I
saw a familiar figure moving through the crowd around the bar, holding a tray
high over her head with a toned, tanned arm. Bodies parted, allowing her
passage. She smiled at the blond bartender. He leaned forward and she said something
in his ear. He nodded and started mixing drinks in a silver shaker. When he
placed two martinis on Natalie’s tray, I saw their hands connect briefly before
the bartender started making more drinks.
Everything faded; I
didn’t hear the music and the room itself slipped into darkness. The only light
I saw was around Natalie. My girlfriend and the only woman I’ve ever lived
with, the woman who killed a man to protect me and the woman I wanted to build
a life with was looking at another man like she used to look at me. She was
more beautiful than ever. Her tanned skin glowed and her smile was radiant,
only it wasn’t directed at me. She had gained back most of the weight she’d
lost after Genovese assaulted her and her curves made me ache with longing, remembering
how good her body felt against mine, under me, on top of me. I closed my eyes
and swallowed.
I wanted to punch
pretty boy’s face in, but knew that violent reaction would only send Natalie
running. I wanted to claim her in front of the entire bar, but fear of her
rejection made me hesitate. I stood there, clenching and unclenching my hands.
Grant, as if sensing the source of my hesitation, said. “Come on, stay behind
me. I’ll go first.”
I nodded, the plan made
sense, so I followed Grant into the crowd toward Natalie.
Chapter 17
NATALIE
One moment I was
turning away from Jason’s bar, with a tray loaded down with drinks, and the
next moment Dominic and Grant were standing in front of me. I cried out and my
tray dipped. Glasses crashed to the floor, liquid splashing against my bare
legs before they gave out, sending me to my knees among bits of broken glass.
“Natalie!” A chorus made up of Jason, Grant and Dominic’s
voices filled my head and I closed my eyes. How did they find me and how the
hell was I going to explain this to Jason?
***
It became increasingly
difficult to breathe and I stayed kneeling on the floor trying to regain
control.
“Natalie, breathe,” Jason whispered in my ear. He was
crouching over me, rubbing my back with small, steady motions.
“Who the fuck are you?” I heard Dom ask and then he was
leaning over the other side of me. My breathing hitched and everything started
to sound very far away, replaced by a roaring in my head. I felt really hot
right before the floor rushed up to meet me.
I woke to a harsh
medicinal scent, like concentrated cough drops, and opened my eyes to see
Callie stepping back holding a blue container of Vick’s Vapor Rub. I was lying
on the loveseat in her office and Jason stood behind Callie, his arms crossed
as he stared at me. My stomach was slightly queasy and I slowly sat up,
inhaling through my nose, the nasal passages wonderfully clear and the oxygen
having its desired effects on my body.
“What the hell happened?” I asked, rubbing my temples to
sooth the throbbing. That’s when I noticed my knees were trickling blood. Bits
of glass stuck to the skin. I reached down and started pulling the pieces out,
placing them in my free hand.
“Here,” Callie handed me a damp dish towel and an empty
glass. I dropped the shards into the glass and began cleaning up my knees. “You
had a panic attack and it was a pretty bad one.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” My cheeks flared in embarrassment.
“Don’t be sorry, I used to get panic attacks right after
Frank died. They can sneak up on you. Now, I want to know, who are those guys
that triggered it?”
Shit, Grant and Dominic
weren’t a hallucination. “Where are they?”
“Right outside the door and it was all I
saw a familiar figure moving through the crowd around the bar, holding a tray
high over her head with a toned, tanned arm. Bodies parted, allowing her
passage. She smiled at the blond bartender. He leaned forward and she said something
in his ear. He nodded and started mixing drinks in a silver shaker. When he
placed two martinis on Natalie’s tray, I saw their hands connect briefly before
the bartender started making more drinks.
Everything faded; I
didn’t hear the music and the room itself slipped into darkness. The only light
I saw was around Natalie. My girlfriend and the only woman I’ve ever lived
with, the woman who killed a man to protect me and the woman I wanted to build
a life with was looking at another man like she used to look at me. She was
more beautiful than ever. Her tanned skin glowed and her smile was radiant,
only it wasn’t directed at me. She had gained back most of the weight she’d
lost after Genovese assaulted her and her curves made me ache with longing, remembering
how good her body felt against mine, under me, on top of me. I closed my eyes
and swallowed.
I wanted to punch
pretty boy’s face in, but knew that violent reaction would only send Natalie
running. I wanted to claim her in front of the entire bar, but fear of her
rejection made me hesitate. I stood there, clenching and unclenching my hands.
Grant, as if sensing the source of my hesitation, said. “Come on, stay behind
me. I’ll go first.”
I nodded, the plan made
sense, so I followed Grant into the crowd toward Natalie.
Chapter 17
NATALIE
One moment I was
turning away from Jason’s bar, with a tray loaded down with drinks, and the
next moment Dominic and Grant were standing in front of me. I cried out and my
tray dipped. Glasses crashed to the floor, liquid splashing against my bare
legs before they gave out, sending me to my knees among bits of broken glass.
“Natalie!” A chorus made up of Jason, Grant and Dominic’s
voices filled my head and I closed my eyes. How did they find me and how the
hell was I going to explain this to Jason?
***
It became increasingly
difficult to breathe and I stayed kneeling on the floor trying to regain
control.
“Natalie, breathe,” Jason whispered in my ear. He was
crouching over me, rubbing my back with small, steady motions.
“Who the fuck are you?” I heard Dom ask and then he was
leaning over the other side of me. My breathing hitched and everything started
to sound very far away, replaced by a roaring in my head. I felt really hot
right before the floor rushed up to meet me.
I woke to a harsh
medicinal scent, like concentrated cough drops, and opened my eyes to see
Callie stepping back holding a blue container of Vick’s Vapor Rub. I was lying
on the loveseat in her office and Jason stood behind Callie, his arms crossed
as he stared at me. My stomach was slightly queasy and I slowly sat up,
inhaling through my nose, the nasal passages wonderfully clear and the oxygen
having its desired effects on my body.
“What the hell happened?” I asked, rubbing my temples to
sooth the throbbing. That’s when I noticed my knees were trickling blood. Bits
of glass stuck to the skin. I reached down and started pulling the pieces out,
placing them in my free hand.
“Here,” Callie handed me a damp dish towel and an empty
glass. I dropped the shards into the glass and began cleaning up my knees. “You
had a panic attack and it was a pretty bad one.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” My cheeks flared in embarrassment.
“Don’t be sorry, I used to get panic attacks right after
Frank died. They can sneak up on you. Now, I want to know, who are those guys
that triggered it?”
Shit, Grant and Dominic
weren’t a hallucination. “Where are they?”
“Right outside the door and it was all I
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