Page 118 of Broken
“You’re harassing the hell out of me.” She glanced around for a server. She needed to speak with the manager. Enough was enough.
Another man sidled over.
Whoa, what’s he doing here?
Her sister’s housemate, Lou, tossed her a nod. “Hey, I thought that was you. Jacqueline, right?”
Same black knit cap, his long hair trailing down his back. Instead of wearing a T-shirt and jeans, he’d dressed in a button-down and black pants.
She wasn’t interested in hanging with him either. “Hey, Lou.”
“I heard you tell this guy to beat it,” Lou said.
“We’re good,” the stranger said.
“The lady asked you to go. Why are you still here?”
The man didn’t move.
Lou got in his face. “Leave her alone, or I’ll turn your face into dog meat.”
The stranger narrowed his eyes, then his shoulders slumped. He abandoned his seat and moved into the crowd.
Lou set down his beer, but he didn’t sit. Instead, he stood across the small table. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied, glancing over at the door.
Dammit, Prescott, where are you?
“Dudes like that are an embarrassment for the rest of us, who are trying to do the right thing.”
“I appreciate the save, but I had this.”
“I’ve got three younger sisters and I was always watching out for them,” Lou continued. “You gotta be careful being by yourself. Sorry to be lecturing, but you can never be too safe. That’s what I always told my sisters.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Chillin’ with my band, but they left.”
“Where’s Leslie?” she asked, knowing full well that her sister was having dinner with another man.
“She’s got a work thing,” Lou replied.
Didn’t look like work to me.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Prescott. “Ethan had a meltdown and I couldn’t leave him. Sorry! Call you later.”
She collected her small purse. “I’m outta here.”
“Are you by yourself?”
“I was meeting someone.”
He chugged the beer. “I’ll walk you out.”
“I’m good.”
“You donotwant to run into that stalker in the parking lot,” he said. “I don’t even want to think about what could happen to you.”
