Chapter 22
twenty-two
Cordy had never been in the Red Dog before. The place had the worst reputation, and the exterior lived up to every nasty thing she’d heard.
The sign was missing the D in Red, and the O in Dog had been X’ed out by some graffiti-writing teenager ages ago. The door was propped open, but it sagged so badly on its hinges Cordy doubted it could shut anyway.
When she walked in and saw the industrial carpet on the floor, she couldn’t repress her shudder. There must have been several decades of spills in that carpet, which would never come out. Although the lighting was dim, she could still see the years of neglect on the walls and furniture.
This wasn’t a place where people came to have fun. This was where you came to drown your sorrows.
Behind the bar, Jack, the owner, was eyeing her skeptically. “I think you might be in the wrong place.”
Cordy walked up to him, remembering that he was her colleague. She’d bartended in worse places than this, although not by choice.
“Is Chance Kessal here?” she asked. “Because if he is, I’m in the right place.”
Jack’s mouth tightened. “I know who you are. I don’t want a scene.”
“I would never cause a scene.”
Another contraction, a smaller one, caught hold of her. She was able to straighten up in only a minute or so.
Jack’s face was a mask of horror. “Are you in labor? You can’t have that baby in here.”
“I would never!” Cordy was shocked—she had much better professional courtesy than that. “But I need to find Chance.”
Jack shook his head. “I’ve seen a lot of shit in this bar—had a lot of women come in looking for husbands or boyfriends or baby daddies—but never one about to give birth. This will be a hell of a story.”
He lifted his hand and lazily pointed to a corner booth shrouded in darkness. “Over there. And I’ll turn up the lights because this’ll be good.”
When the overhead fluorescents came on, Cordy almost gagged. This place was not meant to be seen in any light, much less the unflinching glare of office lighting. The carpet was dirt gray, the walls covered with scuffs, and several panels were missing from the ceiling. It was like someone had trashed an empty building and then decided to set up a bar inside.
With effort, she choked down her instinctive revulsion. It would be rude to sneer at someone else’s establishment, even if this bar should be burned to the ground.
Everyone was staring at her. But she didn’t care because she wasn’t here for them.
Cordy was here for the man watching her from under heavy, hooded eyes.
There was no one in the booth next to Chance. No one laughing at his jokes or rubbing up against him. No one listening to his stories or gazing up at him seductively. No one but himself.
A tall, ice-filled glass sat in front of him. Cordy immediately clocked it as water.
So Chance had hauled himself to this dump to sit by himself and drink water ? Somehow, that made Cordy even madder than if he’d had three women draped over him and was drunk as a skunk.
Oh no, he was definitely not getting away with this.
She set her fists on her hips and faced him down. “The sex worked!”
A gasp rippled through the crowd.
“Oh honey,” said one woman, “you should have told him that months ago.”
Chance stared back at her, his expression blank. It was like she wasn’t even there.
Well, too damn bad if he was feeling scared. Cordy squared her shoulders. He’d promised to be with her. He’d answered her ad. She’d hired him for a job, and he was damn well going to do it.
“I’m in labor. It worked.” She swallowed hard, fear suddenly seizing her chest and squeezing tight. She was going to have a baby. It was finally happening . Her voice splintered. “I’m scared. And you promised to be with me.”
“I know what I said.” His mouth was grim. “I remember everything.”
Was that a crack about last night? About how he’d finally let his guard down with her and regretted it?
You might not want me in your mess, she wanted to yell, but we’re both in deep, and it’s too late to back out!
But that wasn’t true.
Chance had a choice here. He could stay in this bar and keep doing his stupid, safe one-night stand rule.
Or he could keep his promise and meet Cordy at the hospital. It was all up to him. She’d talked big about dragging him out, but in the end, only Chance could drag himself out of the hole he’d made.
“Ruby’s driving me to the hospital now. If you’re coming, then come. I won’t ask you again.” Cordy lifted her chin. “Either I see you at the hospital, or I don’t.”
Then she turned and left, pretending to be brave when she was more terrified than she’d ever been in her life.