I nod, biting my lip with amusement.
“Anyway, congratulations again.” Barrett spins around, giving a wave as she flings the restroom door open, “You ladies have a good evening!”
I scoff at Hannah and brush past her before the door can even close. I rush back down the hallway and burst into laughter when I see Barrett waiting for me at the corner of the bar. She lets out a whoop and grabs my hand.
“That was,” I gasp, “ah-mazing.”
Barrett links her arm in the crook of my elbow and leans into my ear as we descend back into the darkness, “Girl, I got you,” she croons as we weave through the crowd to our table.
It suddenly dawns on me that an awkward and terrifying situation may be waiting for me when we get there. I’ve managed to forget for 10 minutes what happened in the dark hallway with Wells, but I still don’t know what happened to him or who pulled him off of me. Regardless, we have to get back to Anna. There’s a high probability she’s already climbed onto some Kawasaki parked outside and ditched us for Ethan and his spotless boots.
But when we arrive at the table, there’s only one guy left. I vaguely recognize his dirty blonde hair and oddly smooth face that makes him look like a six-foot-tall Ken doll. He’s sitting next to Anna with his hand resting on the back of her chair.
“Where’d everyone go?” Barrett glances around.
Anna swivels in her chair and eyes me from across the table, “Is Bowen here and we don’t know about it?”
My stomach drops, “What?” I step up into my seat and smooth the front of my shirt.
The Ken doll hooks the heel of his brown square-toe boot over the rung of his chair. He rubs the side of his chin and sits back with a smirk.
“You got a bodyguard here somewhere?” he grins.
I stare blankly at him, “What are you talking about?” I ask again with a half-smile.
He and Anna exchange amused looks, “Wells got in a fight,” Anna beams, excitement splashed across her face.
“What?” My heartrate skyrockets again.
Ken doll looks down into his lap, “I don’t know if fight is word I’d use,” he drones, “more like got his ass beat.”
I’m getting the feeling that Ken Doll isn’t too sad about Wells’s misfortune. Anna laughs into her hand and shoots Ken Doll a look.
“By who?” my voice pitches up as I try to look around as subtly as possible.
Ken Doll shrugs, “You all went to the bar and Wells came back all torqued up. He had blood on him and it looked like someone tried to break his face. He said some guy pulled a knife and told him to stay away from you.”
“He called us crazy bitches and then they all left,” Anna grins deviously, eating it up, “all except Hayden.”
I stare back at her in shock, “What’d the guy look like?” I murmur across the table.
“You didn’t see any of it?” Ken Doll sounds surprised, “Damn. I wanted the whole story.”
“Uh, no.” I’m not lying, technically I only saw a dark figure for a split second. “I was waiting at the bar with him and then went to the restroom.”
“It was probably Bowen,” Barrett surmises as she digs in her purse for her Chapstick.
“No,” I laugh, brushing her off, “if he were here and saw all those guys he would’ve been sitting here at the table.”
“You’re right,” Barrett shrugs, “Bowen would do it out in the open where everyone could see.”
I entertain the alternative for a brief moment. On one hand, Bowen probably wouldn’t be happy that I asked some rando to be my fake boyfriend to deter a stalker—a stalker he believes is Colson and has said as much. On the other, I would much prefer that it was Bowen breaking Wells’s face, especially after what he did.
But the fact remains, Colson or not, someone is still breaking into my car, sending me drinks with creepy notes, and lurking in close proximity with a knife.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Hollow Watcher
One Year Ago
I’ve never seen Brett’s friend with the red lips and smoky eyes. She looks like Barrett, but more dramatic. She’s also a lot louder than Barrett, but she makes Brett laugh. I’m sure I’ll get to meet her eventually.
I approach them from behind, my black hoodie still pulled over my head. Bodies part as I slip between them, totally focused on her. I step to the left and place my hands on her hips as I brush past her. I lean down as I go, inhaling the cloyingly sweet scent of her hair. It’s torture when her curls feather against my nose. The thought of knotting them around my fist like a rope is already making me hard.
But I already know what that feels like, which only makes it worse.
I know she turned to see who touched her, but I’ve disappeared into the crowd again. And if she does see me, I’m just a nobody in a black sweatshirt, fighting for a space at the bar like everyone else. She probably gave my back a dirty look for invading her space. It’s a shame I can’t turn around to see it.
I was going to leave her alone tonight, but I can’t resist. I do it for my own selfish reasons, but I also do it to keep her safe. Just like when I intercepted the asshole following her through the grocery store or had a word with her neighbor about lingering near her window too long when she still lived in her condo. She’ll never know the extent of what I do for her. And that’s how it’ll stay, because she shouldn’t have to worry about that kind of bullshit.
Fortunately, it’s girls’ night, and I get to watch her in her natural habitat, laughing with her friends and showing me that incredible smile of hers. As much as I love looking at it, I love making it disappear just as much. She gets my drink and I laugh when I see the look of pure terror on her face when she sees my note to her. She hides it immediately because, as always, she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself. I don’t know why she gets so worked up. I just like giving her compliments.
Because I’m a fucking gentleman.
And I’ll never stop making sure she knows my entire existence revolves around her. She could be a desiccated pile of dust and bones in the deepest cave in the most desolate desert, and I’d still watch over her night and day and grovel in her presence.
And then I notice some asshole and his good ole’ boys post up at my girl’s table like jackals. At first, they’re just a bunch of nameless dicks looking for a good time, until I get a better look at his face.
