A/N: WHat What?! Another chapter so soon? I just couldn't stay away. Things are ramping up for our girls, this is a short one, but it's not too much longer now.
Thanks as always for your wondering reviews, follows, and favorites, and thank you for your patients with me and this story.
Chapter 7
Tamsin had been more than obliging. Turns out she has a fella she used to see in town for a few days who brought some old war buddy along and was lookin' for a date this weekend. Kenzi usually wouldn't have thought twice before excepting the invitation, but she had been suspicious of me all day. Bringin' me a fresh cuppa' joe every hour or so. Hell I hadn't even finished a whole cup all day. She'd glide in and study me out of the corner of her eye as she took my cooling cup out of the rom only to return with it filled to the brim with steaming liquid a minute later. I stuck to my guns and played my part though, insisted I was just gonna hold up at the Dal tonight. Trick had told me he finally got around to hirin' a new singer who I'd caught a glimpse of one evening as I left the apartment, and I let it drop that the dame had caught my eye. This seemed to satisfy her enough to accept Tamsin's invitation and when I left the office that day just before her I made sure to make it look like I was headed toward home.
When I reached the Nighthawk the usual crew was there and the crowd was a bit thicker than usual. That was good. No one would be paying me too much mind anyhow, most of the staff knew me as a regular, but the extra bodies didn't hurt.
I received a smile and a nod from Bruce the bouncer as I entered the bustling club. He seemed like a good strait guy and I wondered how he'd ended up getting mixed up with the likes of Lachlan.
I saddled up to my usual seat at the bar; the slick plastic material had practically shaped it's self to my form, my home away from home. I felt bad sneaking out on my old pal Trick, he'd been good to me over the years, but a job's a job, I'd soon find myself back in my usual corner booth at the Dal with Kenzi on my right, but for now I had a job to do, and Trick would always understand that. I may have been trying to be discrete but much like Bruce, the bartender knew me by sight by now and I barley had to raise a hand before my usual was placed in my outstretched palm.
I nursed my drink, allowing the amber liquid to burn my throat and warm me from the inside out. It had started snowing again and I allowed my mind to wander back to the conversation Lauren and I had had earlier in the afternoon, the possibility of starting a life far from here, the though alone managed to spark something inside my stone heart. I checked my wristwatch snapping back to reality. Lauren would be on any minute now.
I threw back another gulp polishing off my glass of whisky as the familiar bars to my songbird's first number greeted my ears. I turned and watched as she gracefully greeted the crowd, making eyes at all the right fellas, the ones that would tip her generously after the show. Her eyes fell on me and I swear I saw an extra sparkle in them for just a moment before she moved on.
The fella next to me at the bar pounded the top heartily and I glanced over to see that familiar glaze of booze and smoke in his eye. He chuckled loudly as the barkeep slid him another glass of poison.
The night dragged on for a while, with me on my third whisky of the evening. Guess I was a little nervous. Liquid encouragement and what not. Suddenly the guy next to me sloshed some of his drink out of it's tumbler and onto my sleeve as he slapped the man sitting next to him exuberantly.
"Ain't she just the finest little doll you ever seen?" The man chortled in his drunken timber. My eyes shifted as I dabbed at the spot on my coat the dark liquid had stained. The man was salivating like a dog after T-Bone as he watched Lauren cross the stage in the midst of her fourth number. I shook my head and focused my attention back to my drink, no reason to let some creep get on my nerves, I had to keep focused.
"Let me tell you!" The man laughed slapping the bar top and gesturing for the bartender to bring him another. "I'd like to see that pretty little mouth of her's on my microphone if you know what I mean!" He stumbled slightly as he tried to rise from his stool but ultimately had to sit back down to keep from falling.
I could feel my cheeks flush and my collar grow red around the edges. I should leave it. Lauren would want me to leave it. Ah hell.
"How about you take a seat and lay off the hooch for a while pal." I say, staring angrily down into my half empty glass trying to cool down.
"Listen here missy," The man said turning to me and letting out a loud hiccup. When I rose my head to meet his eyes I could see his pupils trying to focus on me, his expression softening. "Well, you ain't so bad yourself sweetheart." He cooed in what I imagined to him sounded like a flirtatious tone. Rolling my eyes I turned back to my drink, the upbeat number roaring in my ears as I focused on the drums ramping up my heart beat.
"Just trying to enjoy my whisky without some loud mouth cowboy ruining my evening." I grumble.
"Well!" The man replied loudly and I caught him raise his arms in mock offense as he glanced toward the other men at the bar for support. "Didn't realize we had the Queen of England here. Pardon me you highness." He chuckled earning a few snickers from the men around us. Keep it cool Dennis. "I'm terrible sorry if I interrupted your evening tea." The man tittered in just about the worst attempt at a British accent I had ever heard. "But you see," he leaned in close to me and I could feel his hot breath on my neck and the stink of booze and cheap cologne all over him. It was like he bathed in it. "I saved your sorry ass in the war, so I think I'll say whatever I damn well want, wherever I damn well want." HE breathed heavily before backing off. Sitting back down and slicking back his greasy blonde hair, beads of sweat dripping from his pudgy jowls. I had finally started to recollect myself when I overheard him mutter under his breath, "Dyke."
That was it. I snapped. Before I even knew what I was doing I was up off my stool planting a hard right hook square across his jaw, taking him by surprise and knocking him back into the bar spilling a few of the drinks that cluttered it, and sending glasses clattering to the ground.
"Bitch!" He shouted as he came barreling back at me, clearly unafraid of hitting a woman as he planted his fist square across my kisser. But I had practice fighting and was much smaller than him and regained my footing quickly, throwing and uppercut his way sending him flying back into the man next to him.
I felt arms come around me and a familiar masculine voice barked in my ear.
"That's enough Bo." I tried to squirm out of the grasp but whomever had me was much stronger and kept me locked in his embrace.
"Let me go!" I shouted, fighting with all I had to free myself from sturdy grasp.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, please don't take the hard way." The voice warned in it's warm gruff tenor. But it was useless, I was already riled up, and threw my head back, smacking him hard in the nose with my skull. From the sound of it I broke it and I could feel droplets of something dripping on the back of my coat.
"Damn it Bo!" Was the last thing I heard before I felt a hard blow to the side of my head, and everything went dark.
