donât think so. Not anymore. Things have changed in Blue Marsh since youâve been goneâa lot of things.â
Briaâs hand dropped to her waist, but her fingers came up empty. Normally, her gold detectiveâs badge would be clipped to her leather belt, along with the holster that held her gun. But we were on vacation, and Bria had left both of those items back in Ashland.
Pete realized that she wasnât armed, and his smile widened, making his diamond-embedded tooth twinkle like a tiny star in his mouth. âI always wondered what itâd be like to bang a haughty bitch like you. Looks like tonight is my lucky night.â
âIf you even think about touching her, I will make it so that you never bang anything again,â I drawled. âNot even in your dreams.â
I might be on vacation, might be trying to keep a low profile, but nobody threatened my sisterânobody.
Pete looked over at me, his gaze taking in my sneakers, khakis, and long-sleeved T-shirt. He snorted, dismissing me as unimportant, and turned his attention back to Bria.
Trent kept staring at me, though, his dark eyes never leaving mine. Heâd heard the cold promise in my voice and realized that I was just as dangerous as I claimed to be. Looked like the giant was a little smarter than his buddy was. I hoped he wassmart enough to walk away and drag Pete along with him. I wasnât eager to get involved in things, but I would if necessary to protect Bria, myself, and even Callie. Despite my jealousy, I didnât want to see the other woman hurt, but that was clearly something Pete and Trent thought was on the menu tonight.
Pete pushed past Bria and Callie and ambled over to the bar with its sunken-boat top and polished brass railing. The bartender had planted himself at the far end of the long counter, next to the doors that led into the back of the restaurant. He stood there with the two waitresses, their faces tight, all of them clearly wishing that they were somewhere else. The diners remained frozen in their seats, forks and glasses halfway to their lips, scarcely daring to breathe, much less eat what remained of their food before it got cold.
Pete reached behind the bar, grabbed a bottle of gin, and ambled back over to Callie. He unscrewed the top and took a long, healthy swallow of the shimmering liquid before wiping off his mouth with the back of his hand. Classy. He grinned at Callie, then whipped around and threw the bottle as hard as he could. It smashed into the mirror and the glass shelves behind the bar and exploded, causing several more bottles to fall off and break. Alcohol fumes filled the air, smelling as harsh and caustic as gasoline.
Callie flinched, and Bria put a comforting hand on her friendâs arm. I eased over so that I was standing in between Callie and Trent, despite the fact that I was sighing on the inside. Pete and Trent were determined to make trouble, which meantthat my break from being the Spider was going to be officially over in another minute, two tops. Vacation or not, low profile or not, I couldnât just stand by and watch two guys trash someone elseâs restaurantâespecially not when that restaurant belonged to Briaâs best friend.
âI think that itâs time you realized just how serious we are, Ms. Reyes,â Pete said when the crackling tinkles of breaking glass had finally stopped. âAnd just how eager our boss is to buy your restaurant, no matter what shape itâor youâare in. I thought you got the message six weeks ago when you had that accident. You know, the one where you fell against the bar and broke your arm? You were lucky it was just a hairline fracture and not something more seriousâand that you didnât hit that pretty face of yours on the way down.â
Callie flinched again, but she stood her ground in front of Pete. My eyes narrowed. So theyâd roughed up Callie once already. Why? What was so
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