Oh God. I shouldn’t have agreed to come. I am not up for pub crawling. But I’m stuck.
I look at Cody and shrug. “You heard the boss.”
“I guess they’re in the mood for piano music,” Cody says.
Ellison’s not really a fan of the country scene either. I’m guessing her friends are the ones who chose this bar. “I think they’re more in the mood to troll for guys. The ones here aren’t Ellison’s type.”
“I see.”
I hug Cody. “It was really great seeing you again.”
“You too. Thanks again for bailing us out. It was really nice of you.”
“Then I can consider us even?”
“Yeah.” Cody laughs and his dimples reappear. “We’re even.”
I follow Ellison and her band of nitwits down Beale Street to Silky’s. We luck out and find a recently abandoned table. They order two divers, the bar’s specialty drink—a secret blend of libations served in a gallon bucket with no fewer than a dozen foot-long straws.
Oh lordy. As if any of these airheads need to suck on anything containing a gallon of alcohol.
I realize an hour into our excursion that our DD has been partaking in the divers and is wasted. What the hell? That means we have no sober driver to get us home. “Ellison. Ashley is hammered.”
“Yeah?” She’s completely oblivious to what that means.
“She’s supposed to be our ride home.”
“It’s cool, Bleu. She’s a nurse. She isn’t going to drive drunk and risk losing her license. We’ll just get a couple of rooms.”
Get rooms, my ass. There’s no way I’m sleeping with any of their drunken asses and waking up with crusty puke in my hair.
“I did not sign on for a drunken slumber party.”
“Chill, Bleu.”
Fuck this. “You know what? I’m not feeling great. I think I’ll head home.”
“It’s that damn medicine you take. Your doctor shouldn’t have increased your dosage. She’s dumber than snake mittens.”
Oh goody. The drunken buffoonery begins. “Stay. Have a great time with your friends. I’ll see you in the morning. And please be safe.”
I leave the bar and walk to the spot where taxis are lined and waiting for drunks in need of a lift.
“Hey, Bleu.” It’s Cody’s voice I hear in the distance.
He jogs up to me right before I get into the cab. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah. Bar hopping is not really my scene.”
“I know what you mean. I only came out because we were playing. I rarely come to Beale anymore. I sort of got my fill of all this in the Air Force.”
It’s impossible to enjoy this type of atmosphere after you’ve experienced whisky bars in Scotland. It puts this place to shame.
“Need a ride?”
“Yeah, but I’m going to take a taxi.”
“No way. Let me drive you.”
He must not know we no longer live in Memphis. “Thanks for the offer but I live in Southaven now.”
“That’s not too far.”
“It’s over twenty miles to my house.” I don’t want to put him out.
He shuts the door on the cab. “A taxi will cost a fortune. I’m taking you home.”
I can see this isn’t an argument where I’ll be the victor.
“Okay. As long as you don’t try to talk me into joining your band. ’Cause I’m never stepping foot on a stage again.” Shit. That was brutal.
“I make no promises.”
Chapter Two
Sinclair Breckenridge
I’m in the background of Bleu’s life, as I have been for weeks. I have eyes on her at all times, even when they’re not my own. I safeguard her from harm. It’s all I’ve done since tracking my lass down in a small town in Mississippi, right outside of Memphis. I act as her protector from afar and she has no idea. She believes she’s hidden from The Fellowship—and me—but she couldn’t be more wrong. I’m always here, keeping a watchful eye on her and the MacAllister family.
I often need to be reminded that this is Bleu’s world. Every person she has contact with isn’t a threat but there’s an enormous problem with that. I have no idea who’s friend or foe.
I was concerned when Bleu disappeared at the bar with a man earlier tonight. I was on the verge of barging into the back until my lass came out on stage to perform with the band. I don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised in all my life. I knew she played but I never pegged her for a public performer. That doesn’t seem like my Bonny at all.
But I guess I don’t really know the real Bleu MacAllister. I only know the woman she pretended to be.
Her father is dying. I’ve hidden in the shadows so she could have these last days with him but we’re running out of time. Abram’s men are hunting her. According to the tabs I’ve been keeping, they’re getting closer. That means it’s time for Bonny to know I’ve come for her.
Bleu and Ellison’s residence is transient. There’s not a single item they couldn’t bear to part with. These two are prepared to flee and leave everything behind at the drop of a hat.
I’m waiting in Bleu’s dark living room when she comes home. She’s with him—the man from the bar. I wasn’t expecting that. In the weeks I’ve watched her, she’s never brought a man home. I’m not at all pleased about this. My immediate reaction is to get up and beat the piss out of him. I fight the urge and remain on the sofa since I don’t know who he is to her. It wouldn’t go over well for me to assault a member of her family.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. I didn’t mind at all.”
Aye, I bet he didn’t mind.
“Well.” She hesitates as though she doesn’t know what to say next. It’s that awkward silence thing. Good. “It was nice catching up with you.”
“It’s been too long. How about we don’t wait seven years to see each other again?” Ahh. He’s an old acquaintance.
“Sounds good.” No. That doesn’t sound good at all.
He reaches up and pushes a strand of stray hair behind her ear. If I know my lass, she’s fighting the urge to untuck it since she despises her hair like that. “I’ve always hated the way things ended between us.”
What does that mean? Is it possible Bleu had some type of romantic relationship with this man?