Sprung

by Kate Benson

  “Yeah,” I nod. “Just please try to hurry.”

  “I will,” he says, bending to give me a quick kiss before reaching for my hand and leading me out of the office and back out to the bar. “Mason, I gotta leave for a few minutes. Evie’s staying here.”

  “Where the hell are you going?” he asks.

  “I’ll be back in an hour,” he ignores his question, winking in my direction as he locks his register. “Call me if you need anything.”

  “Okay,” I nod, watching him slip through the back doors and head toward his truck.

  The first few minutes alone with Mason is awkward and I hate it, but I’d rather silence than fighting, so I focus on getting the floor ready. I’m about ten minutes in when my first customers come in and I grab their order, making my way toward the bar.

  “I’ve got an order,” I start. “Two Heineken’s and a Bud draft.”

  “Is this really what you want to do with your life, Evie?” he asks, pulling my eyes toward his.

  “Can you please just make the drinks?”

  “Sure, I’ll make your drinks. Answer my question and you can have all the drinks you want.”

  “This isn’t a negotiation, Mason,” I hiss under my breath. “Just make the fucking drinks, please.”

  “Fine,” he shrugs. “Let’s try another question. Where’d he go?”

  “He said something about grabbing stock.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” he replies. “I just walked in the back and Walt overstocked so we’d be covered while he’s gone.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he missed something?” I reason. “Dash just said he needed to grab stock and would be back in an hour.”

  “Well, he’s full of shit because we don’t need anything,” Mason counters. “You just believed him? For all you know, he’s…”

  “Yes, I just believe him,” I cut him off, holding his annoyed gaze. “Please stop trying to start problems where there are none.”

  “I’m not trying to start problems, Evie,” he argues, his voice surprisingly gentle. “Listen, mad as I was, annoyed and disappointed as I still am, you’re still my sister and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “Then stop trying to hurt me, Mason,” I say bluntly, swallowing the lump in my throat as I push the paper with the simple order toward him.

  He studies me for a second before he pats the bar and gives me a subtle nod, moving toward the glasses.

  Time passes slowly at first, but by the time Dash returns, business is starting to pick up and Mason has stopped asking his loaded questions. In fact, with the exception of calling me to pick up my orders, he’s stopped talking to me altogether. While a part of me hates it, I can’t deny that getting lost in the task at hand is a welcome distraction.

  “How’s it going?” Dash asks when I return to the bar to pick up one tray and drop off another. “Sorry I was a little longer than I thought I’d be.”

  “It’s okay,” I shake my head. “I’m fine, just glad you’re back. I’m starting to get a little busy.”

  “You’ve got this, baby,” he says with a wink. “Just keep the orders coming in and I’ll help you if you need it.”

  “Thanks,” I smile, pulling the tray from the bar and heading back out onto the floor.

  I’m feeling pretty capable, but by the time the actual rush hits, my confidence is fading fast. I’m keeping my head above water, but by seven thirty, the guys from the factories are heading in and it’s getting rowdy.

  “You good, babe?” Dash calls over the bar, taking in the way I brush the sweat away from my brow.

  “Yeah,” I say, unsure if it’s a lie or not. “When did you say the other girl was coming in? I’m getting hammered out here.”

  “She’s due in any time now, so not much longer,” he promises. “Do you need me to come out front?”

  “No,” I shake my head. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay. You’re slammed, too.”

  “Baby, they’re all half-lit,” he smirks as he gestures toward the group yelling at the television above his bar. “You need my help, you say the word. I’ll throw twenty beers up here, buy us ten minutes and they’ll never know the difference.”

  “Thanks,” I laugh. “I’m good right now. Just please send… what’s her name again?”

  “Amy.”

  “Alright,” I start, my head whipping back up when I remember why the name sounds familiar. “Wait a minute…”

  “Slow down, killer. Different Amy,” he promises, chuckling when my eyes narrow. “I swear to God, babe. I’ve never seen her naked. No need to get jeal-”

  “I’m not!” I cut him off with my lie, blushing as his low laughter drifts across the bar. “Shut up. I hate you.”

  “Whatever, liar,” he says with a cocky smirk as he puts the last two drinks for my order on the tray and gives me a wink. “You hate me about as much as I’m gonna hate how those pretty red lips of yours look when they’re all smudged up and screamin’ my name from the top of this bar later.”

  Oh, my God. I think I just came.

  dash

  By the time the other waitress arrives, we’re knee deep in the middle of the rush and getting our asses handed to us.

  “Tony! We need ice and a pick-up!” Mason calls out to our bar-back before returning his attention to the customers barking orders on his end of the bar.

  “Hey,” Amy says with a smile, tying her apron on. “Catch me up.”

  “Evie’s out there right now,” I tell her, gesturing toward the particularly rowdy group that had just stumbled in. “I think she’s caught up, but check and make sure. She’s been running her ass off for about two hours now. If nothing else, I’m sure she could use a break.”

  “Okay,” she nods, pulling a tray and glancing back out at the floor. “You want me in the back by the windows?”

  “Yeah, wherever she needs you to go. Try and help her make her way to the section up front where I can see her.”

  “You got it, boss,” she smiles, making her way out.

  I make my way over to the middle of the bar, taking another couple of orders before I reach for a glass, taking the whiskey from the well and reaching for the soda gun.

  “She ask you to do that?” Mason asks from my left, pulling my eyes to his.

  “What? Move her up?” I ask, making him nod. “No, I just want to be able to see her, make sure no one gives her any shit,” I say bluntly as I pull four beers from the cooler behind me and call out for a restock before returning my eyes to his. “That a problem?”

  “Nope,” he shakes his head, his expression a little softer than it’s been lately. “Not at all.”

  It’s small, but it’s something.

  “Babe!” she calls out, pulling my eyes to hers. “Order!”

  “What ya got, pussycat?” I ask, glancing over from my spot, nodding when she calls out her drinks. “Okay, I’ll do ‘em next. Amy should be up there with you now, so if you need anything, she can help, okay?”

  “I saw her,” she nods, taking a sip of the water I’m sliding across to her. “Thank you.”

  “You got it,” I say, making my way down her list and handing her the tray that’d been waiting for her return. “Come right back, okay?”

  “I will,” she nods again, lifting the tray and leaving me.

  “Yo! Lemme get two more!” Someone calls over the bar and I nod, moving to the tap when Mason cuts me off.

  “I got it, man,” he says, waving me off. “Help her.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Shit!” Mason hisses, pulling my eyes to his. “This one’s tapped and I sent Tony out back for stock. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay,” I nod, checking the rest of the bar before moving toward the glasses to fill the tray. I’m about halfway done when I hear a glass tipping over and her voice ring out from a couple tables back.

  “Get off!” she calls out angrily, pulling my eyes to her. “I said no, asshole!”

  My eyes fly up and the second I
see his hands on her, everything stills and my vision goes red.

  I don’t think. I don’t speak. I simply react.

  chapter twenty-one

  mason

  The sound of a sharp crash behind the bar pulls my attention from the keg and toward Tony as he steps out of the stockroom.

  “Clean up on aisle three, man,” I call out, smirking at his annoyed expression.

  “Son of a bitch,” he groans. “What the hell are y’all doing up there?”

  “I don’t know, man. Dash is up there,” I shrug, scratching the back of my head. “I think I’ve come to the conclusion it’s better for my sanity if I don’t pretend to understand anything he’s doing these days.”

  I’m a few feet away from the entrance to the back bar at the same time I hear commotion on the other side of the double doors, the sound of shouting making me move faster.

  I push through the double doors just in time to see Dash hurl himself over the top of the bar, his eyes crazy with rage like I’ve never seen.

  “Motherfucker!” he roars, stalking toward the behemoth turning to face him. “You’ve got about two fucking seconds to back up before I end you!”

  It’s then that I see the guys grip on my sister. He squares his shoulders as Dash stalks toward him, his chest heaving.

  “One!” he shouts, shoving through the crowd between them, his eyes never wavering as he kicks a chair out of his way and clears the distance between them. “Two!”

  Something clicks inside the guys’ head and he roughly releases his grip on Evie, the force knocking her into a table as he takes a step toward Dash, his fists clenching.

  “Wrong fucking move, asshole,” he roars, his chest heaving as he yanks a full tray from a table, spilling the contents out onto the floor.

  “Dash, no!” she tries, but she’s too late.

  The sound of the empty tray crashing across the patron’s face rings out across the bar, cutting her off.

  “Evie, get out of the way!” I warn her, already pushing my way toward her, gripping her elbow to pull her behind me as shattered glass begins to fly in every direction.

  “Oh, my God!” she cries out, covering her head as she grips my arm. “Mason, you have to do something!”

  Another bottle comes flying off a table toward us and I turn to cover her before glancing back toward Dash, flinching slightly when I see him take a hit to the jaw.

  I’m about to jump in until I see his expression.

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dash this angry.

  Ever.

  “You wanna fuckin’ grab someone?” Dash spits as he charges the guy, his hand gripping him by the throat with enough force to lift his feet from the ground, the impact of him smashing against the wall enough to shake two of the dated, lit signs loose. “Grab me, you little bitch.”

  Holy fuck.

  “He seems to have a pretty good handle on it, Eve,” I start, shielding her as best I can. “I don’t think he needs help.”

  “Are you serious, Mason?” she balks, her frustrated gaze telling me she’s misunderstood my words as she pulls away from me, facing him. “Dash, stop!”

  “Baby, don’t!” he warns loudly as she braves a step away from me.

  “You’re gonna go to jail, you idiot!” she calls out as the pair falls into another table.

  “Mason, get her the fuck outta here!” he huffs, but I’m already lifting her at the waist.

  “On it!” I call back, elbowing my way through the massive crowd that’s formed around them.

  When I finally get her to the small office on the other side of the bar, I slam the door shut behind us, out of breath as she spins to face me.

  “I cannot fucking believe you, Mason!” her voice shaking with a combination between anger and hurt.

  “What?”

  “Seriously?” she asks, her eyes filling with tears as she deflates, falling into the chair behind her and burying her face into her hands. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

  “Evie, I didn’t-” I start, but the sound of another crash loud enough to make her jump cuts me off. I glance back toward the door before giving her a quick onceover and meeting her eyes again. “I’ll be right back, okay?” I promise. “Just stay here. I’m gonna lock you in.”

  “Okay,” she sniffs, giving me a nod as I move toward the door.

  I’m about to step outside and save him from prison when the door swings open.

  “Are you okay? Did he fucking touch you, baby?” Dash asks, his voice thick as he moves directly toward her. “I kicked everyone out, but I swear to God, Evie, if he hurt you, I’ll-”

  “He didn’t,” she shakes her head as she uses the back of her hand to wipe her cheek. “I’m alright.”

  “Are you sure?” he asks, softer as he clears the distance in three steps and lowers in front of her, resting his hands on her waist.

  “Yeah,” she nods, pulling a deep sigh of relief from him as he leans closer, kissing her cheek and raising his hand to sweep her hair away from her face. “I’m not hurt, he just freaked me out.”

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers, burying his lips in her neck as she rests her forehead against his shoulder, her chest shaking gently with silent tears only making him hold her tighter.

  “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean for you to get into a fight, Dash,” she sniffs, shaking her head as she glances back up at him. “He just wouldn’t stop.”

  “Evie,” he sighs, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “You should know by now you’re one thing I don’t mind fighting for.”

  Something about his words make her tears come faster as she pulls him closer, resting her cheek on his chest again as he tries his best to soothe her.

  Witnessing them like this is undeniably awkward, the sight of my best friend all over my sister sending my protective side into overdrive, but there’s something else there, too. Something that very same overprotectiveness wouldn’t allow me to see before, but I can’t deny now, no matter how much I’d like to.

  He’s still shaking, his grip tightening as he inhales her scent and pulls away slightly, searching her face again for any signs of trauma.

  “Thanks,” she sniffs as she pushes his disheveled hair away from his face, sighing as her eyes fall on his jaw. “He socked you good, baby. Your lip is busted.”

  “Stop worrying about me. I’ll live,” he shrugs it off before shooting her a wink. “He ain’t got shit on your right hook.”

  As Amy and Tony let themselves in, their private moment is on full display, but he doesn’t seem to care.

  Neither of them do.

  “Do you wanna go?” he asks.

  “Yeah, but…”

  “Alright, come on,” he cuts her off, rising in front of her.

  “Dash, you have to finish your shift,” she offers, prompting him to shake his head as he pulls her small, shaking frame into his arms.

  “Fuck that,” he says as she wraps herself around him. “If you wanna leave, we’re leaving.”

  She nuzzles into his shoulder, thanking him quietly as her body begins to shake in silent sobs.

  “Lock up for me, will you?” he says as he comes to a stop in front of me, fishing the keys to the bar out of his pocket. “If the cops show up...”

  “Yeah, man,” I nod, swallowing hard as I take in the gentle shake of her chest, his hand rubbing her back in consolation before I glance back up at him. “Don’t worry about it. I got you, bro.”

  dash

  She clings to me the whole way back to my apartment making it almost impossible to drive, but I’d never admit as much to her.

  I don’t have many redeeming qualities, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few days is that hanging onto her when she needs me is the least I’d do for Evie King.

  When we get to my place, I put the truck in park and pull away from her for a moment, smoothing her hair away from her face and studying her features for a second before I press my lips to her cheek.

  “Yo
u okay?”

  “Yeah,” she nods, her pretty blue eyes stained underneath with the remnants of her mascara. “Thank you,” she wipes her cheeks. “Looks like I owe you again.”

  “Gimme a kiss,” I say, giving her a soft smile as I rub my palm over her arm as she complies. “There. All paid up,” I kiss her once more, happy when I watch her lips curl up on either side. “You want me to carry you in?”

  “Kind of,” she blushes, making me smile wider.

  “Done,” I sigh, pulling her into my grip once more and holding her close as I kick the door shut and make my way upstairs. I’m nearly there when I slow, my afternoon returning to me. “Oh…” I say low, facing her as my steps slow. “Um… I have to tell you something.”

  “What?” she asks, wiping her face clean as she settles her hands on my chest.

  “Earlier? When I said I was getting stock?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I lied,” I admit, pushing the door open and stepping inside, watching her features freeze.

  “You lied?” she asks as I set her on her feet, pulling away from me almost immediately. “About what?”

  “Where I was… what I was doing,” I stumble, finding her eyes as I release a nervous breath, not sure how she’s going to react as I take in her features. “Evie, you know I love you, right?”

  “Yes,” she nods, swallowing hard.

  “Baby, I um…” I trail off, my hands clammy, my neck heating. “Don’t get mad, but I…” I clear my throat again, hating the glassiness of her eyes and the fact that I put it there. “Evie, I fucked up.”

  evie

  “Dash,” I manage, clearing my throat as I glance up at him, my stomach turning when I see his guilty expression. “I know you’re new to the whole relationship thing, but starting a sentence with ‘I lied to you, but don’t get mad’ is pretty much never a good thing.”

  “I know. I was gonna come clean tonight when we left the bar, but I never got to talk to you about everything,” he sighs. “Mason’s just been making shit so hard on you and you’ve been so fucking miserable, baby,” he shakes his head and I feel my limbs begin to go numb. “Fuck, Evie…” he whispers, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t… I don’t know how to say this.”