Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“This is Andre,” Karen finally said after she’d finished the last dregs of her first drink. “He’s the boss over all of us when Sheriff Sunny isn’t around.”
Andre looked kind of sort of mean.
And each time the group that housed the men of Gator Bait MC got boisterous in some way, he’d glare at their table.
I moved four seats down and pulled out my phone. This was going to be a long night.
At some point, the large table holding Cassius grew. Karen finally joined me, and I tried not to catalog each and every person that joined them at their table.
I did, however, acknowledge Matilda and Etienne when they came in. Matilda had on a huge jacket that was way too big for Florida, but she was an odd duck, so I didn’t question her or think too much about her attire. I just waved and went back to talking to Karen about the changes that’d happened in the department since the new sheriff had moved into the area. Then, when she wandered off to the bathroom, my mind again strayed toward heartache.
After a long, hard, sleepless night where I debated the merits of trying to pursue Cassius Ulysses Costas, I realized that it would be futile. Cassius practically screamed ‘heartbreak on the horizon.’
So, as I was wont to do lately, I once again went wishy-washy and decided that it was in everyone’s best interest—mine especially—that I stopped the foolhardiness. I would no longer be pursuing anything with Cassius. I wouldn’t be trying to see if he liked me, either.
Everyone was better off without heartbreak, right?
Groaning and taking a hefty swallow of my drink, I turned and tried my damnedest not to look up and find him in the mirror above the bar.
By the way, why the hell did bars have mirrors above them?
I decided to Google it and find out to keep myself occupied.
In the search bar, I typed, ‘why do bars have mirrors above them.’
My thought was—so patrons can watch what’s going on behind them.
Google said: the bartender can use the mirror to watch what’s going on while their back is turned. During the days of the Wild West, it could have prevented the bartender from being ambushed or robbed.
So, not to keep an eye on the man that you couldn’t stop thinking about.
Noted.
I was so lost in thought, scrolling through whatever else popped up from my Google search, that at first I didn’t quite notice it.
But, when I noticed, boy did I notice.
The tickle started, and I felt my heart start to pound in reaction.
Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I stood up from the bar, smiled at the bartender, and looked around.
There was a dog here.
I could tell based on the tickle in the back of my throat.
A tickle that was probably minutes away from an ambulance ride.
And I didn’t have my EpiPen!
My desire to come out and have a good time while also not having to worry about carrying my purse the whole night, had turned into my own personal nightmare.
Swallowing hard, I could tell that I probably only had a few minutes at best.
I swallowed again and reevaluated. Minutes? Did I think minutes? I meant probably only one.
I drew in a breath, and it was like trying to breathe through a straw. Doable, but not sustainable.
I looked around wildly, knowing without a doubt that there was one single person in this bar that could help me right then.
One person that would know exactly what to do.
But, when I turned and stared at the table where all of the Gator Bait MC were, and my eyes lasered in on the dog in Matilda’s arms, I knew that I couldn’t go over there.
I texted my brother that I was having an attack, then dialed 911 right as my knees collapsed and I hit the floor hard.
“What the fuck?” the man that’d been trying to talk to me all night said. “Hey, I didn’t do anything to her!”
There was a commotion.
My eyes closed.
And, like every other attack, the panic set in.
Not being able to breathe was intense. It was as if all of a sudden, things started happening, and you couldn’t control a thing.
Strong hands flipped me over, and I looked at the grief-stricken eyes of the man that’d been avoiding me all night, then promptly passed out due to lack of oxygen to my brain.
• • •
CASSIUS
To say that I was a dumbass would be an understatement.
I’d done nothing but avoid her since we’d semi-bonded after my tire exploded on me in the parking lot of The Marina.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I heard asked.
Diana.
I held up my hand and roared at them. “Don’t come any closer! She’s deathly allergic to dogs!”
“Oh, fuck,” I heard Matilda say.
Then I heard scrambling, the door of the bar slam, and then slam again.