Chapter 5

Chloe

Thank God it's a weekday. I can't imagine trying to work right now during one of Opal's busiest nights.

Exhaustion clings to me like static, and there's not enough coffee or energy drinks in the world to help. I'm just too damn sleep-deprived. Fucking nightmares .

"All right, let's take a break for a second." Yasmin pats me on the shoulder, very aware that I'm having trouble focusing. "Can you just put this box away?"

"On it, boss." I fake a salute and kneel down to empty the new containers of alcohol onto the lower shelves.

"Ha, if only! Maybe then I'd be able to pay for tuition."

I cock a brow at her. "You're going back to school?"

"Yeah." She rubs the back of her neck nervously, and I offer a smile. "I'm trying to finish getting my nursing degree. I had to…well, my folks passed, so I need to deal with all that. Made school hard."

I stand back up for a moment, putting a hand on her impressive bicep. "I totally get it. My parents died when I was young, and there's all this stuff you have to do afterward."

"Right? It's insane. Anyway, I'm just hoping it'll be better this year. I'm so out of practice when it comes to cramming for tests."

"Oh, well, if you need help, I'd be glad to offer my services." I find my way back to the box of bottles waiting for me.

"You a tutor, too?"

A thread of worry plucks in my chest. Shit, I shouldn't have said that. "Um, more like a lifetime student. I like to learn and stuff. I acquired a few tricks along the way that might be useful."

"Sweet. I'll definitely hit you up when I have a moment. Thanks, Chloe."

"Of course."

A tight smile is all I can muster. I shouldn't have offered my help. Who knows how long I can even stay in town?

I hear Yasmin head off to the back, and I return to stacking bottles. After a few minutes, I notice footsteps again, and I have to assume that break time is over.

"You are quite the drill sergeant, Yasmin."

As I spin around, it is decidedly not Yasmin whom I run into.

Abruptly, I'm face-to-chest with Dominick, crashing into him as he steps up to the register, which is just to my left. Muscles and cologne flood my senses, and I quickly try to duck my head down as I back up.

"Actually, my brother's the sergeant."

I raise my brows. "What?"

"Jay's the one who worked his way up the ranks." As I stare, Dominick narrows his eyes at me, his gaze traveling down my body and then back up. "Never mind."

"Right." I can't keep up with the eye contact, staring at the floor as I chew on my lower lip. "I should go find Yasmin."

But when I go to step around him, he unintentionally moves that way at the same time. I try the other side, and he does it again.

We play a dumb game of back and forth, trying to make room for each other and failing miserably until I walk into him again.

Dominick doesn't move, and for some reason, neither do I.

We're frozen in place, bumped up against each other, and I can't catch my breath or think clearly.

This is so bad. Bad, bad, bad. Fuck. How do I get out of this?

"Chloe, I…"

Oh, no. I don't want to hear whatever he's going to say. I had a night full of visions of him dying. I'm not interested in seeing the real thing.

So, absolutely not. I'm distancing myself from Dominick as much as I can.

"Hey, Dom. How's it going?"

Yasmin's voice cuts off whatever Dominick was going to say, and I look over at her like she's a lifeline.

"Yasmin. Ready to get back to work?" I smile, firmly pushing past Dominick and meeting her around the other side of the bar.

"Sure." She grins, but it's laced with a smugness I could do without. "Quite the hard worker you hired, boss."

"Glad to hear it."

Dominick glares ever so slightly as he walks out from the bar carrying a notebook from beneath the register. He heads toward the back stairs up to his office, and I sigh.

When the tension has finally dissolved, Yasmin drags me behind the bar once more. When I go for the remaining bottles to stock, she pulls me back up, a look of intrigue on her face.

"Oh no, you don't. You're telling me exactly what just happened."

"What? Nothing. I know Dominick from Anthony. He's just teasing."

Heat flares through my cheeks, and I turn away, hopeful it's a good enough answer for her.

"You know Dominick? Huh. And teasing? That is not what it looked like."

"Yasmin, no. Nothing like that. No, no, no."

She holds up her hands in surrender, leaning back against the counter and folding her arms over her chest. "Whatever you say, doll. But if you ask me, you could do worse."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I lose focus on the bottles, sidling up next to her and feeling incredibly short as I stand with her against the bar.

"He's a hell of a catch, Chloe. Rich? Check. Handsome? Double check. Rocking that mysterious, quiet thing? So very much check."

The laugh comes out easily, and Yasmin joins right in. I'm lost in our giggles for a moment.

"Oh, man. It's been a minute since I've laughed that hard."

Yasmin frowns at me. "Why's that?"

My face falls. I can remember laughing with Ethan in the beginning but after a while…

"Bad breakup?"

I look up at the question, a little startled by her insight. "How can you tell?"

"Oh, doll. I know the look. Sorry." She rubs my shoulder like a big sister would, maybe even my brother, if I actually told him this shit. "I'm sure you're better off without him."

"Ugh." My brows hit my hairline. "You have no idea."

"Well, good riddance, then. You have something far better to look forward to." She bumps me with her elbow.

"Dominick's just an old friend. And not even mine. He's my brother's friend."

"Girl, it's like a romance movie in the works. Just go for it. What do you have to lose, right?"

With that, Yasmin nods at the clock, and I see it's about time to get changed for opening. She walks off for the back, and I stand at the bar for a moment.

"What do I have to lose, huh?" I look down at the scar on my forearm.

Ethan had lost his temper and thrown a glass. I got hit by a piece of it when it bounced off the wall.

He'd just walked away.

My eyes find the ceiling as I try to will away the moisture building up behind my lids. I think of the nightmare.

Stable isn't a word I'd use to describe Ethan anymore, and he's given me every reason to think I wouldn't be the only one to suffer from the fallout.

I remember the note I'd found on my car door before I ditched it.

You can't run, Chloe. I will find you. You belong to me. I get to say when you leave and what you think you know about my business. I expect you back. And if you make me wait, you won't be the only one to regret it.

Doing my best to shake it off, reminding myself that I've put a lot of distance between us and gotten rid of all my old stuff, I head to the lockers to change.

He doesn't know you're here. You never even told him about this place. Everything's going to be just fine.

I've made enough Fire Opal specials to officially have the movements memorized at this point. As another somewhat familiar face approaches the bar and asks for the same, I just give the guy a nod.

We've got a campus just outside of town, and I should have expected that weekday or not, frat boys like to drink.

Mixing up the Fireball, peach juice, and a splash of Goldschl?ger with the tall metal spoon, I nod at another order. At least that one is just a beer, and when it's nearly ready, I top the Fire Opal with a bit of club soda and a cinnamon stick garnish.

It's the garnish that gets really annoying after a while because I have to use tiny tongs to get them out.

"Here ya go!" I dole out the drink, taking the guy's card and running it as I grab the Blue Moon for the other guy.

Yasmin is over quick enough to help with the rush, and she gets my attention to see that she's taken the cinnamon out of the tiny jar and put it in a cup. Fuck, why didn't I think of that?

After it calms slightly, and Yasmin and I have a chance to catch our breath, she nods at the far corner.

"I think you have another fan."

I look over, confused, and notice the tall guy at the back. I can't really make out any details. He's wearing a hoodie, and it's dark.

All I know is that I don't recognize him.

"Weird. I don't know him." I adjust where I'm standing, breaking my eye contact with the stranger.

"Hmm. Maybe he's another college boy impressed with your mad bartending skills."

I laugh at that. I know I'm only just getting by. "Ha! Yeah, unlikely. I've been praying no one asks me for something else, so I don't have to grab you for help."

"I still vote for Dominick anyway. He's not creepy." She tips her head toward the stranger, and I really have to agree with her.

The guy isn't looking anywhere else in the club, and I get that uneasy feeling I remember from college when a guy wouldn't take no for an answer.

However, it's not long before I get distracted by work again, and I'm called to switch with Yasmin taking orders at tables because I'm just not fast enough behind the bar, which, honestly, is a blessing.

Making the rounds between the tables, I get several more orders for the Fire Opal, feeling bad for Yasmin, and a couple of generic requests, like G&Ts, beers, and a few old-fashioneds.

I head back to the bar to drop off the orders before hitting the restroom. I have to pee something fierce, and I hate having to go in these damn tights.

Just as I'm pushing against the ladies' room door, a hand yanks my arm back, and I spin around. The guy from the corner is right there, and I instinctively flinch back.

"I'm just hitting the restroom. I can grab your order as soon as I'm out, or you can take it to the bar. Okay?"

It's still too dark right here to really see him, and he has his hood up. My heart pounds, and as much as my brain doesn't want to think anything is off, the rest of me disagrees.

The stranger just stands there for a second before he finally speaks.

"Did I hear your name was Chloe?"

"Um…"

I know I shouldn't answer. I can feel it in my bones, so I try to slip into the bathroom behind me and lock the door.

It doesn't work.

The guy sees me panic at the question, and before I can make a move, his grip on my arm tightens, and he pulls me further into the back.

"Stop! Get off me!" He won't let go. "Help!"

A firm slap lands across my cheek, silencing my shouts as I stare at the guy in shock.

It's not Ethan, but he has to be associated with him. How the hell did he find me here?

"That's enough, Chloe. It'd be better if you just come with me. He's waiting."