LAINIE TOOK A quick shower while Dimitri washed up in the guest bathroom. It had been a long day on the road—over nine hours—and, at first, Lainie wanted to refuse her brother’s suggestion of hitting a bar and just climb into bed and sleep the night away. However, the feeling lasted only a second before the lure of a cold beer called to her, and she headed for a hot shower. Monday, she had to show up at the sheriff’s department for her first day of duty, so she would make the most of her time off before she didn’t have any. Less than an hour later, she was in Dimitri’s truck as they headed for the bar he called Everglades. Or rather, she was being jostled in Dimitri’s truck because of the crappy roads of Bull Creek.
“I need to warn you,” Dimitri said once they pulled off Crabgrass Road and onto Highway 192, turning left toward Everglades. “This bar is nothing like Shades back in Draven Falls.” He glanced over at her and shrugged. “It’s more like a…comfy shack.”
Lainie laughed, believing her brother over-exaggerated. That is, until he pulled into the parking lot and Lainie got a good look at what constituted a bar in Bull Creek. She just stared, her mouth open, eyes narrow slits as she soaked in the whole place, the dilapidated building with the droopy wood canopy and sagging porch, the flickering bar signs, the dirt parking lot. That the structure still stood amazed her, nevertheless with people bouncing around inside. “You really go in there and drink?” she asked as she stared through the windshield at the place. “Aren’t you afraid it’ll collapse on you?”
Dimitri just laughed as he shifted the truck into park, killing the engine. “What can I say? Wes serves some good whiskey. Come on, and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the gang.”
Lainie gave him a skeptical look, but opened her door and slid out into the humid night air. “You’ve been here two weeks and already you have a gang?” She shook her head. “Why am I not surprised?”
Dimitri joined her as the two of them made their way to the front door of Everglades. Alanna’s car already sat in the parking lot, so Lainie assumed Josh would be inside as well. She would need to figure out how she felt about the redhead before things went too much further. Lainie knew Alanna and Josh were destined mates, and Lainie was merely an ex-girlfriend and perhaps a current playmate.
“That gang saved my life last week,” Dimitri said as they neared the front door. “If they hadn’t shown up, Josh and I would probably be beside Neal and Tina in that graveyard.”
Lainie turned, placing her hand on her brother’s upper arm. “I’m glad they were there,” she said, doing her best to keep herself from tearing up or her voice from cracking. “I’d hate to be missing a brother right now.”
Dimitri gave her his cocky grin. “Trust me, I’d hate it, too.”
Together, they entered the loud interior of the rustic bar.
Lainie stared at the neon bar signs nailed to the walls, the large mirror behind the bar, which barely reflected anything in front of it, and the dark wood bar with the thick-bodied, shaggy-looking man working behind it. High top tables filled most of the interior with smaller, larger wooden tables and ancient-looking chairs filling the rest. A small dance floor filled the back of the place while Toby Keith’s voice screeched from a dilapidated jukebox off to the side. Lainie followed her brother to a high top table off to the side wondering where in the hell her brother had brought her.
“You really drink here?” she asked him as they weaved through the crowded tables. It surprised her that, even on Saturday night, the place was packed. Of course, considering how far out in the sticks they were, she doubted there were too many other options.
Dimitri just laughed as he patted her on the back. “Trust me, it’ll grow on you.” He gestured to a high top table in the corner where Josh and Alanna already stood, sipping beers with three others. When they reached the table, Dimitri introduced her to Eve Hartlow, Nathan Landry, and Ash Merickle. “These are some of the people who helped save our asses last week,” Dimitri told her. “They’ve kept me company while you and Josh took your time getting back here.”
“I thought that asshole left,” Ash hissed as she gripped her beer bottle, looking over everyone’s shoulders.
Lainie followed her gaze, as did everyone else, as a shaggy dark-haired man walked into the place, glanced over at them, and then turned toward the bar, his thin shoulders slumped, head dipped low as he walked. The man definitely did not want the attention of the others. “Who’s that?” she asked as she turned back around and glanced at the others.
“Cody Wolfe,” Ash hissed. “The jackal who tried to run me off my property last week.”
Dimitri glanced at his sister. “He was caught up in Bane’s agenda.” He turned back to Ash. “And to be honest, I thought he had left as well. I hadn’t seen any of them since the bonfire last week.”
“You think this means Bane will be around again?” Josh asked as he held his beer bottle in front of him with two fingers.
Lainie watched as her brother sighed and shook his head. “I wish I knew.” He then shrugged. “We’ll just have to keep our eyes open.”
Lainie noticed the dark looks on everyone’s face as they glanced around the table at each other. She could only imagine the fear each of the people around the table must feel right then with everything they had gone through.
Alanna must have noticed the same thing. She smiled over at Josh. “Give me a quarter,” she said as she lifted up her hand and waggled her fingers at him. “It’s time to play some decent music.”
Josh just laughed. “In that thing?” he asked as he pointed to the jukebox against the back wall. “I don’t think you could call what comes out of that thing decent or music. It sounds more like nails on a chalkboard.”
Alanna kept smiling as she wiggled her fingers at him again. “Cough up some coins.”
Josh shook his head and sighed, but Lainie noticed he still reached into his pocket and handed the redhead three quarters. Lainie lifted her beer to her mouth to hide the smile that crept over her face. Josh and Alanna had a long road ahead of them if they kept dodging what they each felt for the other, but at least they were enjoying the journey.
Alanna played some Kenny Chesney and dragged Josh out on the dance floor as the conversation switched from Cody Wolfe and Bane to lighter topics like how on earth they would get someone out there to pave their shitty roads. Lainie laughed as they all joked around, knowing that her brother had surrounded himself with a good bunch of people. They danced, laughed, and drank, and by the end of the night, Lainie felt like she had more friends in Bull Creek in just a few hours than she had in Draven Falls her entire life.
Just after one, Dimitri led her to his truck to take her home, feeling better about her decision to move to the small community. She still needed to meet Sheriff Einstein, but if the sheriff’s department was anything like the people she met tonight, she would enjoy working there. Now, if they could just do something about the roads…
“Thanks for coming out with us tonight,” Dimitri said as he pulled into Lainie’s driveway. “They’re a great group of people.”
Lainie opened her door and slid out, turning to face her brother. “I had fun,” she told him. “And to be honest, I needed a night like tonight. Alanna and Eve are great, and I really like Nathan and Ash. Wes was a hoot, even though his bar looks like it’s going to crumble at any moment.”
They said their goodnights as Lainie turned toward her front door, ready for a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. She meant what she said to Dimitri. She needed a night out, drinking, laughing, and forgetting about the chaos she left behind in Draven Falls. This was a fresh start for her, a chance to make her own way without her father’s influence or pushing. His connections may have opened doors for her, but she knew herself capable of walking through those doors on her own. This was her time to know she stood on her own two feet.
As she neared the front door, she noticed a piece of paper penned to the wood frame. She narrowed her eyes as she neared it, wondering if Bull Creek had some sort of welcoming committee. However, as she stared at the writing on the paper, the calm she felt from the night twisted into a nauseous knot in her stomach. She could only stand there as she read, You were promised to me.