“Good. Remind him of that if he comes in again. She does have boyfriend who is a cop.” Decker bumped Jade gently with his shoulder and grinned at her. He wanted to chase away the worry he saw clearly revealed in those gorgeous, mossy-green eyes.
“I do?” Jade turned to him with a mischievous smile.
“You definitely do,” he leaned close to her ear to whisper. He then turned his attention to all the ladies. “Don’t give him any of your names. No one is ever alone at the shop, right?” Decker asked.
“Hardly ever,” Erin offered.
“Make that never.” Decker looked around the table. “Be smart. When you’re at home don’t answer the door unless you know for sure who is there. Don’t leave your phones lying around unattended at the shop. Keep them with you. The first reason being so you can call 911 if there is an emergency and the second reason is so someone doesn’t lift your phone and get your contact info, numbers, names and such. Keep your eyes open and call the police if anything is out of the ordinary. You can just call the police station’s regular number if it is a minor thing, but call 911 if it’s a legit emergency. Call me, Brody or Liam anytime. I mean it. We’ll make sure you have our numbers before we leave tonight, okay. Stalkers are nothing to mess around with.”
A serious mood settled over them. That was the moment Connor, from Connor’s Coffee, entered the bar. He saw them and headed toward them.
“Hey, Connor! I was wondering if you’d show up,” Harper called out.
“I told you I would, Harp. I had to squeeze in a nap. I wouldn’t miss Nineball. I love this band. I’ll stay for a set or two then I’ll head for home. A coffee and muffin maker has to get up early.” He extended his hand to Decker, then Liam, and lastly to Brody.
“Our muffin man!” Harper pointed at him and laughed.
“Sit, Connor.” Decker motioned to an empty barstool.
“Thanks, man.” He sat and ordered a beer when Marlowe approached.
“Beer? I thought you only drank coffee.” Marlowe teased.
“I make the coffee, and drink it. But I drink beer at night when I’m among friends and there’s a good band at your place.” Connor gave Marlowe a wink and a smile.
“Yeah, I don’t drink the beer because I’m working when I’m at the bar, but I do drink the coffee, because I get to bed very late. Rather, it is usually very early in the morning, like three. Sometimes four,” Marlowe countered.
“Come in tomorrow, I’ll give you an extra large on the house,” he offered.
“That’s a deal. Thanks, Connor.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder, flashed him a pleased smile, and moved on to take orders at another table.
“Claire was just telling us about some jerk that came in and bothered them tonight at the shop,” Decker informed Connor. He wanted Connor to know. He was their neighbor in the shopping plaza and a big, buff guy too.
“Really?” Connor’s expression grew serious.
Decker briefly explained what had happened.
“You know there’s always at least one guy working at the coffee shop, ladies. I don’t like leaving my girls without protection, especially when I’m not there. If you’re being bothered, call next door. One of us will come over. I’ll give my guys a heads up so they know they should come over immediately if you call.”
“Aww, thanks, Connor.” Jade smiled at him.
“Anytime, sweetie.” Connor smiled. “We’re neighbors after all.”
“Don’t worry, Jade. You have lots of friends willing to come whenever you need us,” Decker leaned close to tell her.
“I know. I feel very lucky. Thanks.” She rested her hand on his and squeezed.
He entwined his fingers with hers.
The band started up again with Smooth by Santana then went into All Summer Long by Kid Rock. The music was upbeat. The mood lightened. Jade began to enjoy herself again. Harper, Annie and Riley pulled Jade onto the dance floor when the band played Luke Bryan’s, Country Girl Shake It for Me. Harper and Riley tried to pull the guys out onto the dance floor, but they all declined, even Connor, who usually fell prey to their requests for a dance partner. They stayed on the floor for No Doubt’s Just a Girl.
Decker watched Jade dance. She was graceful, sexy without trying to be. He smiled at her a couple of times when she looked his way.
She came back to him wearing a sparkly smile. He liked how her body fit against his when she sat beside him again. He tried not to think of the creep asking about her at the shop but he couldn’t help it, he was a police officer, a former detective, and his mind kept working. He wanted to tell her about the family legacy and what his parents had prepared him and his brothers for, but he felt it was just too soon. He wanted to get to know her better, and he thought it was important to prove to her that she could trust him first. Besides, the jerk could just be a random, stalker-type and not the Lord of Darkness, or whatever one would call the old, evil soul that had plagued his family for centuries. Still a stalker could be just as dangerous.
Harper rose. Jade offered to join her when she found out she was going to the ladies room. With a smile on her face, she promised Decker she would be back in a few minutes.
Liam looked to Decker. Decker gave him a slight nod of approval as he slid back onto the booth seat. It wouldn’t hurt for Liam to keep an eye on them. Decker had a strange feeling that the guy at the shop earlier could be this demon. He wished now that their parents had told them more about this curse.
Liam rose. “Hey, I’ll walk that way with you, ladies.”
Brody and Decker both watched them walk away.
“So, Claire, what does this guy that was in the shop tonight look like again?” Brody asked her. He took a sip of his beer and looked to Decker.
“He was tall, had dark hair, and dark eyes that looked almost solid black. He was lean, but appeared to be in decent shape, and his face was kind of harsh and angular. I guess you could call him good-looking, maybe high society types would think so. I was not attracted to him at all. He was definitely GQ, designer clothes all the way. He must have money or been raised in that type of environment because you could tell he is used to getting what he wants. He was arrogant and pushy even. Oh, and his fingernails were professionally manicured. You can tell. I worked in a salon when I was in college. There was a slight hint of an accent, but I couldn’t place it, really. It wasn’t French, Spanish or Italian, I know that much. He way overdid on his cologne.” She grimaced at the memory.
“Handsome, suave and totally creepy,” Annie offered.
The restroom was crowded. After Jade washed her hands, she called out to Harper and told her she’d wait for her outside in the hallway.
Of course, the corridor was narrow. They always were in small bars. Liam was waiting at the end of the corridor for them. She smiled at him and began to make her way toward him when a man stepped from the men’s room and stopped directly in her path, blocking her way. The guy was tall with dark hair and dark eyes that reflected an odd sheen in the dim light. He was definitely overdressed for a night at a neighborhood bar and grill like the Waterfront. He wore dark dress pants, dress shoes, and a white collared shirt.
“So where have you been all of my life, beautiful?” he asked, his voice deep and smooth.
He had a slight foreign accent, but not enough of one for Jade to tell exactly where he was from. She wanted to roll her eyes at such a corny line.
“Excuse me, please. My boyfriend is waiting for me at the table.” She pointed in the direction of their table and moved to step around him.
He took a side step to keep her from moving forward, as he clucked his tongue. “You were meant for better things. You were meant for me,” there was a definite growl in his tone. Long fingers reached out and tried to grasp her hand.
Jade drew her hand back. She looked around the man’s shoulder and saw Liam. There was a bleach-blonde beside him.
“Liam?” she called loudly and tried to walk by the man a second time. His fingers wrapped aroun
d her upper arm. They were ice cold.
“Why don’t we go someplace…quieter? We’ve things to discuss, you and I.”
“Liam!” Jade was certain she yelled for him that time as she tried to pull her arm away from the guy. No one beyond the corridor could hear because the band was currently playing Joan Jett’s I Love Rock and Roll.
“Coming!” She heard Liam call to her. A woman came out of the ladies room and squeezed by her. She and the jerk were, in truth, blocking the tiny corridor. The push put her closer to him. Jade stepped back quickly, still trying to tug her arm from his grasp. Where was Harper? Why hadn’t Liam come yet?
She rose up on tiptoe and looked over the jerk’s shoulder. The bleach-blonde, was apparently very drunk. She wore a short leather skirt and a crop top. Her breasts were practically spilling out of her low-cut tee as she hung on Liam and kept reaching for his hands and arms as he tried to break free.
Liam looked to Jade. “Hang on, I’m coming!”
“Excuse me, I need to check on a friend,” Liam said gruffly as he tried to peel the drunk chick off his arm yet another time.
“I’ll be your friend. You can come to my place.”
“Ah, no thanks,” Liam ground out as he tried to get around her. She continued to hang on him.
“Look at me, beautiful, look into my eyes,” the dark-haired man commanded as his ebony gaze burned into Jade’s.
“Look buddy, I don’t want to talk to you. I’m not going anywhere with you. Leave me alone!” Jade shivered, his energy was so bad, so wrong. She averted her gaze from his. She looked to the side feigning trying to step around him again then took a fast, huge step backward. She broke the hold he had on her arm. She cringed when he stepped closer to her, smiling confidently as he did. There was an odd gleam in his eyes. He reached out with both hands to grab her this time.
“Don’t touch me!” Jade did yell this time. She jerked her arms back out of his reach and stepped back again, right into someone.
“Get your damn hands off my friend! Who in the hell do you think you are?”
Jade sighed in relief. It was Harper behind her.
“Oh my God!” Claire stood up from her seat at the table suddenly, nearly spilling her beer in the process. Riley caught the bottle just in time.
Claire pointed toward the restroom corridor. “That man talking to Jade – it’s the creepy guy from the shop tonight! Liam’s trying to get to her and some drunk blonde is hanging on him and he can’t get away.”
“Brody, stay at the table with the girls.” Decker was up and hurrying toward the restroom corridor. The crowd slowed him down.
To get to Jade, he had to get rid of the drunk girl latched onto his brother. He heard Harper speaking in a loud tone, but couldn’t hear what she said because the band had just started up an old Metallica tune.
Drunk chick managed to wrap herself around him, leaving Liam free. While he and Liam tried to get the girl’s hands off his arm, the guy harassing Jade managed to slide by them. He gave Decker a cold, triumphant smile and an arrogant nod. He breezed into the open bar area as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Decker glared at his back while he continued prying the drunken woman’s fingers from his bicep. Damn was she an octopus with a strong grip, or what? He would get one hand off and she clamped back on again.
One of Marlowe’s bouncers, Nathan, arrived and helped them successfully remove the blonde from his person.
“Chloe, time for you to go home. Marlowe called a cab for you,” Nathan announced.
“Aww, but I was making friends,” she slurred.
“No. You weren’t, Chloe,” Nathan told her in a soft, but disgusted tone as he led her gently by the arm toward the front door.
“You okay?” Decker asked Liam.
“Yeah, that chick was strong. I’m no lightweight.”
“I agree, I couldn’t get her off me either,” Decker called back to him. He was already making his way to Jade.
“What happened? Are you okay?” he asked, stopping when he reached her. His hands rubbed up and down her slender arms soothingly. Her mossy green eyes were wide. She was frowning.
“Yes, but that guy was an absolute jerk. He was rude. He was hitting on me and grabbing my hands and arms, even after I told him that I wasn’t interested, that my boyfriend was waiting at the table. He kept trying to get closer. He wouldn’t let me walk around him. He wanted me to look into his eyes. Then he said he was taking me somewhere quieter, that we needed to talk. What a creep! If Harper hadn’t come out when she did…”
“I did come out and I heard enough to know what the sleaze bag was up to. When I started yelling at him, Marlowe come close enough to hear, she sent Nathan over. Decker was helping Liam with the drunk girl, that’s when the jerk left.”
“Claire recognized him, Jade. That was the guy she told us about earlier, the one who came into the shop tonight asking for you,” Decker told her.
“What?” It was a definite shock. A very uncomfortable, creepy, even bone-chilling feeling washed over her. She was being stalked! The man had his hands on her. He wanted her to leave with him. Her legs felt a little wobbly when the realization hit her.
“Don’t worry. I’m taking you back to the table to sit with my brothers then I’ll find him. I’ll show him my badge, and see if I can get some ID on him. If I do, we’ll get a restraining order against him first thing tomorrow morning, for starters. I’ll help you with everything,” Decker spoke calmly to her as he led her toward their table.
His arm around her waist gave her much needed support. Her mind was racing. It dawned on her that the guy had gone to the shop and ended up here, where she was, and that he tried to get her to leave with him. She might have been in actual danger, and she hadn’t even known it at the time. It was overwhelming, really.
Decker’s hand rested possessively on her hip as he looked around the bar for the guy who meant Jade harm.
He seated her. “You need something?” he asked her. She looked very pale.
“No. Well, maybe some water.” She told him. Then she reached out and laid her hand on his forearm. “He followed the girls here, didn’t he?”
“It looks like it, yeah. Don’t worry.” He picked up her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He looked around and didn’t see Marlowe or any other server nearby.
“Stay here. I’ll go get your water at the bar,” he told her. “Did any of you see where that guy went?” Decker looked around the table. He took one more look around for the jerk and didn’t see him at all. He turned his attention to Jade. She was still wide-eyed.
“I think Connor followed him,” Brody offered. “Go, get her water, Liam and I will stay here.”
“I’ll be right back,” he assured her. He ran into Connor on the way to the bar. Damn, this place was crowded now. People were standing around everywhere.
“I followed him out the front door.” Connor reached for Decker’s arm. He had to lean in close so Decker could hear him. “He walked about three rows deep into the parking lot and got into a dark sedan, looked like maybe a BMW, and hauled ass away. He turned right onto Ray Road,” Connor supplied. “Damn dark parking lot! The lights suck out there!”
“By any chance did you get the plate number?” Decker asked him.
“No. I tried. There just wasn’t enough light. Sorry, man.” Connor shook his head.
“Thanks for trying.”
“I did take a photo of the back of his car just in case. It’s dark, but you want it?” Connor said as he looked at his phone.
“Yeah, send it to me.” Decker gave Connor his number. “I’ll be back to the table in a minute.”
He went to get a bottle of water for Jade at the bar. He purposely went to Marlowe. She only bartended on busy nights, but she was the owner and was here most of the time. He asked her, “Have you ever seen the guy that gave Jade trouble in here before?”
“Never,” Marlowe shook her head as she filled a pitcher of beer for someone else.
“I’d remember an arrogant ass like him. He was odd. He sat at the bar when he first came in. He didn’t even order a drink. I asked him if he came to see Nineball. He said no. He said he was looking for someone. I guess he got tired of me trying to make conversation with him because he moved to stand against the back wall over there and just watched everyone.”
“If he comes in again, call me, please.” Decker laid one of his cards on the bar.
“Sure thing,” Marlowe nodded. “What do you need?”
“Two waters.” He slid a ten toward her.
Marlowe gave him two ice-cold waters and took the ten. She turned to the cash register, intending to give him change.
“Keep the change,” he instructed with a smile. “And thanks for the info.”
“Thank you, Officer Decker.” She grinned at him. “I wish everyone tipped like you!”
Decker laughed.
Jade was halfway listening to the other conversations at the table when Decker returned. He set a bottle of water in front of her. She gave him a weak smile.
“Thanks, Decker.”
He picked up his phone and looked at the photo Connor sent. It was dark. If anyone could figure out a way to get a better look at the plate, it would be one of his brothers.
“Hey Liam, Brody, do you think you can blow this up, lighten it some, and maybe get the license plate number for me? Connor took this as they guy drove away.” Decker passed his phone to Liam. Brody rose and came to stand next to his brother.
“There’s a good chance we can.” Liam nodded.
“Yeah, as long as there’s no glare on the plate or it’s not too blurred when we blow it up.” Brody handed Decker’s phone back to him. “I’ll check it out as soon as we get home, if not tonight, tomorrow morning for sure.”
“Good. That’s what I want to hear.”
Jade looked as if she was miserable. He slid in next to her.
Decker's Fate (The Decker Brothers Trilogy Book 1) Page 7
