Chapter 30

It’s busy. Always is on a Saturday night. Even though I know she’s not working this shift, I still search through the endless sea of faces of the people here tonight. I find myself doing it often.

On campus or off, I search for my stepsister.

She gets herself into more trouble than anyone I have ever known. It’s not even like she goes looking for trouble, it just seems to find her. She’s too na?ve for her own good sometimes, though she seems to have changed a lot since starting college.

I know why my father sent her here. To my school. It’s his way of showing me who he thinks she belongs to. He’s so fucking wrong. I’ll do whatever it takes to get Cora out from his clutches.

Anything and everything.

As I check the bar - for more than just my stepsister’s sweet smile this time - and make sure the employees are doing okay, a loud, rowdy voice cuts through the bar, immediately pissing me off.

It’s that prick from the other night. The one I chased away from Cora, and tonight he’s brought his friends with him, it seems. They flock to the large bar area, taking a seat in front of one of the massive flat screen TVs, showing some highly anticipated game.

One of the bartenders, Sherry, heads over to take their orders. The five men give her a hard time, commenting on her looks and clothes, getting too close and lewd with her, but not actually crossing the line of touching…of giving me an excuse to throw them out.

Then they start asking her shit about what’s on the menu. I’m about to step in when she laughs at their bullshit, before walking away to fulfill their orders.

“Do I need to remove them?” I ask, but Sherry shakes her head.

“They’re dickheads, but I should be able to flirt my way into a bigger tip,” Sherry snorts. “Guys like them just want their ego stroked. I can tell them everything they want to hear, for a little extra money.”

“If you change your mind, just let me know,” I offer before returning to my task.

An hour passes before that group gets loud again.

“Did you tap that?” one of them chuckles.

“Fuck yeah,” the smarmy one who gave Cora shit brags, throwing back another shot.

I grind my teeth together. Working in a bar, you hear it all. A bartender’s best skill is his ability to listen and hear nothing. But still, being so close to campus, it does get annoying when the bar fills with horny students constantly on the prowl. These guys are freshmen like Cora, which means they’ve not had the shit kicked out of them yet, so they’ve not learned to respect women.

“She was fucking sweet too. A little virgin. Cried when I broke that hymen right in two. Obliterated it.”

His words send violent images through my mind, and if I wasn’t clocked in, I’d walk over there and slam his fucking face through the bar top.

I don’t listen to the rest of what he says. I can’t. I’ll fucking kill him in the middle of a crowded room.

I don’t even know the girl he’s talking about, but I still don’t like it. I have a bad feeling about him, and my gut is never wrong…well, not anymore.

Once upon a time, I was almost as naive and trusting as Cora. But she put an end to all that.

Forcing those thoughts aside, I return to work, but I vow to keep an eye on the menace and his friends.

I spend my night circling them like a predator hunting his prey. They stay till closing, and I overhear talks of the party they’re heading to afterward.

As I lock up, I’m telling myself to let it go. Even as my feet take me in the opposite direction to my apartment, I’m convinced I’m just going to take a quick detour. It’s a nice night. The stars are bright. I have excess energy to burn off before heading home.

Bullshit.

In the blink of an eye, I’m standing outside a rowdy frat party. I don’t even know how I got here, not consciously anyway. I’m debating going in when a woman’s scream rents the air, setting me on edge.

It’s not Cora.

But it might have been, if things were different.

Waiting outside, tucked behind a tree, I decide that I’ll just stay for a bit. Watch. Make sure nothing bad happens. I have a feeling in my gut I can’t shake, and I’m not about to ignore it.

I remain hidden in the shadows.

I don’t even know how long I wait, but I know that I made the right choice when I see him half carrying, half dragging a girl from the house. She looks as young as my stepsister, and she’s so intoxicated that she can barely stand.

“I d-don’t—” she slurs.

“Sshh,” the creep tells her, slapping a hand over her mouth and dragging her toward the alleyway opposite the house.

Seriously? He’s just planning to what—fuck this girl in an alleyway and then leave her? She’s far too wasted to consent.

I step out of the shadows, right into his path, and he curses me.

“What the fuck, dude? Get out of my way!”

“Help me,” the girl whispers, and he whirls on her.

“Shut the fuck up! Whore!” he snarls, back handing her across the face so hard that she stumbles. I catch her as gently as I can to stop her from falling and set her right on her feet. She clings to me, thinking I’m the lesser of two evils here. Maybe for once I am.

“Do you have your phone on you?” I ask.

She shakes her head, sobbing, and I wipe the smear of blood in the corner of her mouth away. “I-i-it died.”

“Do you have friends inside that party?” She nods. “Okay. Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to cross the road, go back to the house, and find a friend. Or anyone that you know. You’re going to borrow their phone and call an Uber to get home and you’re going to wait inside until it arrives. Understand?”

She frantically nods her head. “Y-yes.”

She takes off running across the deserted street, suddenly a lot more sober than she was a moment ago.

I’m turning back to the piece of shit when I’m shoved hard from behind. I stumble but catch myself easily. I’m already throwing punches before I’ve even fully turned back.

That fucker will never even think of Cora, or any other innocent girl, ever again when I’m done with him.