Chapter 5
chapter five
Dash
I’ve been watching her all night.
Three weeks. That’s how long Maddie’s been working at The Rusty Nail, and every single shift has been pure fucking torture.
Tonight’s no different. Saturday, packed, the kind of chaos that used to feel normal.
Now every laugh, every sway of her hips as she cuts through the crowd, pulls my attention like a goddamn magnet.
I’m behind the bar when she comes up for another round, tray balanced on one hip. Finn’s already there, hand settling low on her back like he has every right. His blue eyes soften when she looks up at him.
“How are you holding up, Maddie?”
“I’m good. Busy, but good.”
His hand lingers a second longer than it needs to.
I feel the muscle in my jaw tick. He steps back, tells her to let him know if she needs anything.
She takes her tray and disappears into the crush of bodies.
My eyes track her the whole way. When she glances up and catches me staring, something hot and dark flashes across her face before she looks away.
She feels it. Both of us. The way we look at her like we’re already deciding how we’re going to take her apart.
Twenty minutes later she’s back. I load the drinks she needs without a word, set the tray down, and cover her hand with mine before she can grab it.
“You doing okay?”
She tilts her head, studying me. “Finn just asked me that. I’m fine.”
“Now I’m asking.” My voice comes out rougher than I mean it to. Possessive. Protective. The way it always does around her.
She leans in a fraction, voice dropping. “I’m fine, Dash. Really. You guys don’t have to worry about me.”
My gaze drops to her mouth. Those soft lips. The way they part just slightly. “Can’t help it.”
She smiles, slow and a little shy, and I want to drag her over the bar right then.
Instead she slips her hand free, takes the tray, and brushes past me.
The scent of her skin hits me as she goes.
I feel Finn’s eyes on me from the other end of the bar.
We both watch her disappear into the crowd again.
Around nine, I see Gavin lean in too close. Regular. Harmless enough until he’s had a few. He’s grinning at her, saying something that makes color rise in her cheeks. I don’t wait.
I’m at her side before she can answer him. Don’t touch her. Don’t need to. My presence alone is enough.
“She’s working.”
Gavin’s grin falters. “Hey, man, I was just?—”
“She’s working.” I drop my voice lower. “Move along.”
He mutters under his breath, grabs his beer, and relocates to a table across the room. Maddie looks up at me, pulse fluttering at the base of her throat.
“I had it handled.”
“I know.” I lock eyes with her. “But you don’t have to handle it alone.”
Finn materializes on her other side, hand settling on her shoulder. “Everything okay here?”
“Fine,” I say, never looking away from her.
Finn’s grip tightens. “Good. Maddie, why don’t you go take a break? You’ve been on your feet for hours.”
“I’m fine,” she says, steady. “But thanks. Both of you.”
She steps away. I watch every step. So does Finn. We don’t speak, but the silent agreement settles between us the way it has for weeks: she’s ours. We just haven’t claimed her yet.
By last call I’m wound tight. She’s wiped down the last table when we move in together, flanking her on purpose.
“We need to talk,” I say, low.
She straightens, rag still in her hand. “About what?”
Finn’s hand settles on her lower back. “About this. About us.”
She looks between us. I see the exact moment she understands what she’s looking at, two best friends who already decided. “There is no ‘us,’” she says, but her voice lacks conviction.
I step closer, cup her cheek. Her skin is warm under my palm. “You know that isn’t true. I know you can feel what’s happening between the three of us.”
Finn’s hand slides to her hip. “We want you, Maddie. Both of us. And we’re not going to keep pretending we don’t.”
Her breath comes faster. “I don’t understand.”
“You will,” I murmur, thumb brushing her cheekbone. “But first you’re going to tell us what’s really going on with you.”
She tries to step back but we don’t let her. Finn’s hand stays firm on her hip. Mine stays on her face.
“I’m fine,” she says, too quick. “There’s nothing going on.”
“Bullshit.” My voice stays quiet, but it leaves no room. “You’ve been looking over your shoulder since the day you walked in here. You jump every time the door opens. You barely eat. We know you saw something you shouldn’t have, but now we need to know all of it.”
“Why? Me telling you isn’t going to change anything,” She gasps.
Finn’s voice softens the edges the way only he can. “Talk to us, sweetheart. Whatever it is, you’re not handling it alone anymore. We’ve got you.”
She stares at us for a long second, chest rising and falling fast. Tears already filling her eyes. Then the words start pouring out.
“My mom died when I was nine, and I went into foster care. I had no family that wanted to take me, so I stayed until I aged out. You guys know that part. I bounced from one shitty job to the next, and from one even shittier apartment to the next, trying to make ends meet. I wound up working at this bar in the city, owned by a bad guy.”
“What kind of bad guy?” I ask.
She lets out a bitter laugh, but the look I give her wipes the smile right off her face.
“I don’t know. He just gave me a weird feeling every time I saw him.
Sketchy people were always hanging around, following him to the back of the bar.
Lots of shady dealings. Whatever, it doesn’t matter now.
” She takes a shaky breath. “A few weeks ago, I was working the closing shift. I was exhausted and walked out without my purse. When I went back for it, I accidentally saw him put a bullet in some guy’s chest. I made a noise.
I’m pretty sure they realized I was there, so I ran.
I packed as much of my stuff as I could, got in my car, and drove until I ran out of gas.
That’s how I ended up here in Silver Lake. ”
She’s breathing hard, tears streaming down her face.
“I shouldn’t have even stopped. I just didn’t know what else to do.
I needed cash fast, and your bar was the first place hiring.
” She wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Look… I need to go. I’ll finish out the week, but then I’m leaving and getting as far away from this place as possible.
The last thing you need is trouble walking through your door because of me. ”
Silence stretches in the empty bar. I don’t move away and neither does Finn.
“We’ve wanted you since the moment you walked into our bar, Maddie.
” My voice is rough. “The past couple of weeks have been pure fucking torture trying to keep our hands off you. Every shift, every time you smiled, every time you brushed past us… it’s been hell. ”
Finn steps closer, eyes dark. “We’ve never wanted the same woman at the same time like this before. Not like this.”