****
There was only one good watering hole in the town—a rickety pub named Arty’s that was well known to harbor the town’s unfavorable idiots and village drunkards. She was pretty sure whoever was there would be too drunk to notice her and so she made her way there. Of course, it took her some time to reach the damn place. Without a car--and the streets bare of taxis--Natalia was forced to follow the sidewalk with downcast eyes and an easy gait.
It only took about fifteen minutes until she found herself staring up at that silly red neon sign over the pub. Natalia had spent a few evenings in this place’s parking lot, attempting to study in the back of her brother’s pick-up while they passed around beers, jeering at incoming pub-goers. She had better luck studying with Nathan nearby and had grown tired of staying around their house whenever their parents had an argument.
She was such an apathetic person back then, and following this town’s doomed capacity to never change, Natalia seemed to be caught in the same loop. With a grunt, she headed inside the pub, grimacing at the stench of alcohol and foul body odor. Yep. Hasn’t changed a bit.
As she approached the bar, she casually shrugged off the curious stares before taking a seat in one of the tall stools, tapping a finger against the top of the counter to wait for the bartender to show up. Sure enough, he appeared.
“Great mother of God. If it isn’t Natalia Hyde, herself!” Natalia turned toward the voice and felt a small smile peek at the corner of her lips.
“You’re still alive, old man?” she asked and the bartender let out a loud guffaw. Arty’s very own Arty Tibbleton; he had been the owner of the pub since Natalia had learned to walk and had been around more than her own father had. In a sense, Arty had taken a sort of paternal figure in Natalia’s life, offering more than enough advice to help her when she had been young. He was probably the only thing in her life that had remained a faithful constant, and it filled her with some contentment that he was still around and well. Arty was a large and buff man, with a large red beard he liked to keep bushy around his face. Having worked years carrying immense boxes of liquor, his body was strong and broad and his connection to her family had spared her a lot of unwanted advances by some of Nathan’s less honorable acquaintances.
“Alive and kicking,” Arty chuckled, swiping a rag along the counter before bracing himself on the wood. “How’s your family, you seen them already?”
“No, I’m keeping my distance for as long as possible,” Natalia admitted, picking at a ridge in the old counter. “I’m staying at the Hilton.”
“Ah, so you’re here for the reunion, then.” Arty said, grabbing a glass and filling it with liquor. “Would you like to try a cocktail? I’ve created a new drink; it should put some hair on that flat chest of yours.”
“As much as I’d love that, I’ll stay clean.” Natalia said, chuckling along. “Just whiskey for now.”
Arty gave her a warm wink before heading toward the requested bottle of whiskey. In no time at all, Natalia was downing the liquor with a sigh, relishing the burn in her throat and belly. She settled on musing on the counter, chatting here and there with Arty, and after her third glass, Natalia felt something—or rather someone—brush against her arm.
“Well, well,” she heard, and when she turned, she was being stared at by a pair of deep green eyes and a strong jaw line. “Haven’t seen you around here before.”
“And you might not ever again,” Natalia replied swiftly, motioning to Arty to top her off. The bartender filled her glass, sending a frown to the man now occupying the space next to the woman.
“I’ll have what she’s having,” Green Eyes said, and when Arty sent her a glance, Natalia gave him a wave. I’m good. With a nod, the broad man slid a glass of whiskey to the man next to her before returning to his patrons.
“You know, you look weirdly familiar to me,” Green Eyes said after a moment of silence. Natalia rolled her eyes.
“If this is your best shot at a pick-up line, you might want to try the redhead giving head to muscles over there.” Natalia stated, flicking her finger in the direction of said patrons. Green Eyes shook his head, chuckling to himself.
“Nah, you don’t seem like the kind to be into pick-up lines.”
“Oh, what tipped you off?” she asked, but couldn’t help but feel a tingle of recognition in the back of her mind. She was certain the alcohol now running in her system was the main cause for her inability to remember.
“Whiskey,” he said, taking a swig of his own drink. She had to admit, he wasn’t bad-looking. “Not exactly a fruity drink meant to entice strangers to get into your pants.”
“Joke’s on you because I’m not exactly new around here,” Natalia shrugged, and that’s when a flash of realization dawned over this man’s eyes.
“That’s how I know you,” he said, snapping his fingers. “You’re Natalia Hyde. My God, look at you. You really grew up.” Natalia frowned at him, not exactly thrilled he knew her when she couldn’t fish a memory of his face from her mind.
“A symptom that comes with the passage of time,” she replied flippantly. “But, I have no idea who you are.”
He raised a brow, and the expression was almost charming. The tickle in the back of her mind began to burn more insistently. “You wound me, and here I thought my reputation preceded me.”
“Apparently not,” Natalia said and he gave her a sudden grin before inching closer; there was a strange thrill that began in her skin when she felt his hand land over her thigh. She was tempted to punch him in the face, but it had been far too long since she had felt anything close to this.
“Would you like to find out?” The memory came all too swiftly the deeper Natalia stared into this man’s eyes.
“Dillinger…?” The name passed through her lips and she saw him flash her a brighter grin.
“Jace Dillinger,” he said, his thumb leisurely tracing a circle against her knee. The shiver in her body increased and she knew that her lowered inhibitions were only tricking her to fall into his touch. “Pleasure to meet you. I take it you’re here for the big alumni reunion?”
“I’m beyond excited,” Natalia hummed back with an apathetic curl of her lips. Jace chuckled into his glass, settling the crystal down as he turned right toward her.
“You still following that brother of yours like a shadow?”
The words filled Natalia with a dip of bitterness, making her wish she hadn’t entertained him for a conversation. It had been a bad idea talking to someone who was familiar with her brother. “Nathan’s gone,” she muttered. “As in, he’s sort of disappeared.”
“Well, I hope nothing bad’s happened to him,” said Jace. She wasn’t sure if that was genuine concern or a mocking tone in his voice, but she was suddenly very interested in the shape of his lips.
“You and I both,” Natalia said, taking another sip of the bitter drink. His lips gave a simple quirk.
“Feel free to say no, but would you like to get out of here?” The thrill returned with a sultry vengeance, filling her up with familiar tingles of desire and black amusement. When she realized that what remained in her hotel room was the hovering figure of Brad, Natalia couldn’t help but want to follow this guy somewhere dangerous.
“Yeah,” she said, half-sighing with a shrug. Yet despite the disinterested tone in her voice, there was a fire in her blood that flared into fierce sparks when Jace took her hand in his and led her out of the pub. She couldn’t help but feel something like excitement in her chest, nerves writhing with giddiness and anticipation. But that was probably just the booze in her system.