Page 1 of Deranged
Chapter One
Kory
How many ways can a person break? Physically, mentally, emotionally? I didn’t know how many there were, but I’d learn them all eventually. The worn wood stool I’d been occupying for the last hour reminded me physically might come sooner than the rest.
I shifted on the hard surface and checked my watch, the second-hand spinning as it always did. Except today, it counted down, a death knell so soft and unassuming.
Heat poured in the room from somewhere, swirling the scent of cigarette smoke, stale-beer, and sweat. Ah…the scents of a dirty hole in the wall. My favorite kind of place to fall.
When life rushes me, I shove back. I always go down, but I get a couple knocks in before my ass hits the pavement.
I signal the bartender, George, and the saint of a man slid two more shots of vodka across the counter. Two lemon wedges and a shaker of sugar followed.
For a shitty dive bar, George’s place had good service. Better still, no one asked questions. So the adult fuck up daughter of the esteemed representative from Missouri could drink herself stupid without cameras shoved in her face.
Maybe even charm a man into taking her home. I snorted at the idea and let it slip away in a haze of lemon drops and shame. The shitty jukebox music pounded around me, and I clutched my empty shot glass a little tighter. In twelve hours, it would end. I’d be shoved into a box, locked out of sight so my mother had six more months of not bailing me out, not sending her security to pick me up, not answering awkward questions from tabloid reporters.
Twelve more hours of freedom. I intended to drink, eat, and fuck my way through every last second. George brought me another shot while I brooded. I squashed a fifty into his already overfull tip cup.
“Big spender,” a dark deep voice said from beside me. A bellow of cigarette smoke followed his statement.
I flapped away the pungent scent. “Do people still smoke cigarettes?”
He took a drag and spoke through the smoke trapped in his lungs. “Only assholes.”
His forearms were sexy. Strong, outlined in solid muscle as he flexed. Hello, Doctor. The cuffs of his white shirt had been shoved, not folded, up to his elbows. His face sported a two-day stubble and bags lined his eyes. He worked hard. Did he play hard too? No coat in sight, but summer still held tight against the oncoming Autumn. The days remained warm enough to go without, the nights just the good side of chilly.
I’d peg him as a doctor. He tossed two amber-hued shots back, smooth and practiced. Definitely a doctor. I’d seen enough in my lifetime to be able to pick them out of a crowd. And chances are I’d met them before. But not this one. Tall, lithe, beautiful in a masculine way, plush and soft lips, deep rumbly voice. Oh yes, this one was for me.
“Long night, Doc?”
He turned to face me. “Do I know you?”
I shook my head and held my shot up in salute. He waited for me to finish swallowing, a gentleman then. Gentlemen always waited for a girl to finish swallowing.
“No, but I recognize your type.”
“My type?”
Explaining would tell him more about me than I preferred a stranger to know. I motioned at him from knees to crotch. “Doctors.”
His eyebrows drew together as he studied me. “Do you have something against doctors?”
The alcohol spoke for me. “Not ones I want to take to the bathroom and fuck stupid.”
His survey morphed to surprise, and I waited. Yes, there was the intrigue chasing it. Not a hard no or a wedding ring. I could work with that. “Can I buy you a drink?”
More raised brows accompanied by a soft grin on his lips. Lips I wanted to bite just to learn what sort of sounds he might make. I shoved my short, dark hair away from my face and licked my lips. His eyes locked on the motion.
Gotcha.
I motioned at George again. He brought more shots over, and I scooted closer to my next bedpost notch.
I extended my hand and lied. “I’m Percy. You are?”
“Ash.” He shook my hand. Strong grip, but not the shake of a surgeon. What kind of doctor was he? I entertained the idea of asking, but knowing would ruin things for me.
“So, getting down to business. What do you say? How about a little trip to the bathroom?”
