Criminal(8)

Who’s Axel? I shake my head. I can’t take any more. I turn and head back into the bar and the stale stench of beer and alcohol and leering faces.

But for the rest of the night, I’m completely unable to concentrate. Especially when I see Ryder come in a bit later, asking for ice and holding it to his swollen jaw.

For a second, I think that maybe I should’ve stayed longer and heard what it was that finally set Kaiden off, but I knew that I’d be better off not knowing. Though left to wonder about it and worry is an even worse fate, sometimes.

I don’t see Kaiden the rest of the night, but when I get home, his bike is in the driveway, and I pull up behind it.

Am I going to say anything about what I heard? That I understand now why he didn’t want me to work there? Hell, is this why he didn’t want me to come at all?

Maybe Kaiden had kept my identity a secret to protect me, and that was why he was fighting so hard to keep me away from him.

And then I wonder something worse... was this why Ryder was looking for a shot-girl in the first place? Did he lure me in close, just to have this over Kaiden’s head?

My mind races with the possibilities, the strange layers that never occurred to me even to think about before. Is this why Kaiden had been so adamant about me not working at the bar?

Was that all to protect me?

***

“Look, one more fuckup like that and Ryder’s gonna can your ass,” Kaiden says with a sneer. His lips curve upward as he stares down at me like I’d just vomited on his shoes.

He is pissed, and all I did was tell a guy not to spank my ass. I’m getting tired of being treated like meat around this place, but honestly, I’m terrified of leaving.

Not just of what me leaving would do to myself, but my brother as well. Step-brother.

I have to keep reminding myself of that now, because ever since I heard him out back with Ryder, I’ve started softening towards him. Even though this is the third time this week I’ve had to hear him tell me off.

“It’s nothing,” I say with a roll of my eyes. I’m trying to act natural as if I hadn't heard what was said that night. It was almost a week ago, now. I never got a chance to talk to him about it because he’s in his room by the time I get home, and then gone before I get up the next morning.

I have no idea what he’s been doing, but his erratic behavior is scaring me now.

I lick my lips, tucking some of my blonde hair behind my ear and trying to stand up tall and straight. Look strong. Intimidating.

“It’s not okay, Abigail. You’re on thin ice as it is.”

People are looking at us, but by this point, I think they’ve come to expect fights between us. Every day for the past week he’s been doing something to shame me in front of the customers. Every minor indiscretion was worthy of his telling me off in public, despite him not being my boss.

I get why he’s doing it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not sick of it.

“Listen, Kaiden, that’s sexual harassment in the workplace, and if I’m supposed to put up with that, then I need to be making a lot more than $10 an hour. I’m not a stripper, and if I were? I’d probably be making a lot more!”

He blanches, and I’m proud of myself for a second. I like it when I can get in under his skin in revenge for all the times he’s done it to me.

He reaches out, grabbing my upper arm and staring down at me.

“Listen, Abigail, just get the fuck outta here. Go back to school, do whatever goody-goody shit you wanna do, but you can’t cut it in this place. If you don’t want gross old guys grabbin’ your ass, this isn’t the job for you, Princess. Just like I told you a million times before.”

I tug my arm, but he holds tight and my lip twitches. He’s so strong, and he’s always doing little things to remind me of that and intimidate me.

“I can do this, Kaiden. I’ve been doing it for two weeks now, without a break. I’m tired, my legs hurt, and your attitude isn’t helping right now.”

“Doesn’t sound to me like you can cut it, Princess.”

His green eyes flash at me, along with that pierced tongue of his, and he thinks he has me in the corner. That I’m going to back down at any second, but I refuse. I’m not going to do that.

I can’t!

I mean, part of it is my pride, but not for a moment do I think that if I disappeared, Ryder would forget about me. Or that he’d forget about Kaiden’s potential to screw him over.

Oh my God, if I left, Ryder might even think that Kaiden had hidden me away just so that he could tell the judge or whoever about Ryder’s business! About the attempted murder or threat or whatever it was that spooked Kaiden so bad.