“I recognize the name,” Stacey said. “I’ve heard people in here talk about a Magnus before. Who is he? Esme said he was part of Zeke’s family.”
“He’s part of all our family,” River said from under dark brows. He was looking at her with a wicked smile and it was making her skin tingle. She chewed her bottom lip nervously and slid the new glass of whiskey toward him.
“How so?” she asked.
River raised the glass to his lips and sipped it slowly, before he turned to the side and looked toward the stage and at one of the bands that was sound checking on it.
He had brushed her question off, and suddenly, she didn’t feel so welcomed by him. She turned and wandered back down toward the other end of the bar to help Blu with some of the customers and their orders.
“Where the hell has River been?” she asked him when she sidled up beside him.
“River?” Blu asked as he looked down at her.
She nodded as she poured a scotch on the rocks.
“He’s just been away on business,” Blu replied.
Stacey nodded and accepted it. She clearly wasn’t going to get anything from either of them, and she knew how secretive they all could be. She had watched the group who owned The Nowhere Bar hold hushed meetings and band together like a forcefield on regular occasions.
“I went to see Esme today,” she said quietly and looked out of the corner of her eye to try and gauge his reaction.
Blu went still and looked down at her, he held his breath and nodded his head.
“When the crowd dies down, we’ll have a chat,” he said and stared at her. She nodded her head in agreement.
What the fuck is going on?
She wandered back to where she had left her purse, and there he was again… River and his intensity.
She smiled weakly and waited for him to speak to her this time. She was beginning to wish she had just stayed home and hadn’t bothered going in to help. She felt unwanted and in the way.
“Are you all right?” River asked her, as if he was tuned into her moods.
“Everyone is acting so weird around here today,” she said finally. “I feel as if something is going on.”
River drained the rest of his glass and placed it down on the bar. He jumped down from the stool and motioned for her to follow him. Stacey looked around, Blu was watching them, and a look passed between him and River. Blu nodded at River, and then he looked at Stacey and nodded at her too, as if he were giving her permission to leave.
She was so confused, but she went with River anyway. She walked out from behind the bar and followed him out the main door and into the cold night air.
The noise outside was loud and overbearing, and he wandered down the street and away from all the crowds. Stacey hugged her arms around herself and watched as he dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes. He clamped one between his teeth and lit it before he turned and exhaled smoke out of his nostrils.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she crossed her arms. “Everyone is being so weird.”
River came a little closer to her and she felt her skin prickle as she smelled his aftershave. It was masculine and dark, and it pulled her in and made her senses heighten.
“Something is going on,” River said. “Something big.”
“Is it to do with Esme and the baby?” she asked, her intuition kicking into overdrive.
She knew her friend hadn’t been herself when she had gone to see her earlier that day. Something had been off with all of them, and the fact that they appeared to be hiding themselves away on the mountain, not wanting to tell anyone that the baby had even arrived, only made her more suspicious.
“The less you know the better,” River said sternly as he looked down at her.
His eyes were lit up even in the dark, and the blue in them seemed to sparkle.
She swallowed. He was making her nervous, but she was drawn to him at the same time.
“But I know you’re here pretty much every night, and I don’t want you to feel as if you’re being left in the dark…”
He took another deep drag on his smoke and exhaled a plume into the night air. He looked down at her again and gave her a weak smile.
“We have a little bit of trouble, but nothing to worry about.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked with a laugh. “Sounds ominous and a bit scary, to be honest, River!”
He bit his bottom lip and smiled back at her.
“You don’t need to worry,” he said. “It’s all going to be taken care of. But while it’s going on, Zeke can’t come down to the bar, and he and Esme, and little Magnus need to keep themselves safe and out of the way, at home.”
She scrunched up her face and then just accepted it for what it was.
“Okay,” she said with a shrug. “You couldn’t have been any more cryptic, but okay.”
“And,” he said as he took another drag. “We may have to ask you not to come in for the next few weeks,” he said it uncomfortably and scratched the back of his neck.
“What?” she said. “But what about my job? This is what I do?”
“We’ll give you full pay,” he said as if that was going to make up for it all. “But being around here, Stace, it isn’t a good idea right now.”
She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach and she leaned back against the wall.
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” she said. “Are you firing me?”
River laughed lightly and smiled at her warmly.
“No,” he said genuinely. “You’re not fired, Stacey… We’re just looking out for our own.”
He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly and she felt her whole body tense up. His hand was hot and heavy, and it seemed to send an electric wave right through her.
She smiled back at him weakly, desperate to find out more.
“What am I supposed to do with myself in the meantime?” she asked. “This job means everything to me, I’ll be lost without it.”
River sighed and shrugged.
“I’m sorry I don’t have any more answers for you at the moment,” he said.
He took one last drag on his smoke before her threw it down onto the cold asphalt and ground it out with the tip of his boot.
Stacey wrapped her arms around herself even tighter.
“Do you want me to go right now?” she asked, completely stunned and not really sure of what the hell she was supposed to be doing.
“Stay for a drink,” he said as he motioned for her to follow him back toward the main door of the bar. “If you’re sitting with me, nothing bad is going to happen.”
She nodded and followed behind him like a lost puppy dog.
She had no idea what the hell was happening, or why, suddenly, everything seemed so complicated, but River was probably right. The less she knew about it all the better. As long as Esme and little baby Magnus were all right, then she would just have to trust them to handle whatever it was that was going down.
When they walked back into the bar, one of the warm-up bands were on stage, playing heavy rock music, as the crowd all pushed toward the front and cheered.
It was getting late, and the place was really filling up, and she suddenly felt very relieved to not have to deal with any of the customers.
“Are you sure Blu isn’t going to mind?” she shouted into River’s ear as they approached the bar.
He looked back at her over his shoulder and shook his head.
“Trust me,” he said. “It’ll be fine.”
River pulled a bar stool out for her and she climbed onto it, before she crossed one leg over the other and watched as he sat on the one next to her. Behind the counter, Blu was working away, but he had the whole thing down. He may have been on his own, but he didn’t look fazed. Stacey watched him and could see a complete professional, he was the owner; of course, he was going to know what he was doing.
“Do you never work behind the bar?”
she asked River cheekily.
He smiled and cocked his head to the side.
“I guess I may have to soon,” he said as he looked down at her.
“Where’ve you been?” The words just flew out before she even knew she was saying them, and she clamped her hands over her mouth, as if she was trying to force them back in.
“You noticed I was gone then?” he asked as he smiled wryly into the distance.
“Well, I mean, you always used to be around, and then, suddenly, you weren’t. It was weird, I guess.”
She was being sincere. She had become so used to seeing the four guys that all ran the bar, that it had been odd not to have River around. He, Blu, Scar and Zeke… they were the bad boys of Lost Creek, and they had taken over the bar and built it into a thriving business.
“I wasn’t far, don’t worry,” he said quietly. So quietly, in fact, she wasn’t sure if she had even heard him properly.
He reached for his packet of smokes and lit another and then he wrapped his knuckles on the counter top to summon for Blu.
“I’m thirsty,” he said with a cheeky grin. “How about we celebrate the birth of little Magnus? Quietly, of course,” he winked.
“Sure,” she said. “That sounds like as good a reason as any to have a drink.”
Her mind was so confused. So much had happened in one day, her quiet steady life had been shaken and the parts had been spilled all over the place. She no longer had a job to go to, even though she would be getting paid. Her friend had given birth to a baby, but there seemed to be a lot of secrecy about it. And now, she was sitting and having a drink with her goddam boss on what was supposed to be her night off.
“Okay, guys,” Blu said as he appeared in front of them. “Are we all sorted?”
Stacey looked up at him and shrugged.
“I’ve explained the situation, in brief,” River said before he took another long drag on his smoke.
Blu nodded.
“I hope you understand, Stacey, we’re just being careful. We wouldn’t want you to be dragged into anything you didn’t need to be…”
She looked at them both and saw a glance pass between them that made her suspicious.
“Okay,” she said with a shrug.
Her mind was frazzled, and she didn’t see what other choice she had. She just needed to let it all sink in, maybe have another chat with Esme, and then she would know more about what questions she would have, if any.
“Drinks,” River said with a wink. “Rack ‘em up, Blu.”
Blu saluted him and grinned and then he went to the back where the spirits were lined up and plucked out a bottle of vodka.
“Yikes,” Stacey laughed, and she raised her eyebrows. “Are you two on some kind of mission to get me wasted so I don’t ask any more questions and forget all about it?”
River winked at her and grinned, and then he let out a roaring laugh.
“Would we ever be that sneaky?” he asked.
She shrugged and widened her eyes.
“I’m starting to wonder…” she mused.
Blu came back with some crushed ice in glasses and started to fill them with the clear liquid, before he offered a range of mixers. River shook his head and picked up his glass to drink it straight, but Stacey motioned for the tonic and a fresh slice of lime.
River held his glass up and waited for her to join him. He clinked the edge of his against hers, and then they both raised them to their lips and took a sip.
“To Magnus,” he said, and she was sure she could see something sad behind his eyes rather than happiness.
“To Magnus,” she repeated. “And to you… welcome home.”
River looked down at her and looked genuinely moved, he smiled and then knocked back his drink in one. He breathed out and clenched his teeth.
“Man, I needed that,” he said as he panted. “It feels good to unwind.”
“Yeah,” she laughed as the alcohol warmed her insides and she started to relax too. “It does, doesn’t it?”
River smiled and waved to Blu to bring him another.
Stacey still had no clear idea of what the hell was going on, but as the band played on behind them, and she sat there with River sipping drinks and having her first real night off in months, it felt good to know that she had friends there. She felt as if they were all looking after her in their own little way, and it was good to know she wasn’t totally alone in the world. She had found a little slice of family somewhere.
“So, anyway, how’s the world of Stacey?” River asked as he tapped his hands on the bar to mimic the drum beat.
“Okay,” she said. “Nothing exciting, just plodding along as always.”
“Good to know,” he said. “And that’s the right way to be, in my opinion,” he exhaled some smoke. “There’s too much pressure out there to always be doing something extortionary. I think people need to stop and realize sometimes that the most important things are much closer to home.”
She looked up at him and smiled.
For someone who was so aloof and occasionally gave off the vibe that he was bad to the bone, River did have a soulful side to him, and it was becoming more and more intriguing.
As she sat there drinking vodka with him, she realized she had missed him while he had been gone. She barely knew him, and yet she felt strongly connected to this guy. He had come out of nowhere when her father had died and almost taken her under his wing. He had offered her a job, he had made sure she was all right, and then, after a few months, he had disappeared and she hadn’t heard anything from him. Now he had come back, and she was glad to see him.
She sipped her drink and smiled.
She had the feeling that now that River was here, whatever was happening, it was going to be okay.
6.
Her head was pounding, deep and hard, and she was sure that she could still hear the blare of the bands strumming around her and screaming into the microphone.
She pushed herself up and looked around, her mouth dry, her neck sore, and her legs curled up underneath her.
“What the hell…” she said as she reached up and rubbed her forehead.
After a few drinks with River up at the bar, it had all turned a little bit hazy. She looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing the clothes she had gone out in, and her shoes weren’t even off. She was crunched up on her couch and her purse was next to her feet.
“Urgh,” she said through the dry mess of her lips. “This is not good.”
She pushed herself up and to her feet, and she moved slowly toward the kitchen. When she got to the refrigerator ,she pulled open the door and grasped around for something cold and fizzy, and she was overjoyed when she found a bottle of sparkling water.
She twisted the cap off the Perrier and sipped it quickly, gulping it down and just hoping it would quench her thirst.
“How many drinks did I even have?” she asked herself as she rubbed the back of her neck. “We must have had one hell of a celebration.”
She crunched up her eyes and wandered back through to the living area and grabbed her purse. She checked that the door was locked and noticed that her house key was on the mat. She must have dropped it, but it almost looked as if it had come through the letterbox. She scratched her head and made her way upstairs, desperate to flop down into her proper bed and peel off her clothes that reeked of booze and smoke.
When she climbed into bed and reached into her purse for her cell phone, her eyes opened widely when she saw she had a text message from River.
R: You were wasted! Blu and I got you home safe, I ditched you on the couch and locked you in. Key is on the mat. See you soon.
“Oh man,” she said and then she couldn’t help but laugh.
River and Blu, two of her bosses, had to carry her drunken ass home and dump her on her couch.
How embarrassing.
She rubbed her forehead again and rolled onto her side. She felt terrible and knew she needed more sleep to try and shake off th
e horrific hangover. Hopefully, by the time she woke again, she would be out the other side, and she could focus properly. But until then, she wanted to blank out the world.
She awoke to the sound of her phone chiming. She rolled over and squinted as sunlight streamed in from between a crack in her curtains and shone down across her bed.
She rubbed her head and blinked, the cracking headache that had shot right through her earlier that morning had passed, and she was feeling much more human. She reached out and grabbed her glass of sparkling water and sipped it, taking away the last bit of dry mouth and bringing herself back into the land of the living.
She let her hands search around on top of the blankets until it settled on her cell phone, and then she lifted it up to her face and squinted at it.
It was a text.
From River.
Her heart raced a little and she couldn’t help but smile.
She opened it and started to read…
R: Please tell me you’re alive… You’ve got me worried with this silence…
She smirked and started to type a reply.
S: Don’t worry, I am indeed alive. For how long though is another matter! I feel horrendous. I blame you and Blu for being bad bosses ?? I hope you didn’t suffer the same fate…
R: I’m fresh as a daisy, sweetheart, you know you can’t keep a man like me down for long! Back to the bar tonight to fill in for you. Don’t worry about what we told you last night, we have it handled. We just don’t want to risk any of our staff or friends if they work closely with us, that’s all…
S: Thank you ?? And I’m glad you’re feeling okay. I don’t think I’ll be moving from this bed all day!
R: I could say something bad about that… but I won’t.
She looked at her phone and she felt a rush of excitement.
“Is he flirting with me?” she said as she grinned and bit her bottom lip.
She raised her eyebrows and let the phone settle back down on top of the blankets. She wanted to write back, but she didn’t know what to say. She had enjoyed her night with him so much, and as she cast her mind back, she kind of remembered that they had been flirting slightly.
RIVER Page 4
