Fat Louise(9)

When she hadn’t taken any of the customers upstairs the first two nights she worked, he had wanted to fire her, but Jane had offered to take less money in pay until she was working practically for free. Jane hadn’t missed the fact that, each time Carina and Teresa returned after taking a man upstairs, they would hand Jorge money.

“Nothing. Teresa was angry that I was talking to Juan.”

He gave her a doubtful look before moving away.

Jane returned to cleaning the counter, looking up when she heard the bar door open. Her mouth almost dropped opened at the man entering. She had always been a woman who could appreciate a good-looking man, and that man was more than good-looking; he was outstanding.

He seemed to be in his late-twenties or early-thirties. His hair was rich brown, which set him apart from the sea of black-haired men, but it was more than that. The men in the bar all carried guns, and Jane was sure more than one had killed to get what they wanted. However, the man who had entered carried himself with lethal intent. He was tall and muscular, wearing his jeans low on his hips, with his booted feet sounding on the creaking floorboards as he walked across the room.

“Give me a whiskey.” Jane nodded her head as he spoke to her in the first English she had heard in more than a week.

She stalked to the liquor bottles, automatically reaching for one that wasn’t watered down. Jorge had told her to start with the hard stuff then, as they gradually became drunk, switch to the bottles he had watered down.

Her hand shook as she poured the liquor into the glass. Being careful not to spill it, she placed it before him.

“Cade! What in the hell are you doing in here?”

Jorge reached out to snatch the money from his hand before she could.

“Getting a drink. What in the fuck does it look like?” He raised the glass, taking a large swallow.

“You think that’s smart after what you did?”

“What did I do?” He was talking to Jorge, but Jane felt his eyes on her. She tried to make herself look busy by drying the glasses she had washed, putting them away afterward.

“Carlos isn’t going to be happy you’re back in town after his guest disappeared with you.”

“You mean Joe? He wanted to hitch a ride home with me, and I didn’t want to make Carlos angry by refusing his friend’s request.”

Jorge treated the man to the same suspicious look he was constantly giving her. “That’s the best story you can come up with, Cade?”

“It’s the truth,” he said, emptying his glass. He pushed it toward her. “Give me another one.”

Jane put the towel down to refill his glass.

“You have a room I can stay in tonight?”

“I have one in the back, unless you want to stay upstairs with the women. Teresa or Carina will be happy to share their bed with you. That is, unless you can convince her.” He gave a sharp nod of his head toward Jane. “Though, so far, none of the other men in here have been able to.”

The asshole didn’t really believe he could make her feel guilty for not wanting to have sex with the revolting men who constantly hung out in the bar, did he?

Cade’s gaze slipped impassively over her body before answering. “I’ll take the room out back. I need the sleep.”

“Suit yourself.”

Cade handed Jorge several more dollars before finishing his second drink, and then he set his glass back down on the counter. Jane couldn’t help watching as he walked across the room to the hallway that had Jorge’s office, the bathroom, and the spare bedroom. Jorge always kept his office locked, which Jane had learned from trying several times to get inside after Carina had told her that was where Jorge kept several addresses of the men who came in the bar.

One man in particular had come in the bar two nights ago. Carina had told her his name was Silva, and she believed he was from Peñuela. The man had talked with Jorge for quite a while at a table before leaving. She had casually tried to question the other men in the bar after he had left, only to see fear on their faces and silence at her questions. When Teresa had warned her with a silent glare, she had stopped.

Carina managed to briefly get away from a table of men she was sitting. “Cade’s staying?”

Jane nodded.

“Stay away from him, Jane. Teresa doesn’t even like it when I talk to him. She gets angry if she thinks you’re trying to make a play for him.”

“I wouldn’t,” Jane denied, seeing no reason to tell Carina she had been attracted to him the minute he had walked in the door.

“Jane, Teresa isn’t nice. She won’t play fair if she thinks you’re trying to take something that’s hers.” Carina gripped her hand in warning. “She won’t care if you get hurt.”