CHAPTER FIVE
Friday, July 21st
“I’m not going to die,” Claire murmured to herself as her heart beat a staccato against her rib cage.
Panic—that’s all this was.
Leaning against the wall, she dragged in deep breaths and wondered if the couple going at it in the bathroom were going to be done anytime soon.
How she had ended up in The Loose Caboose on a Friday evening with a woman who wanted her dead was not something she was going to understand right away. Looking down the long hallway, she saw her date, Roy the mechanic, and the woman who had just threatened her, smooching like their lives depended on it. Seemed when he described himself as single on his online profile, he hadn’t been totally honest. A more accurate description would’ve been “tied up with a psycho.”
Seeing the bar lights bounce off the woman’s impressive tatted biceps made her believe that the threats she had spit out earlier were a real possibility. So, how to get out of here in one piece?
If it was just the one crazy lady, she wouldn’t have worried, but like most colorful people, she had a lot of friends who were a skosh crazier. And, apparently, they were all in the bar tonight.
When she and Roy had dinner earlier, she never would’ve guessed that her evening would end at a bar without a ride home. The moment she could get a signal, she was going to call an Uber and get the hell out of there. All she had to do was make it through the bar without catching the attention of Roy’s psycho and her friends.
Maybe she could get one of the guys to come down and get her out of here. Nobody would mess with any one of the operatives of TRG. Mentally going through the list of possibilities, she tried to come up with the person who would give her the least amount of grief. No way was she asking Quinn. He’d put her on lockdown if he saw where she’d ended up. Hunter and Miles were on duty with the actress. Kane was out of town visiting his family, and she didn’t want to pull Brock away from his girlfriend. Which left Brady. Who was the last person she wanted to call for a rescue.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she just strode down the hall and right out the front door. She knew a thing or two about self-defense and she could probably hold her own. Glancing at her phone, she realized she had a signal. She clicked the Uber app and prayed she could get a ride. When no flashing cars showed up on the map, she wondered if drivers avoided this area. Cabs—they still existed…right?
A crashing sound came out of the bathroom, and she figured the sex had gotten a little out of control. Which meant at least someone’s Friday night wasn’t in the shitter.
Feeling the air-conditioning across her shoulders, she shivered. She looked down at her cute top and jeans and felt like an idiot. All that effort and she was huddled in a dive bar with a woman who wanted to do God knew what to her.
Better see if she could find a cab and make a break for it. Searching her phone, she came up with a number and called. When she gave the operator her location, she was greeted with a snarky laugh. Then the call was ended.
Crap.
Taking a deep breath, she fortified herself and dialed Brady. This was going to suck, but not having a ride home clearly sucked more. She lived on the opposite side of the city, so it’s not like she could’ve hoofed it home. Also, there was the small detail that she probably wouldn’t make it out of the neighborhood to consider.
“Darlin’,” Brady said as he answered the call.
Hearing his deep voice sent a wave of happiness over her fractured nerves. “Sorry to call you so late, but I was wondering if you could come and get me.”
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did the guy touch you? I’ll fucking kill him. I knew that you shouldn’t be goin’ on dates with strangers. This shit is ending tonight, Claire.”
Hearing keys jangle and a door slam told her that he was walking to his truck. Which meant that whatever lecture Brady wanted to give her was going to be worth it.
She looked down the hall and saw Roy shoving his tongue down psycho’s throat, which meant that first thing in the morning, she was going to do some interesting things to his public records. Not only was the guy an asshole, he was dangerous. Who in his right mind would drag an innocent person into this mess?
“Claire, where the hell are you?”
“The Loose Caboose on McKinley.”
“Nice place for a date,” he said. “I’m not going to ask how you ended up there. Are you okay for a bit?”
“Yeah, sure. I’m hanging out in the hallway and listening to a couple of people having sex in the bathroom. It’s been going on for about fifteen minutes, which is kind of impressive, considering the conditions. I mean…do people expect a lot of foreplay when they’re banging in a public bathroom? It seems more of a quick thing, but these two are groaning and moaning, and if I wasn’t slightly concerned about a woman who seems to want to rearrange some of my features, I might find it entertaining.”
“What about the douche you were on a date with?”
“Yeah, turns out he wasn’t honest about his relationship status. Single, he is not. In fact, he’s playing tonsil hockey with his psycho girlfriend right now. Which I think is rude, considering the woman threatened me. Talk about a lousy date. This one takes the cake.”
“Which is why you’re not going on anymore,” Brady said succinctly. “There are crazy assholes all over the place and they don’t need to be anywhere around you.”
“I have to go out on my last two dates. I promised myself that I would see it through.”
“No!” Brady shouted into the phone.
“We’ll talk about it later.” The banging in the bathroom stopped, so she figured that the fornication was a success. In a small way, she was slightly jealous because having hot sex in a bathroom seemed like a lot more fun that hiding out from Brokedown Betty out there. “I thought about crawling through the air-conditioning vents to escape because I saw someone do it last week on Criminal Minds, but then I decided this place probably hasn’t kept up with their rat problem and there was no way I wanted one crawling down my pants as I made a daring escape. I have new jeans on and I couldn’t find a pair of underwear that didn’t show, so I’m commando and I don’t want one of those varmints crawling into my business. Did you know that a rat can get into a place as small as a quarter?”
Hearing Brady choke into the phone made her wonder if he’d drunk something and it had gone down the wrong pipe. “You okay?”
Clearing his throat, his voice came out low and gravely. “No, Claire. I’m not all right. I’m pissed as hell.”
“’Cause I made you come out on a Friday night to rescue me?”
“No!” he shouted. “First off, I can’t stand the freaking idea of you going out with anyone other than me. But I’ve dealt with it because I figured they’d be just a bunch of bozos, which had been pretty much the case up until tonight. But to hear that you’re in danger and wearing low-cut jeans is more than I can handle. No more dates.”
“You listen to me, Brady. I’m a grown woman and I can do what I want when I want and with whom. So, don’t be bossing me and expect me to take it.”
“I’m caught between hell and a fence post right now,” he responded quietly.
Well, what could she say to that? Not much because he was a good man and he seemed to be interested. Maybe calling him to rescue her when he’d told her earlier that he wanted to go on a date was insensitive. But she was stuck. Or was she? Maybe she wanted Brady to come and get her so that she could spend a little time with him. Which wasn’t very nice. “I’m sorry I asked you to come out tonight. If I’d thought about it more, I’m sure I could’ve come up with someone else to come and get me.”
Brady let out a loud sigh. “I want you to call me for anything, and I’m happy to come and get you.”
“Thank you. Can we stop at Borden’s on the way to my car? I need some serious ice cream therapy to get over this disaster.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I really do appreciate you comin’ out. Roy’s girlfriend may not have followed through on her threats, but I don’t like testing the limits of someone’s sanity. It’s never worked in my favor, so I have a tendency to take what people say at face value.”
“Always a good idea. You can’t fix stupid and you can’t fix crazy. It’s best to steer clear unless you have the training and armaments to deal with it.”
“Thanks again, Brady.”
“Sweet girl, I’d do anything for you. No thank you necessary.”
Maybe this night wasn’t a complete loss. Having someone as handsome and good as Brady come and get her gave her a bit of hope. “I’ll make you dinner as a thank you.”
“I’d prefer breakfast,” he replied with a laugh.
That was a comment best ignored because the idea of having Brady in her house in the morning wasn’t wholly unappealing. In fact, it was real appealing.
He was six-foot-three, broad-chested, and good-looking. His dark blond hair set off his eyes beautifully, and he was as appealing as could be. “Are you getting close?” When he didn’t respond right away, she wondered if they’d been disconnected. Lifting her phone away from her ear, she checked the signal and noticed they were not connected anymore. Shoving it into her pocket, she hoped he would be here in a minute. The couple from the bathroom walked out, and they gave her satisfied smiles as they passed.
Some people had all the luck. She hitched her purse on her shoulder and then pulled up her jeans. Turning her head, she saw someone walking down the hall and tried to see who it was in the dim light. Hopefully, it wasn’t anyone who wanted to see her harmed. Squaring her shoulders, she waited and then saw it was Brady. He wore an old pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt, and she’d never seen a more welcome sight.
He held his arms open and she walked right into them without a second thought. It was weak, but she really could use a hug. The moment his arms went around her body, she relaxed and buried her face in his T-shirt. Just shoot me now, she thought as she twined her arms around his waist. He smelled perfect. Pine, musk, and something indescribable.
“Borden’s?” Brady asked after he pressed a kiss to her head.
“Yes.”
“Let’s get out of here and get some ice cream,” he said as he turned them toward the bar.
He kept her tucked under his left arm as they walked down the hall. She knew he was right-handed and had his gun tucked into the back of his jeans. Not that he would need it. The man could take care of anyone who got in their way. Close quarters combat was a specialty of HRT, and she knew he would never use lethal force unless he had no choice. Which wasn’t going to happen tonight. Not even close.
People recognized a lethal opponent and usually made an appropriate choice, unless, of course, they were not playing with a full deck. As they passed Roy and his girlfriend, she noticed the malevolent glare the woman threw her. Yeah, not anyone she needed to see again. The fact that Roy chose not to acknowledge her as they walked out of the bar burned her biscuits. Definitely needed to do something to make sure he stayed off the dating sites. Which she would be taking care of first thing in the morning.