Chapter 21
Daisy
I had just exited the bathroom at the diner when all hell broke loose. I came to a jerking halt in the shadows of the dark hallway, watching the chaos unfold as two gun-toting men entered the diner screaming that they would shoot if anyone moved. It was like a bad scene from a movie. The first thought that crossed my mind was that this was a robbery. They weren’t wearing masks, but what else could it be? My heart jumped when I realized the position I was in. I watched as the cook and waitresses were forced around the counter to where the customers sat, but there was a wall preventing me from seeing what else was going on.
“I said no one fucking move!” one of the men yelled, and I wondered who he was screaming at.
“You told me to back up, man.”
Oh, God, it was Big John! Fear for him turned my blood cold. These guys seemed unstable, nervous, I could hear it in the tone of the man who’d spoken. The one that I could see was twitching. He was the one who went behind the counter to where the register was located. He hit it in several places, but when it didn’t open he looked up and yelled, “How the fuck do you get this thing open?” He continued pushing buttons. “You, old man, get back here!”
“You think I’m gonna help you rob my own restaurant? Fuck you!”
“Get back here!” the robber screamed, waving his gun. “Or we start shooting!”
“Better do as he says, Willy.” That was Big John again. “They might actually hit something.”
Why was he taunting them?
“Shut up!” the unseen robber ordered. “Get back!” Had Big John made a move toward him? The next thing I heard was a shot, followed by screams.
I screamed, and then reacted without thinking, rushing down the hallway toward the commotion, afraid of what I would see on the other side of the wall. If something had happened to Big John…my heart was in my throat. Everything happened so fast after that. I had time to see Big John draw a gun that I hadn’t known he had on him, and the two Sentinels leave their booth. The waitresses and few customers who were still there dashed for cover, but there was nowhere for them to go.
One of the robbers was on the floor, out cold. My eyes flew to Big John and connected with his, seeing the rage in his eyes. “Daisy, move!”
I’d forgotten about the other robber, and by the time I realized that he was behind me it was too late. A skinny arm slithered around my waist and I was jerked sharply back against a bony body. The stink of unwashed clothes and body odor made me gag. It didn’t matter that I probably outweighed him, the fear and adrenaline that was pumping through his blood had made him freakishly strong.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Big John, even though his focus was on the man behind me. I drew strength from his larger than life presence, knowing that he’d get me out of the situation I’d found myself in, and that everything would be okay.
“Stay back or she dies!” the robber threatened, using me as a shield against the three guns that were aimed his way. I could feel him trembling against me, probably from a combination of drugs and fear, and from the realization that he was in a bad position. Suddenly I had the barrel of a gun against my temple.
I hated the position that I was in and cursed myself for my stupidity. I should have remained hidden, but my fear that Big John had been hurt had overshadowed my common sense. I was nothing to the Sentinels, their expressions remained passive as they calmly waited to make their move, but Big John was beyond furious. His dark eyes looked like cut glass, and his expression was darkly menacing. A muscle twitching in his square jaw revealed that he was barely holding on to his control.
“You just made the biggest fucking mistake of your life,” Big John grumbled threateningly. He kept his eyes on the man that was holding me.
The man behind me sniffed as if he had a cold. “Looks like I’m the one with leverage,” he said bravely, his voice slightly slurred. “Brody!” he yelled, in an attempt to wake up his partner.
Big John snorted. “Won’t do any good, I broke his fucking neck.”
I could feel the man behind me stiffen, his gun hand was shaking, and intuition warned me that he was not going to react well to that news. He was backed up into a corner, and right now I was his only way out of there. He began to drag me toward the door, and I knew that I had to do something. It was obvious that Big John and the Sentinels weren’t firing because they didn’t want to take a chance that I’d get hit. There was only one thing I could do, and I prayed that it didn’t backfire on me. I went completely limp, my dead weight too much for the robber to hold. Before I knew it, I was slipping through his arm.
Before I hit the floor, a shot rang out and the robber flew backwards, slamming against the entrance door. Big John reached me before I could get to my feet again, wrapping a strong arm around me.
“Fuck, babe, you took a risk doing that.” He slipped his gun behind him, into the waistband of his pants. “You okay?”
I nodded, beginning to shake. “Yes.” I glanced past him to the two Sentinels. “Thank you.” I wasn’t sure what they’d done to help, but just the fact they’d been behind Big John, ready to make a move, was enough. I watched them holster their weapons.
He shot a quick glance at them. “Thanks for the backup, I owe you.” Sirens were heard coming in the distance. “You might want to get the fuck out of here.”
“I think we’ll take you up on that,” one of them said. They both left without another word.
“Won’t the police want to question them?” I saw his lips quirk above me. “Question who? They weren’t even here.” Oh. “Jesus, fuck, babe. When I heard you scream and then run into the room, I almost had a fucking heart attack.”
“I thought you’d been shot.” Crap, I could feel my eyes tearing up.
Willy walked over to the robber by the door and gave him a kick. “Bastard,” he groused. He moved behind the counter. His waitresses were still too shell-shocked to move, a couple of them sinking onto a chair. The few customers began to relax when they realized that the threat was over. The fact that there were police cars with flashing lights rushing into the parking lot probably helped. One cruiser pulled right up to the front door, all but blocking it.
Several police charged into the diner, guns drawn and on full alert. Their gazes seemed to take everything in at once.
“Someone called in a shooting,” one of them said, looking down at the body next to his feet. His eyes shot up toward Willy. “What happened, Willy?”
Another cop moved around the first one, coming further into the diner, his gaze instantly narrowing on Big John, before dropping to the man on the floor. “He dead?”
“As a doornail,” Big John smirked.
“You kill him?” Big John nodded. The cop looked closely at the body from where he stood. “With what? I don’t see any gunshots.”
“With my hands.”
The cop took a minute to digest that. It was clear they knew one another, but there was no love lost between them.
“Killed the other fucker, too,” Big John admitted. “Had to use my gun on him, he was about to hurt my woman.”
The cop glanced my way. His mouth turned down at the corners. “Standard procedure, put your hands behind your back.” He holstered his gun and grabbed for his cuffs.
What? “It was self-defense!” I explained in a panicked voice.
“What the fuck, Sherman, it was self-defense,” Willy snarled at the younger man. “We all saw it. He had a gun to this pretty little gal’s head and was trying to force her out with him. They were here to rob me.”
“That right?” the policeman next to him asked. He looked beyond to where customers and waitresses were still quietly sitting. Every one of them nodded. Not one of them mentioned the Sentinels.
“So, what about this guy?” Sherman nodded towards the man at his feet, the one that Big John had killed with his hands.
“I didn’t have time to reach for my gun.”
“Let me see your gun,” Sherman demanded. Big John pulled it from behind his back and handed it over. “I’m sure you have a permit for this?”
“You know it.”
“Come on, Sherman, stop being an asshole. If Big John hadn’t been here, these two drugged-up fuckers would have robbed me and probably would have shot someone in the process. They were twitching and acting unhinged.”
The cop next to Willy shrugged at his partner. “Sounds cut and dry to me. I recognize the one by the door, he’s a known tweaker and gets into trouble all the time. Small time stuff, though, before today. He has a record. I bet the other one does, too.”
Apparently, Sherman was the one with the authority. He bent, checked the pockets of the dead man, and pulled out his wallet. “Run this and see what we’ve got. Call the coroner, too. Get Charlie in here to help you interview the witnesses.”
“Aw fuck, man,” Willy whined. It was clear that he knew something that I didn’t.
“Sorry, Willy, but you’ll have to close for a couple of days while we investigate.” Sherman’s gaze narrowed on Big John. “Just to make sure all is as it seems. When the shock wears off, sometimes witnesses remember little details that we’re not getting right now.”
Was he insinuating something? He clearly didn’t like Big John. “I’ll keep this until I’m sure it’s legal.”
Big John just stood like a pillar of stone with his massive arms crossed, looking intimidating as hell and clearly not giving a fuck. The law didn’t scare him in the least, where as I had a healthy respect for it. When Charlie came in I recognized her as the officer I’d spoken with the day before regarding my restraining order. She had directed me to the courthouse. We exchanged smiles as she came my way.
“Didn’t expect to see you again today,” she said in a friendly tone. She’d been very helpful the day before, and we’d struck up a fast friendship. Her gaze scanned the room, taking notice of the two bodies. “Don’t tell me one of them is the ex.” She was serious.
“No, no,” I said in a rushed voice. I could understand why she’d think that, considering what I’d told her about Paul. While I didn’t think Paul was in the area, she’d told me not to underestimate a deranged, possessive ex. She’d live through it and had the scars to prove it. Her ex had sliced her face open during an attack that had ended in his death. The scar didn’t take away from her beauty, though.
Big John’s eyes narrowed on me in response to Charlie’s statement, and I knew that he would question me about it later. I hadn’t told him that Paul had been in touch with me because I’d hoped that once the restraining order went into effect it would take care of his interference in my life. Besides, Big John was a hothead, and I knew what he did for his club. The last thing I wanted was for him to go to prison for attacking my ex.
Charlie’s gaze shot to Big John. “Hi, Big John, haven’t seen you in town for a while.”
“Charlie,” he acknowledged in a firm tone, still standing like a Viking warrior. “Haven’t seen you out at the club for a while.” She blushed and shrugged, but didn’t respond. Big John’s comment inferred that she used to frequent the club, which I found very interesting. “You want to take our statement?”
So they knew each other, and seemed to have an easy familiarity that made me instantly jealous. I’d never been jealous in my life, so the new sensation left me feeling confused. I curled my fingers into my palm to keep from pulling her away from him and staking my claim. Good grief, what was happening to me? I liked Charlie. I watched their exchange, the way they smiled easily at each other while she asked him for his statement and wrote it down as he spoke.
Even with the scar on her cheek she was still a beautiful woman. Tall, slender, curves in all the right places, her brown eyes reflecting confidence and intelligence. I suspected her blonde hair wasn’t natural, but with her olive coloring it looked good on her. She wore it in a conservative bun. A couple of times I caught her touching Big John on his arm, making me wonder if there’d ever been anything intimate between them. The thought of them naked and fucking caused me to close my eyes, but that only made the image clearer.
I opened my eyes straight into his, falling willingly into his heat. The dark promise in his pupils set my blood on fire, and my nipples puckered right there against my sweater. I wanted to cross my arms to hide his effect on me, but I knew it was too late when his gaze flickered there, and then he gave me a knowing smirk. I rolled my eyes, getting an even bigger grin.
“Do you have anything to add, Daisy?”
Charlie had to see what was going on between me and Big John, and if it bothered her at all she kept it hidden well. Maybe she’d been involved with someone else at the club. Maybe I was making a mountain out of a molehill. I gave her a genuine smile, shaking my head.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said. “You’re both free to leave.” She returned her gaze to Big John, lowering her voice. “I’ll make sure you get your weapon back. Sherman can be a dick sometimes.”
“Not worried about it, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart! I did not like that. Big John didn’t even call me sweetheart. As I stood there stewing, Charlie walked off and I slapped my hands on my hips, facing the impossible man head on. I could tell my arched brow and pursed lips didn’t affect him in the least. In fact, amusement filled his smoldering eyes, and his crooked grin had no business being so sexy. As I tried to scorch him with my laser eyes, he laughed out loud and grabbed my arm.
“Come on, babe, before I push you up against the counter and fuck you right here in front of everyone.”
Ohmygod! I glanced down at the front of his jeans, my jaw dropping at the huge erection he was sporting. What was so damned arousing? Had seeing Charlie made him horny? Suddenly I was more confused than ever, and fuming, letting my imagination run wild regarding him and Charlie, ready to rattle off irrational accusations. It didn’t even matter to me if they had merit or not. The friendly, almost intimate way that they’d acted toward each other was telling enough.
And he thought it was funny?
I let Big John pull me outside to his truck.
If he thought I was going to let him touch me after another woman had turned him on he had another thing coming!