Chapter 21 #2
“What's your sister's name?” He glanced across to the side, where a section of the bar cut off with a beaded curtain. It was quick, but I noticed it, heard the soft clatter of the beads as they settled.
“Faith.” I stepped forward, the cool air from behind the bar’s aircon, washing over my heated face. “Her name is Faith. Is she here?” I leaned over the bar and looked in the same direction that he'd been looking. “Are you there Faith? Faith!”
The curtain pulled back with a gentle rustle and the blonde girl appeared, clutching a tea towel. She was chewing on her bottom lip, caution in her eyes.
“I'm Lola.”
She wasn’t what I was expecting, free of makeup, a natural flush to her cheeks, with the prettiest gray eyes. I’d been prejudiced about her before we'd even met. Where she'd lived, where she'd worked, I'd expected her to be something different. Someone who wouldn't be good for my sister.
“Hey,” I said, giving her a wave that felt both stupid and insufficient for the relief I felt seeing her. Finding Lola meant we were hopefully one step closer to finding Faith. “I'm Charity.”
“Faith's sister. She told me about you.” She narrowed her eyes on Liam. “And you're the bull headed bossy guy who wants in her sister's pants, right?”
The guy behind the bar snorted a laugh. My gaze whipped in Liam's direction, he had his head down, and I couldn't see his expression, or gauge what he was thinking.
The bartender clearly thought it was hilarious. “Is that so?” he asked, his deep voice booming around the bar.
Hot with embarrassment, heat rushing up my neck to my face, I turned back to Lola. “Do you know where Faith is? Did she come here to Dallas, looking for you? I just want to be sure that she's okay.”
She swallowed and then moved closer, her sneakers squeaking softly on the tile. “She told me she's going to send money back to the old lady she was staying with.”
“We're not here for the money.” Liam moved up beside me, his solid presence immediately calming. “We just want to make sure that she's okay and doesn't need anything. We're not going to force her to come back with us or anything like that.”
I shifted, not sure I agreed with him, yet aware that he was probably right. She was an adult and had a right to live wherever she liked. It didn't mean I wouldn't try and persuade her to come home.
“Please, Lola,” I begged. “Can you just tell me if she is okay?”
She looked at the bartender. “What do you think, Marv?”
“It might give big sis peace of mind.” When I glanced at him, he was grinning at Liam before turning to me. “Grab a table with Lola and I'll bring you a coffee.”
A few minutes later, we were each hugging a mug of strong, hot coffee, the ceramic warm and smooth against my palms. Steam rose from the surface, carrying the rich, earthy aroma that filled my senses.
It smelled delicious and tasted delicious too.
Liam and I both sighed when we took a sip, the warmth spreading through my chest.
“It's good, isn't it?” Lola said, playing with the screw top of the plastic bottle of water she was holding. The plastic crinkled under her fingers. “Marv is the best.”
It was comforting to know that Marv was so damn great, but I really needed to know about Faith.
“Is she okay?” I pushed. “We went to your old apartment and…”
“Yeah, I left there as soon as I had enough saved up for a deposit on a new place.” Her top lip curled up in disgust. “Sick and tired of the dealers and lowlifes that thought it was okay to bang on my door all hours of the day. And don't get me started on my lovely neighbor.”
“Yeah, we met him,” Liam scoffed, his mug pausing mid-air. “Nice guy.”
“Let me guess, he looked at your ass.” Lola rolled her eyes.
Liam made an actual growling sound before slamming his mug down onto the table, the sharp crack making me jump.
“The guy is a douche,” Lola continued. “Another good reason for not staying there. Managed to get somewhere much nicer closer to here.”
“You've worked here a couple of weeks, right?” I didn't want to make small talk, I wanted to talk about Faith, but I couldn't find it in me to be rude to her. “The bartender at Foxy Monroe's told us you were working here. Well, he told Liam.”
Her face paled as she twisted and untwisted the bottle cap again, the plastic squeaking with each turn. “Yeah, I kind of left pretty quick. I owe him some money and didn’t have any spare to pay him.”
“It's sorted.”
My head turned in Liam's direction. “What? When?”
“What do you mean, sorted?” Lola asked.
He waved her away. “I paid your bar tab, so don't worry about it.”
She blinked, long, bare lashes fluttering rapidly like birds’ wings. “You can't just pay him off like that,” she protested.
“Can and did.” Liam took a long, heavy breath. “Now, can you just tell us where Faith is so that Charity can check in with her?”
“Liam.”
“We don't have time for chit chat, Charity.” He pushed his unfinished coffee to one side, the mug scraping against the table surface. “The sooner you get to speak to her the better. I don't want you having to worry about her any longer.”
The music seemed to stop, and the chatter quietened as I stared at him.
His green eyes, sparked with flecks of amber, flickered under the overhead strip light, their intensity taking the breath from my lungs.
My heart rate quickened, warmth spreading through my chest like honey.
No one had ever worried about me like he did.
No man had ever done whatever was needed to make me feel safe enough to lean on them. My dad had to because he was my dad, but even he had always been preoccupied with navigating his and Mom's grief, then dealing with Faith's insecurities and behavior.
“Wow,” Lola said, her chair scraping on the tile floor as she moved it. “You two really are intense. I think I almost got pregnant just watching you look at her.”
“Oh, we're not. We're…” I rolled my hand between us but when Lola snorted a laugh I gave up trying to explain what Liam and I were. Not when I had no idea myself.
“Where's Faith, Lola?” Liam said, looking at me. The left side of his top lip lifted in a half-smile.
“God, you're so not fun.” She sighed and pulled a pad and pencil from the apron she was wearing, the paper rustling as she tore off a sheet.
“This is my address. She's staying with me.
Well, we're roommates.” She slid the piece of paper across to me.
“If she's not there she's out looking for a job. Has been since she got here two days ago.”
Liam and I stood and I held the paper tightly in my hand. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”
“Just don't expect her to greet you with open arms.” Lola stood too and started picking up each of our mugs, the ceramic clinking softly as she stacked them. “She's mad at you and your folks. Real mad.”
When I felt Liam's hand at the small of my back, the warmth of his palm seeping through my shirt, instantly I felt comforted and knew that with him by my side, facing Faith seemed a whole lot easier.