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“I doubt that. He wouldn’t even bother if he didn’t. You said he’s always getting on you. It’s because he likes you too, or at least finds you hot.” Sway leaned back, rubbing his flat stomach. “And look at you over there, in your leather and white t-shirt. You look like a modern day Fonzie.”
Dana shook his head at his friend’s silliness. He took both hands and smooth them over the sides of his hair and gave him the classic Fonzie thumbs up and rumbled, “Eyyyyyyyy.”
Sway almost spit out his beer when he doubled over laughing.
“Enough about me. What about you, man? Any hot doctors tried to get your attention?” Dana drank some more water. He needed to dilute some of that tequila or else he’d be waking up at seven in the morning with a pounding headache, giving Ford something else to complain about.
“Nope. It’s still just me and mom.”
“You know I love your mom. But don’t you think she’d want you to live a little? Have a social life?”
Sway groaned. “God, you sound just like her. And who says Saturdays at the flea market and watching Golden Girls every night with your mom isn’t a social life?”
“Um, whoever came up with the term social life says so.” Dana and Sway smiled and made light of it, but he knew his friend was a romantic and probably craved some in his life, but his mom would always come first. She’d lost one son, so Sway did any and everything he could to keep his mom smiling and happy with the son she had left.
Sway was talking about this new underground gay club an orderly told him about and how Sway could definitely get lucky there when Dana noticed two dark SUVs pull into the Applebee’s parking lot. He kept his eyes on his friend but watched the vehicles in his peripheral. Four men got out the first one and three got out the second one. They were no good and Dana knew somehow they were there for him. Thugs didn’t usually frequent this place or this neighborhood. Dana recognized one of the guys as one of the Grossman brothers’ top goons from the pictures they’d gone through during the last weeks. Ray and John Grossman had clout and eyes everywhere, surely they knew Duke was on the case by now. Dana discreetly hit the alarm/panic button on his watch to alert his team. There were seven of them… he needed Duke, Quick and the King brothers.
“What’s wrong? Your jaw looks like you just sucked on a lemon,” Sway said, looking around at the other patrons to see what had Dana so upset.
Dana sobered almost immediately at the thought of sweet Sway in danger, the fierce bounty hunter in him roared to the surface, his mind focused on getting his friend out safely. Surely, the sudden seriousness could be seen in his tense expression. “Sway, listen to me. I need you to be Polo. I want you to go through the kitchen and out the back door. Don’t try to come around to the front, they’ll see you. You hide in that alley until I call for you. Don’t look back, and ignore the staff, just go and hide. I’ll call for you.”
Sway looked scared, and so did Dana. He wouldn’t be able to handle his approaching problem until he knew Sway was safe. The guys were walking across the parking lot and Sway finally saw them, turning back to Dana shaking his head. “I won’t leave you.”
“You know the drill. We’ve been through this. My guys are coming. Go now, before they see you,” Dana growled. “Now. Go, Sway.”
Dana watched Sway hurry from the table and across the restaurant – never turning around – and through the double doors the staff used. Hopefully, no one gave him a hard time and he could get to the alley. Dana had the waitress quickly take Sway’s plate, in hopes it would appear he was eating alone. Dana didn’t turn around, instead using the mirror behind the bar to see that one of the men stayed outside, one sat down in the waiting area by the front door, three went to the bar, while the other two approached him.
Dana kept his composure even as the leader took Sway’s seat, the other one making his big body comfortable on the other stool. “Have we met?” Dana said drily.
The man simply looked at Dana with a “Don’t bullshit me” expression and waved over the waitress. She looked uncomfortable when she stood next to the table, her smile long gone, like she knew something wasn’t right. Sway’s charming presence was missing, replaced with ugly hoodlums.
“Hey, sweetheart. I’ll have a double of your best whisky.” The man ordered in a rough voice, his sinister smile making an unwanted appearance. Beady green eyes surveyed the shot glasses on the table and the three or four empty beer mugs. The thug looked up at Dana with a skeptical expression. “Did you drink all this yourself or am I really interrupting?”
