Authors: Renee Miller
The Sunday crowd usually had the girls running off their feet until at least midnight, but this week was quiet. Wade stood at the cabinet behind the office door, searching for the next month’s schedule he was certain he’d put in there. He had to post it soon or they’d be nagging him about it.
His office looked like a bomb exploded; papers covered the desk and no amount of organizing seemed to clear it. Cases of booze lined the right wall, stacked five or six high. Wade often stared at them and wondered when they’d topple over on him. One day they had to. The opposite wall held a large bulletin board with pictures of staff parties, a calendar with everyone’s hours scribbled in his hand and flyers announcing the current month’s bands playing. Somehow, he’d managed to fit a computer and keyboard on the cramped desk, but papers managed to slip under and on top. It never stayed in the same place. He’d lift the keyboard to search for something and never put it back in its original spot when he found what he’d been looking for.
He’d had a desk lamp, but didn’t know where it ended up. It disappeared in the chaos soon after he brought it in. The filing cabinet he’d forced behind the door, with several hooks screwed in the wall above for everyone’s coats, aprons, and purses. Often when he had to look in the old beast he wrestled with the clothing hanging above just to open and close the drawers.
Kristina’s voice drifted to his ears; she murmured something he couldn’t make out. He paused to peek around the door. Sheila stood beside her, smoking a cigarette and gazing at a small group of customers playing pool.
“I think this is all we’re getting tonight,” Sheila said, examining her nails.
She had them done at the salon although Wade thought any five year old could paint them purple with pink hearts on the tips. But he didn’t voice his opinion. Women were strange about those things.
Sheila was a nice girl, he’d even been attracted enough to take her home when she started working for him a couple of years ago. They agreed—after Amy raised a stink and Wade realized he had nothing in common with her—they’d be better as friends. He paired her with Kristina because they seemed to fit. He trusted Sheila too. She would look out for Kristina like a mother hen. The other servers—two women in their forties—preferred working afternoon shifts alone, so Wade left the busier shifts to Kristina and Sheila. His wife opened the bar Monday through Thursday although Amy made sure he knew how much she hated it.
“Hey, what’s that?” Sheila touched Kristina’s left arm.
Wade drifted closer to the door. An angry looking bruise, deep purple lines, four of them—fingers—marked Kristina’s upper arm.
“How did you get that?” Sheila asked.
“I—” Kristina paused, and pressed her lips together.
Wade waited for her to explain, his gut tightening when she flushed and clasped one hand over it. “My ex-husband got a little angry the other day. I bruise really easily. He just grabbed me. Nothing major.”
Gripping the door, Wade barely noticed the rough wood biting into his palm. The image of the prick tossing Kristina around triggered a red haze in his brain. Even if she bruised easily, it would take a lot of force to leave marks like those.
“His temper just got the better of him.” Kristina continued to defend Daniel. “He’s not nearly as bad as he used to be. Barely touches me now and he’s really trying to manage his anger.”
“A man trying to manage his temper doesn’t leave marks like that, sweetie.”
“He really isn’t so bad. I should have kept my mouth shut when he got irritated. If I’d kept my own temper in check, I don’t think he’d have snapped like he did. It looks terrible, but it’s not. Hardly even hurts.”
Sheila snorted and shook her head. “You’re gonna do what you want, but I’m telling you, a man who leaves bruises like that isn’t getting better. I’ve known some assholes in my life too. A real man doesn’t hurt a woman over words. What could you have said to warrant him grabbing you hard enough to leave bruises?”
Kristina turned and Wade moved out of sight. “He was mad because I’m working here and I refused to quit when he asked me to. I could have just lied to him, and said I’d do it. Everything would have been fine. To be honest, I’m a little worried about what he’ll do next. Not that he’d hurt me again, he was only trying to scare me, but he said he’d take Cadence. I know this isn’t the best job for a mother to have. He’s right. Would a judge take custody from someone just because they work in a bar?”
Wade had heard enough. Before Sheila could answer, he opened the door wide and poked his head out. “Hey Kris? Can you come in here?”
The women looked at each other and Sheila shrugged.
“Sure,” Kristina said.
She walked around the bar and he stepped back allowing her to pass him into the office. The door closed behind him with a soft click and Kristina stood next to the desk, one hand covering the bruise, fingers tugging at her sleeve.
He walked toward her and reached out to pull her hand from her arm.
She resisted, her cheeks reddening but dropped it away.
“What’s this?” he demanded.
“Nothing, I—”
“I heard you talking. Don’t you dare lie to me. Not for him.”
“Like I said, it’s not as bad as it looks. I bruise easily.”
“Maybe you do, but that bruise is as bad as it looks.”
She dropped her gaze.
Wade sighed. He thought he’d seen her pride and a little self-esteem returning, but apparently her asshole ex-husband beat it out of her again.
“Really, it’s nothing,” she said. “It doesn’t even hurt. He scared me more when he said he’d take Cadence from me. He can’t, can he?” Kristina looked up at him, eyes moist with unshed tears.
Wade wanted to take her in his arms and run off where no one could hurt her again.
Instead, he smiled and shook his head. “As long as you’re looking after your daughter, and you are, your job doesn’t matter. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of him.”
She frowned.
Before she could argue, Wade turned away and walked out to the bar, signaling to Sheila for a drink. Whatever argument Kristina had worked up in Daniel’s defense wouldn’t change his mind. It was time Daniel Riley got a dose of his own medicine and Wade couldn’t wait to deliver it.
***
Wade closed the safe and then pocketed his keys, listening to Sheila and Kristina chatting while they waited for a cab. The door opened and closed and the bar fell silent. He reached above the safe to switch off the light. As he stepped around the boxes of booze covering the floor of his office, Wade made a mental note to get someone to clear out the storage room so he could have this room back. How the mess always managed to creep into his personal space was a mystery.
“Wade?” he jumped at Kristina’s voice.
“Oh, I thought you left with Sheila.”
“No, Jimmy took her home. Her car’s in the shop. The cab won’t be here for a while yet, they’re busy I guess.”
“I could drive you—”
“No, it’s okay. I already called them.”
Wade couldn’t help smiling at how she forced a safe distance between them. Kristina stared at him now and then but as soon as he got too close, she became skittish.
“I’ll walk if it’s not here soon. I wanted to ask you a favor before I go.” She said.
“Oh?” He knew what she planned to say. It would do her no good, but he’d pretend to consider it anyway.
“I know you think you’re helping, and I really appreciate you care enough to try, but please just leave Daniel alone. I don’t need you taking care of anything. I can deal with him on my own.”
“Really? You’ve done such a wonderful job so far.” He touched her arm, trailing one finger down the bruise then raised his eyebrow at the tremor in her body.
“He’s working hard to control his temper. I know in his own way he loves me. He’s just frightened and lonely right now. We’ve been through a lot, and we both have some growing up to do. I’ve had worse than this, believe me. It’s nothing.”
Wade listened to her excuses and fury erupted in his chest; rising like bile to his throat. How could she defend such a jerk? Did she truly not realize how much she was worth? God, if he had a woman like her he’d worship the ground she walked on, not throw her on it.
He reached for a stray curl, the one that always fell over her forehead at the end of the night, never staying in the ponytail. “He’s as bad as he ever was, and he’ll never change. Don’t try to hand me bullshit. I know you’re not stupid. You’re smart, funny and beautiful, and you deserve to be treated with love and respect, not as a piece of garbage or as someone’s property. Cadence is going to grow up seeing her mom settle for less than what she deserves, and she’ll do the same. Do you want her to have the same bruises someday?”
She blushed and looked down at her feet.
Wade touched her chin, forcing her to look at him.
Kristina smiled.
His heart ached at the sadness in her eyes. “You need to find the backbone you used to have and stop allowing people like him to treat you like shit. Stop being a doormat and start standing up. You can do better than Daniel Riley and you know it.”
She stepped back.
Wade crossed his arms over his chest to keep from grabbing her and making a fool of himself.
“Thank you. I do appreciate the thought, and I know you mean what you say. I’m trying to fix my life. That’s why I divorced him. It doesn’t change the fact I still don’t want you having a talk with Daniel. Okay. Please, it will just make things worse.”
“I won’t talk to him, if it’s what you want.”
Wade didn’t lie. Not technically, anyway. He didn’t plan to talk.
***
Several men filed out of the strip club, some with a woman on their arms, most of them alone. Wade had no trouble tracking Daniel. He’d waited outside his apartment for an hour and the fool drove straight to the Peek-A-Boo Club, as he did every week. The club hosted amateur night each Monday, and Daniel occasionally left with a dancer. Wade wondered what the new girlfriend would think of that. Joe had been furious to know Daniel had done this while married to Kristina, but at the time she wouldn’t listen to even her father.
The neon lights surrounding the sign out front flashed red and blue, reflecting off the puddles left behind by an early evening thunderstorm. Wade glimpsed a few familiar faces. Some he would come back to speak to later, others he would rather not see again. The popular little club didn’t discriminate their clientele. The men exiting ranged from white collar to no collar. A lone figure emerged through the double doors, one of the last to exit, and Wade sat straighter in his seat.
“Well hello, Mr. Riley,” he murmured as Daniel walked toward them. He was alone, the parking lot clear as he stumbled to his truck.
Laughter erupted from the backseat and Wade turned to his friends.
In the rearview Frank held his gut, laughing. “That’s him? Preppy piece of shit ain’t even a challenge. Jesus, come on.”
Frank was used to a different kind of man, the kind that would slit your throat for looking at him the wrong way. He came along because he owed Wade a favor. Wade almost laughed along with him as he pictured Daniel’s face when Frank approached him. Six foot five, bald, and pushing four hundred pounds, Frank owned a frightening picture. Because of his size, many thought they could outrun him. They’d been wrong.
“I just want to give him a warning,” Wade reminded him. “He knows me, so I can’t do it myself, although I’d love to rip him apart.”
“Got it.” John, the other man, grumbled.
John hadn’t wanted to come along, but he owed Wade a lot of money and he didn’t have it. Despite his grumbling, John enjoyed a good scrap, He wasn’t as big as Frank, but the tattoos covering his body and the piercings in his face were as unsettling as Frank’s size. According to Amy he’d pierced other parts of his body as well. Wade shuddered at the thought. Some things were not meant to have extra holes.
“So we’re even after this?” John asked.
Wade grinned, to enjoy the sight of John shifting uncomfortably under his stare. He knew Wade knew about Amy and him. Idiot thought Wade gave a shit too, but it worked in his favor. “For now.”
They slipped out of the car and around the building, keep
ing to the shadows until Daniel leaned down to unlock his truck. Wade’s hands itched to knock the arrogance from his face. It radiated off him, that cocky sureness no one could touch him. Well, he was about to learn in Wade’s world he was as vulnerable as Kristina.
Approaching from behind, his heavy steps remarkably silent, Frank grabbed Daniel by the throat and the moron actually tried to take a swing at the big man. Wade grinned as they put Daniel on the ground, kicking him mercilessly until all the jackass could do was cover his pretty face.
He managed to roll to his knees once but Frank wrenched his arm behind his back and continued the beating. They remained silent, despite Daniel’s repeated demands to know what they wanted. Then Daniel went limp, passing out from the pain of what Wade figured was a couple of broken bones. They waited for him to come to. Then John knelt on the damp pavement, his face touching Daniel’s ear, to relay Wade’s warning.