Chapter 28
Nina
I shouldn’t have come back to Willow Creek, and yet, I belong here. I wasn’t safe in California anymore after Lily’s ex figured out that I helped her leave him. His father had people hunting me down. Nick doesn’t believe they’re looking for me anymore.
I’m still not safe. Being here puts the people I love in danger. Sean is out there. He’s been waiting for me to come back. The Vikings are divided on whether or not he’s in town. He’s here. I can’t explain how I know. It’s like I can feel his presence.
Things have been quiet this week. No Mountain Dew cans have shown up.
Maybe they gave up. Well, if the Midnight Mavericks are involved, they may have.
Sean will never give up. I’ve thought about asking for Ariel’s Angels to relocate me again, but I won’t.
I’m so tired of hiding and living in fear of him finding me.
No, I’m not bold and bad. I’m just tired and want it to end.
Tonight, JB’s Roadhouse reopened. I’m not brave, but I’m here.
And let me just say, it was a fight to get here.
I’ve argued with my nephew. I’ve argued with my sister.
Oh, she’s here, too, by the way. All the more reason for Jay to be angry.
And yes, Darin and I have officially had our first argument.
And no, we haven’t made up. Two big, broody, pissed-off bikers keep Lauren and me in sight at all times.
“Are you sure you want to be here?” Lauren asks for the tenth time.
“Yes.” I take a sip of wine and glance at the table next to us. He’s literally less than four feet away, but it might as well be the Grand Canyon.
Darin, Jay, Jack, and Coty sit at the table next to ours. Darin and Jay focus on us. Jack and Coty are watching our surroundings. Of course, Jack has his eyes on Lily, too. Coty also watches Kayla behind the bar. Bankz is bartending tonight, too. Hendrix and Colt have the door. We’re safe here.
“I don’t like seeing you two fight.” Lauren pushes her glass away.
My eyes meet Darin’s again. I swear, his eyes never leave me. I don’t like fighting with him. I hate it. For the first time in my life, a man has shown me what real love and care feel like. I never want to lose that or him. How Lauren has survived nineteen years with Jason, I never want to know.
“You love him,” Lauren says.
Darin’s eyes flick to her and back to me. Oh, yeah. He’s close enough to us. The music and crowd can’t drown us out.
“I do,” I admit.
For the first time in days, the corner of his mouth twitches. His eyes soften. So do mine. What a way to tell a man for the first time that you love him. Well, in my defense, our lives aren’t exactly normal.
“How’s it going, ladies? Can I get you another drink?” Emily Powell holds the serving tray against her chest.
Our guys aren’t the only ones angry tonight. Bankz and Hendrix aren’t happy that Kayla slipped Emily in as a server tonight. I don’t understand why. She’s doing great, and the customers love her.
My glass is half full. Lauren’s is almost gone. We shake our heads.
Lily hands Emily her empty beer bottle. “Bring us another round in about thirty minutes.”
“Will do.” Emily takes the bottle and moves to the next table.
“Angel,” Jack warns.
Lily nudges me to let her out of our booth. “We’re going to dance.”
“What? I haven’t danced in years.” I think the last time was in high school.
“I don’t dance,” Lauren says.
“Angel, that might not be a good idea.” Jack tries to change her mind.
Lily points to the dance floor. “We’ll be right there. You boys can see us just fine from here.”
“How many have you had to drink?” I ask.
“Too many,” Jack answers for her.
Not listening to any of our protests, she pulls Lauren out of the booth and drags us toward the dance floor.
“Pfft.” Lily huffs and keeps moving.
We make it to the dance floor as a new song starts. Lily and her tipsy self shows us a few moves. Surprisingly, Kayla leaves the bar and joins us. It’s awkward at first, but by the third song, Lauren and I move like we never stopped dancing. Okay, not exactly true. We still stumble a lot.
A really upbeat song, one I’ve never heard, plays next.
Lauren manages to bow out and returns to our table.
Kayla refuses to let me go. I don’t like this style of music.
The college kids, however, love it. The majority of them are on the dance floor now.
Every move I make bumps me into someone.
Kayla takes my hand and twirls me around.
A group of girls moves between us, forcing Kayla to let go of my hand.
I move around the dance floor, trying to get through the crowd and back to our table.
No one apologizes when they bump into me.
These college kids need to learn some manners.
Someone grabs my hand and pulls me through the dancers.
I can see his black leather coat with no logo.
Darin’s overcoat doesn’t have their logo on the back, just a small one on the left front.
This isn’t Darin, though. I’m not sure which Viking this is.
If he’s leading me back to our table and Darin, I don’t care who he is.
We exit the dance floor near one of the hallways, not the tables. When a large coat with a hood is tossed over me, I know I’m in trouble.
“Darin!” I yell.
“Shut up.” The man behind me pushes me forward.
The one gripping my hand keeps walking toward the exit door.
Two more men are waiting for us. One pushes the door open.
The alarm doesn’t go off like it’s supposed to.
Oh no. If they cut the wires, Bankz won’t get an alert on his phone.
I scream at the top of my lungs as I’m pulled through the door.
No car is waiting when we step outside. The man pulling me heads straight for another alley. I don’t stop screaming. Please let someone hear me.
“Make her shut up,” the man behind me says.
“She will soon enough,” one of the two waiting at the door says.
I’m pulled into a small parking lot. I don’t know where we are.
“This was a bad idea.” The other man mumbles as he opens the trunk of a black car.
“No! No! No!” I scream louder.
“We’re going to have Vikings all over us if she doesn’t shut up. I’m not getting caught for her.” The man behind me looks back down the alley.
The man pulling me comes to an abrupt halt. I know who he is before he spins around on the others.
“Then leave,” Sean snaps.
“We helped you when no one else would. We get you your prize. Now, you think you have power?” The man behind me nudges me forward. “Take her, but don’t you ever show up in Chattanooga again. We’ll kill you for the McLeods if you do.”
The first man by the door punches Sean in the face. “Never should’ve trusted you.”
Sean stumbles but doesn’t let go of my hand. The three men spit at him before they disappear into the shadows.
With them gone, Sean pins my back to the car and raises his ski mask.
“Hello, Christina.” He wipes the blood from his lip with the back of his other hand before slamming it into the car next to my head.
I jump and squeeze my eyes shut. “You’ve been hard to find.
Knew these scumbags were hiding you. Should’ve stayed hidden. ”
Yes. Yes, I should have.