Young Love Dies Hard: The Young Brothers, Book 1 by Nikki Lane (old books to read txt) 📗

“What the hell are you doing?” Sal sneered.

“What does it look like?” I bent over and hitched a hand under Donny’s arm. “I’m helping him get Donny into the car.

Sal shook his head and gave me a dismissive wave before letting out his aggression on an innocent table that had survived the brawl. Another stream of obscenities left his mouth when his foot went right through the table after he’d kicked it.

Donny groaned and cringed when we brought him to his feet. Honestly, I didn’t think I was doing much to help. Donny was well over three hundred pounds. I could barely hold his arm up without some serious effort.

“Thanks,” the new guy said to me, grimacing from under Donny’s weight. “But I think this would actually be easier without your help.”

“Right…” I slid out of Donny’s grasp, the sound of broken plates crunching under my shoes, and watched as the new guy lugged him outside.

My shoulder ached, the soles of my feet were burning, and I barely had the energy left to grab my stuff from the dressing room. I threw my change of clothes over what I was already wearing. The sooner I left that hell hole the better.

I scoped out the parking lot before venturing out. It was spotted with a few cars, and two of the three streetlights were still turned on. Normally, I’d have Donny walk me to my car at the end of my shift. A few groups of people still lingered in the parking lot, laughing and having loud conversations.

“Crazy night, huh?” Marissa said beside me.

“Yeah,” I said. “This place is really going to shit.

“Told you,” she pointed toward the sky, “full moon.”

I followed the path of her finger, aimed at the bright, white circle dotting the black sky.

“Full moon,” I muttered. “You were right.”

We walked in unison for a while.

“You okay, sweetie?” she asked.

I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just need to sleep this night off.”

Marissa wandered toward her car and opened the door. “You got a ride home?”

“Yeah,” I said. “My car’s right there. Thanks.”

“See you tomorrow night?” she asked.

“You know it.”

She gave me a small smile and got in her car. I didn’t waste any time doing the same.

Once I was locked inside the car, I rummaged through my bag for my phone.

Every corner. Every pocket. Even the outside pockets.

“Shit,” I said to myself.

I’d forgotten it inside the club. I’d developed this habit of checking my phone every chance I got during my short breaks. It’d become a diversion when I wanted to forget where I was for a few minutes. I always made sure I had it before leaving. Always! I must have been so distracted by everything that had happened. I hadn’t been thinking clearly.

My hand hovered on the handle a few seconds before opening the door. How fast could I run inside and get back in the cocoon of my car?

I trotted past a small group and avoided eye contact.

“Hey there, darlin.’”

Randy, the cowboy, leaned against a truck. His arms were crossed and the black Stetson was dipped low on his head.

“Hey,” I said. “What are you still doing here?”

He left his group and walked in my direction. “Just listening to these guys argue about where they want to go next.”

“Not enough action for one night, I guess.” My shoulder throbbed, and I gave it another rub.

“You weren’t hurt, were you?” he said.

“No,” I said with a small laugh. “I’ll be fine.

“If it’s still bothering you in the morning, you might want to have it checked out.”

“What are you a doctor or something?”

“Nope. Just been in my fair share of confrontations.” His fingers skimmed the brim of his hat.

I laughed. “Well, I’ll be sure to call my doctor first thing in the morning.” I took a few steps toward the club.

“You sure it’s a good idea to go back inside there?” he asked.

“I just forgot something.”

“You want me to walk you?”

The number of people in the parking lot was slowly dissipating.

“You really are a southern gentleman, huh?”

He smiled and escorted me back inside where Sal had locked himself in his office. The place was deserted so it was easy to pluck my phone from its usual hiding spot—behind the makeup mirror.

Randy walked me through the empty parking lot back to my car.

“I’m in town for a few weeks,” he said. “I was thinking maybe I could see you again…outside of a work-related visit, that is.” He gave me a small smile, a little bit of his pearly whites peeking through.

He’d been the first guy to approach me in a while. But the flattery was lost on me. His attempt only served as an unwanted reminder of my available status.

“Maybe,” I said. “I’m not trying to jump into anything right now.

“Nothing serious,” he replied. “Just maybe a drink or two. Innocent enough, I promise.” He outlined a cross over his heart.

“Where are all your friends?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject. I wasn’t ready to face the decision yet on how far I was willing to go to forget the pain I’d been burying since watching Jacob walk off in this very same parking lot.

He looked behind his shoulder. “Guess they got tired of waiting for me.”

“Well, how are you going to get home?”

“Same way I got here, I suppose. My truck.”

“Do you know the way?”

“No, but the GPS does.”

I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. Randy reached in his back pocket and pulled out a small flask. “Want some?” he asked before taking a long sip.

“No, I’m good. Thank you.”

He took another healthy sip from the flask.

“You sure like your whiskey, huh?”

“Show me a country boy that don’t.” Another sip from the flask.

I had enough bad memories to know that this situation wasn’t heading anywhere good.

“Well…” I said. “Thanks for walking with me.”

“Not a problem at all.”

I opened the car door.

“Say…” Randy held the door open. “I’m not as tired as I thought I was. How about you join