, and he misses. He aimed for my hand like he wanted to pull me into his chest, but I snaked it away just in time. He stares at me with lustful, drunken, glossy brown eyes as I walk away.
“Leave me alone!”
He giggles, letting out a loud burp in between his humiliating laughs.
“We're just getting started, Alessia! Jack isn’t here.” He shouts over my shoulder as I pick up my pace and make my way towards the El Devine restrooms to let the tears fall.
No one has violated me like that before in public. Frankie pushed his limits tonight. His terrible flirtatious ways changing into physical assault have me fuming.
I want to tell Jack about Frankie. I want to call him and tell him his friend just groped me, but then I’m reminded that Jack probably won’t do anything to comfort me.
He’ll tell me it’s my fault that Frankie touched me this way.
Hoping he’ll prove me wrong, I send Jack a text.
Me: Frankie just groped my ass. I'm not okay. Will you come pick me up tonight?
I stare at my phone as I walk faster, and thankfully, Jack reads it. Typing bubbles reflect, and I'm anticipating him to say,
Of course, babe.
I’ll come to get you.
Punch him in his throat.
Anything.
But then the typing bubbles disappear, and that hope is gone.
He doesn't reply.
Fury implodes even further, and all I see is a black hole that I keep digging myself more into. This is supposed to be a fun night before I leave, and this?
I walk into the dark hallway, and my throat tightens, and pain pierces my eyes as I try to force myself not to cry.
Before I can reach the door handle, my wrist is being pulled in the other direction, and I grow fearful of my life.
Did Frankie chase after me? Is he here to push me even further?
Oh, no.
My other hand balls into a fist, ready to make contact with Frankie and show him I'm not one to fuck with.
I will fight back.
But I'm met with those same mysterious, ice-blue eyes that look like a winter wonderland full of snow.
“Why are you crying?”
Daegan. Hannibal.
I hadn’t noticed until he pointed it out. The bathroom hallway is dark, and we're alone. The music switches from country to slow.
“I–uh,” I take a deep, shaky breath, wiping it with one hand, and look down at my fingers that are now wet with my tears.
“What happened?”
Taken aback by his presence, my thoughts scramble, not knowing what to say.
“Someone, uh,” I sniffle, doing everything I can to gather my thoughts.
No. I can fight my own battles.
He squeezes my wrist tighter in a protective, urgent manner that doesn't hurt.
“Who, Alessia? Give me a name.” Daegan spits, clenching his jaw once more. To my surprise, his eyes aren’t glossy. He doesn’t seem to be inebriated. His tone is stern and demanding. His eyebrows wilt together angrily.
I shake my head.
“It’s nothing, Mr. Hannibal. I'm okay. I'm not your assignment just yet. You don't have to protect me.” I pull away again, and he lets me go.
The last thing I see is his nostrils flaring, his tightened jaw, and his menacing eyes that hold limitless threats.
Even though I told him to leave me alone, he watched me enter the restroom like he was making sure no one else followed.