Chapter 16 #2
“Briggs and I are finished for good, and I’m not going back to Harrisburg. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go dance.”
Gretchen headed to the dance floor, then changed her mind, detouring to the ladies’ room first. The conversation with Destiny hadn’t bothered her as much as it pissed her off.
Walking to the sink, she pulled a paper towel from the dispenser, wet it with cold water, and patted her face in an effort to calm down.
The fact that Destiny had driven two hours the night before a holiday was enough to convince Gretchen that the woman was telling the truth about Briggs’s breakdown.
And it even made sense that it would freak out Darryl and Destiny.
Briggs had been very—VERY—talented when it came to maintaining his “good guy” persona at work or out in public.
He’d received countless accolades within the police department and in the community.
He’d been Darryl’s mentor as well as partner, taking the younger cop under his wing when he’d first started at the station.
Whenever the four of them went out on dates, Briggs put on one hell of an act as the world’s most attentive and adoring boyfriend.
So much so, Gretchen herself had even bought it for a while, always thinking that perhaps he’d turned over a new leaf, and he meant it when he said he wouldn’t hit her again.
She hadn’t just been the fool me twice, shame on me idiot. Her record was probably closer to fool me thirty times.
After five minutes had passed, more than enough time for Destiny to leave, Gretchen took a deep breath, ready to return to her true friends. A couple more lemon drop shots and a couple hours of shaking her ass on the dance floor and it would be like Destiny was never here.
She surveyed the dance floor but couldn’t see the girls, so she turned her attention to their table, praying Destiny hadn’t stuck around.
She hadn’t. Thank God.
Gretchen rejoined them, pleased to see the waitress was setting them up with another round. “Where’s Remi?”
She wasn’t sure what to make of the glances Mila, Nora, and Kasi exchanged.
Kasi held out her hand, palm up. “She told me to hold her earrings.”
Gretchen giggled, even though she was confused. “Why?”
“Your friend was still sitting here when we came back to the table,” Nora explained.
“She’s not my friend,” Gretchen corrected. “She never was.”
“I’m glad. Because she’s a terrible person,” Mila said.
Gretchen couldn’t help but grin, because those were strong words coming from Mila, who was truly one of the sweetest people she’d ever met. “What did she say?”
Nora scowled but didn’t reply.
“I can handle it,” Gretchen added, when it was clear none of the women intended to share.
“She said you were mentally unstable and a pathological liar,” Mila said.
Gretchen felt her cheeks flush, and her chest grew tight. She was embarrassed by the accusation and terrified the women would believe Destiny.
“Remi told Destiny she was an asshole for defending an abusive prick,” Kasi added.
“Destiny wouldn’t back down,” Nora said. “Kept saying we were being snowed by you and that if we cared about you at all, we’d have you committed.”
“Jesus,” Gretchen muttered under her breath.
Nora grasped Gretchen’s hand and squeezed it. “We just laughed, and I said the only one at that table who needed a straitjacket was her.”
Gretchen blinked back tears. “Thank you.”
“That was when she went a step way too far and called you a worthless cunt,” Nora said, clearly furious on her behalf.
Gretchen was touched that they cared enough to be so mad. “I’ve been called that so many times in my life, it doesn’t even impact me anymore.”
Mila frowned. “That’s terrible.”
Gretchen started to reply…then she recalled the earrings in Kasi’s hand. “Wait. Where’s Remi?”
Nora smirked. “Let’s just say Remi didn’t let that insult slide as easily as you did.”
Gretchen’s eyes widened as she glanced toward the door of the bar. “Did she follow Destiny to the parking lot?” Gretchen hopped up from her seat. “To do what?”
“Probably to kick her ass,” Kasi replied, as if Remi picking a fight was no big deal. “Destiny said if we wouldn’t listen to reason, maybe your ‘old biddy of a landlady’ would. Sounded like she was going to try to get Edith to evict you.”
Edith would be even less receptive to Destiny’s lies than the girls. But still…
Gretchen rushed for the exit with the other three women in tow. As soon as she reached the darkest end of parking lot, she spotted Destiny and Remi in an argument, Remi demanding the woman stay away from Edith and leave town immediately.
The bar only had a couple of streetlights in the parking lot, and both were closer to the entrance. The lot had been almost full when they’d arrived, so Destiny had claimed one of the last spots, farther away. She and Remi were cast in shadow and yelling at each other.
Charlie, the bouncer at Whiskey Abbey, quickly passed Gretchen, rushing over to the two arguing women. He took one look at Remi’s furious face, then shifted closer to Destiny, attempting to shoo her away.
Destiny was a mouthy redneck—Gretchen had seen her get into a screaming match with a woman in the bowling alley for mistakenly using her ball—and she wasn’t the type to back down from a fight, so she shrugged off Charlie’s grip and took a swing at Remi, whose back was to Gretchen.
Remi dodged the punch with ease, but before she could retaliate, another man rushed over from elsewhere in the parking lot, wrapping his arms around Remi from behind, as Charlie did the same to Destiny.
Both women continued to scream at each other, while Remi took exception to being restrained, fighting like a wildcat to shake off the stranger’s grip.
“Stand down, Hellraiser,” the man said firmly.
“Fuck that! This bitch messed with one of my friends!” Remi responded hotly.
“Your friend is a stupid fucking cunt!” Destiny spat. “And so are you!”
Both women struggled to get loose. Charlie almost lost his grip on Destiny, but Remi’s guy impressively held tight, considering Remi was putting up one hell of a fight.
“You need to get out of here or I’m calling the sheriff to arrest your ass,” Charlie shouted at Destiny, dragging her away from the fight and toward the cars. “And, Remi, you need to settle down, goddammit.”
Once Charlie managed to put at least twenty feet between them, he turned Destiny toward the cars. “Which one is yours?”
Destiny shook off Charlie’s hand and straightened her shirt as she pointed to her vehicle. Clearly the threat of Charlie bringing in the law was enough to get Destiny to back down. Probably because she was dating a cop, and it wouldn’t look good if she got arrested in a parking lot brawl.
“Get in it and leave,” Charlie barked. “Now. And don’t bother to come back. Consider yourself banned from Whiskey Abbey.”
“Like I’d come back to this fucking dive.” Then, never able to resist getting the final word, Destiny flipped them all the middle finger as she got into her car and spun tires out of the parking lot.
“Jesus,” Charlie muttered, running a hand over his bald head. “What the hell was that, Remi?”
Even though Remi had stopped fighting for freedom, the man was still holding on, as if he didn’t trust her not to chase down Destiny’s car.
“You can let go, Hotshot,” Remi grumbled, glancing over her shoulder.
The stranger hesitated for a second longer, then released her. Together, they turned toward the bar—and for the first time, Gretchen got a good look at the man’s face.
She froze when his gaze connected with hers.
“Sorry, Gretchen. I’m sure you don’t like violence after everything you’ve been through, but that bitch had it coming,” Remi seethed.
Gretchen’s throat constricted, making it impossible to reply. She couldn’t make herself look away from… him .
“ Gretchen’s the friend you were defending?” the man asked Remi, who nodded…even as she frowned in confusion. “I should have let you kick the bitch’s ass, Hellraiser.”
“Shaw?” Gretchen whispered, her vision blurry with tears.
Shaw gave her a rueful grin. “Hey, sweet pea. Looks like I ruined the surprise.”
She sniffled, his tone and the playful nickname so much the same. Even the way he looked at her.
“You two know each other?” Remi asked.
Gretchen swallowed hard, then cleared her throat. “This is my brother. Shaw.”
“The Navy SEAL?” Remi asked.
Gretchen had talked quite a lot about her brother when she’d first arrived in Gracemont, because it was the easiest way to talk about her past without talking about herself.
Shaw glanced back at Remi. “Yes. The Navy SEAL.”
Remi grinned. “Awesome! Well, we’ll give you two a chance to catch up.
See you inside.” Her use of the word we’ll reminded Gretchen that the other girls were still standing there, a few feet behind her.
Remi walked past Gretchen, linking arms with Mila and Nora…
who were seriously checking out her brother.
Gretchen might have laughed at their awed expressions—and the way Nora mouthed the words holy fuck .
She knew her brother was hot. Was well aware of how many women’s heads he turned.
And not just women his age but even mothers and grandmothers.
He cut an impressive figure, and God had graced him with a drop-dead gorgeous face.
The years hadn’t diminished those looks either.
If anything, he’d gotten even more handsome as he lost every trace of boyishness, now all man.
Turning back to Shaw, she wiped her cheeks, a fruitless endeavor as the tears continued to flow.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment before he held out his arms.
Gretchen sprang forward, racing into his arms as he wrapped her in his embrace. It was as warm and safe and comforting as Theo’s, something that only made her cry harder.
“Hey, hey,” Shaw soothed. “It’s okay, Gretchen. It’s okay. I’m here, sweet pea.”
His kindness led to more sobbing, and soon she was a panting, hiccupping mess.