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“Fill in the form. Someone will look into it.”
“Will they, though?” I folded my arms across my chest and stood my ground.
“Move, you’re starting to piss me off.” He grabbed his taser and ground his teeth.
Recognizing he wasn’t going to help me, I backed down. “OK, fine! I’ll fill out a form.” My words dripped with sarcasm. It was probably a waste of time, but whatever.
The guard rolled his eyes again, ignoring my snark. Were all the guards in this place so diligent? It was worrying. Maybe I could do something, perhaps arrange for Dad to be moved somewhere safer.
I felt the guard’s eyes on me as I left the room. Fuck him. I was going to log my official complaint even though it was pointless. If nothing else, it would make me feel like I tried, which was arguably better than stewing over what might happen if Dad started singing like a canary.
Chapter 61
Harley
The bar was teeming with people. Hardly a big surprise given it was a Saturday night in Manhattan. Quinn had sent me for drinks while he and Stella took a corner booth. She’d been quiet since the visit with her father. I’d tried asking her what happened, but she hadn’t said much. I had a feeling whatever her father had told her, she was upset about it.
Trust was a delicate thing. Stella and I were hooking up but I wasn’t dumb enough to think she trusted me. Not fully at least. She trusted me to take care of her. And she trusted both Quinn and I to accompany her on this trip. But it was clear she didn’t trust us enough to divulge her deepest fears and darkest thoughts.
And that was OK. I wouldn’t expect anything different. Stella had spent her whole life keeping people at a distance. She was guarded to the extreme. The fact she had let us in was a miracle in and of itself. She was even willing to let Brax into her circle of trust, and that guy was a monumental dick at times.
Not that I blamed him for any of it. He’d struggled in the wake of his father’s death, and knowing Stella’s father was apparently responsible for it only compounded the hurt.
He would come around eventually. The chemistry between him and Stella was too powerful to ignore indefinitely. And when it finally happened, there would be fireworks on a grand scale.
I smirked to myself while I waited for the asshole bar tender to stop flirting with the two girls next to me.
“Yeah?” he yelled a few minutes later. The music was deafening. If I worked here, I would legit have permanent hearing loss after a few nights. No wonder the guy was grumpy as fuck.
“Three Cloud 9s,” I said, having perused the menu while I waited.
He nodded and began mixing our cocktails as I flicked through my socials. Fuck me. Cassie was still bitching up a storm. She’d even tagged me in some posts about Stella. Honestly, I really ought to fucking block her but at least while she was my ‘friend’ I could track her insanity.
I quickly snapped a selfie with a panoramic shot of the crowded bar behind me and uploaded it. Let her wonder who I was partying with in NYC. I knew it would bug the hell out of her.
“75 dollars,” the bartender yelled, already eying up his next customer. I tapped my phone on the payment terminal and carried our drinks back to where Stella and Quinn were sitting, trying to avoid being jostled by overeager girls and obnoxious dudes on the hunt for some action.
Quite a few of the women threw me an appreciative look but I ignored all of them. Before Stella, I’d have been balls deep in pussy by now. This place was pussy central. But I only had eyes for my girl. And judging by the way Quinn was staring at her, he was in the same boat.
Not that she noticed. She was too busy gazing down at the table, her thoughts a million miles away.
“Drinks, bitches!” I announced, placing the three glasses on the table, cocktail umbrellas and all, before sliding into the booth next to Stella.
“What the fuck?” Quinn nearly choked at the sight.
“We’re in the Big Apple, dude, so tonight we’re experimenting. None of your usual beer or bourbon. This is a cocktail bar and we’re doing fucking cocktails. Get with the program.”
Stella’s mouth curled up into a smile and her eyes sparkled a little. There’s my girl. “Erm, what is it?” Her face scrunched up a little at the funky-looking drinks.
“A Cloud 9,” I told her. “This one has mustard in it.”
“Fuck me.” Quinn looked queasy and I laughed.
“Where’s your sense of adventure, dude?”
“If I puke later, I’m blaming you.”
“Eh, you have zero game.” I picked up a glass and took a long swallow. I nearly coughed at the flavor but managed to suppress the urge. Quinn’s eyes narrowed and Stella snorted with laughter.
