“Anytime.”
She waved and left.
When she got home, she called Duffy’s. They were actually having a karaoke competition
and the woman who answered the phone didn’t know if Quinn could sing without entering.
Worst case, she’d have to pay the ten bucks to be in the competition. She called Kate,
who said she’d be at Quinn’s in an hour.
They planned to go out to eat first because Duffy’s food wasn’t good. Quinn dressed
down in long denim shorts and a plain purple T-shirt. She knew better than to wear
something skimpy to Duffy’s. A rougher crowd hung out there. It was one of the reasons
she and her colleagues started going to O’Leary’s.
Kate arrived at six so they could carpool.
“Are you sure we can’t go to Twilight?” Kate asked for what seemed like the hundredth
time.
“What is with you? They don’t have karaoke tonight. They won’t have it again for another
couple of weeks.” Quinn swiped a brush through her hair one last time and took a long
look at Kate.
She’d gotten used to seeing Kate in a baggy sweatshirt and peanut butter–smeared jeans.
She’d dressed tonight as she had when they’d gone to Twilight. A short, slim black
skirt and a black shell. This was lawyer-Kate out for a drink after work.
“I had a good time at Twilight. I liked the music and the atmosphere.”
Quinn turned ideas in her mind. “Or maybe it was the company. What happened with Griffin
after Ryan took me home?”
“Nothing.” Kate blew out a depressed sigh. “I don’t want to talk about the crap in
my life. My mom has the kids and she’s keeping them overnight. So I’m a free woman.
Let’s go have fun. You said you had lots to tell me. How’s the list?”
“Nearly finished.”
“Number eight?”
“You memorized the list?”
Kate nodded. “I said I’d live vicariously through you this summer.”
“Number eight is not only marked off, but it has a huge smiley face next to it.”
“Who?”
Quinn stood. “Come on, I’ll tell you everything over dinner.”
Ryan made another round through the bar. They weren’t extremely busy, but they had
a crowd. He scanned the tables of customers.
Did they always have so many women drinking in groups?
The night was starting to pick up. The jukebox blared. Not too many people were dancing.
The numbers on the floor would increase as more alcohol was consumed. He’d already
told the staff to swoop down and remove any unattended drinks. If a woman complained,
they brought her a fresh one.
He didn’t want to scare his customers off. It was worth losing a few bucks if it meant
saving one woman from being raped. He thought of Maggie and their argument. She didn’t
often go to bars anymore, but he’d called her and left a message of warning anyway.
It didn’t matter that she was younger than the other victims. If something happened
to her again, he didn’t think either of them would come out the other side.
Ryan stood at the bar, his back leaning against it so he could watch the crowd. He
was exhausted, drained. He didn’t think he’d be able to keep up this hypervigilance.
Maybe he’d hire a couple more bouncers to work the crowd.
Colin tapped him on the shoulder.
Ryan turned his head, but not his body. “What?”
“You’re strung pretty tight there, bro. Why don’t you take a break?”
“I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh. Here.” He slid a draft next to Ryan’s elbow. “It’ll help you relax.”
Ryan absently sipped the beer. He couldn’t relax. He didn’t know how Colin could expect
him to. But then Colin hadn’t been here for Maggie. Hadn’t seen what it had done to
her.
“You didn’t tell me Quinn was a singer.”
Broken from concentration, Ryan turned. “What?”
“You didn’t tell me Quinn sang. Is she any good? Seems like she would have a sultry
voice.”
“What are you talking about?” Colin had his full attention now.
“Quinn came by earlier looking for a place to sing karaoke.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“She stopped in during the staff meeting and didn’t ask for you. I think she wanted
to see me again.”
Ryan snorted. “Not likely.”
“What do you know? We had a good time last night. She’s a bit tame for my taste, but
I wouldn’t kick her out of bed.”
Ryan’s blood ran hot. “Stay away from her.”
Colin tilted his head. “Why? She’s single and apparently looking for dates.”
“This isn’t a joke. Quinn is off limits.”
Colin stepped closer. “Says who?”
“Me.”
“I think Quinn is capable of making her own decisions. She can decide who she’ll go
home with.”
“She already has.”
Colin stopped, mouth half open, probably with his next barb on its way. “Interesting.
Come to think of it, you did disappear about the same time she did last night.”
Ryan cooled his throat with a long drink of beer. Colin braced his elbows on the bar
like a neighbor leaning on a fence waiting for gossip.
“So?”
“What?”
“Details, man. How hot is she?”
“Drop it.”
Colin snickered. “You got it bad.”
“I said stay out of it.”
Colin eased off the bar as two new customers walked in. “If you’re so hot for her,
why are you here watching other women instead of singing with Quinn at Duffy’s?”
“I told you why. Wait a minute. You sent her to Duffy’s?”
“She didn’t want to wait to sing at your swanky Twilight.”
“You dumb fuck.”
Anger flashed in Colin’s eyes. He held up a finger to the waiting customers. “Don’t
go there. Your lady asked for information. I provided it. It’s not my problem you
can’t keep her satisfied.”
“Two of the rapes happened to women at Duffy’s.” Ryan’s voice was low and anger fled
Colin’s face, replaced by concern.
“I didn’t know. You didn’t give me those details either. Look, I’m sure she’s fine.
Give her a call and warn her.” He walked away, apologizing to the couple waiting patiently
at the end of the bar.
Without thinking, without offering explanations to anyone, Ryan bolted from the bar.
Calling would be the sensible thing. Make sure she was at Duffy’s. But he had no sense
when it came to Quinn.
He drove like a maniac to get to Duffy’s. The lot was packed. He didn’t see Quinn’s
car, but if she planned to drink, she’d have taken a cab. He circled the block, beating
a rhythm on the steering wheel. When he saw a car pulling out, he jumped two lanes
of traffic and whipped a U-turn to take the spot.
Entering the bar, he was immediately reminded why he disliked Duffy’s. It wasn’t that
they were competition. They wanted to be an Irish pub, but they thought the name was
all they needed. Cheesy leprechaun pictures hung on the wall, leftover from a long-ago
St. Patrick’s Day celebration. College kids came here for the cheap beer.
O’Leary’s had won the patronage of the Irish community. His parents had strong ties,
being immigrants themselves. The bar did such a brisk after-work business because
of the immigrants. Irishmen liked to drink, but they rarely did it at home.
Ryan focused on faces at every table. He didn’t see Quinn. No one took notice of him
as he wound through the crowd. The guy on the platform (it wasn’t big enough to count
as a stage) was a good singer, making it easier to tune him out.
He turned the corner and entered the second half of the bar. From behind him, he heard
the singer leave the stage and the next one start. The voice stopped him.
Quinn.
He spun around and edged to the side of the crowd. She engaged the audience as she
sang.
Worry seeped out as her voice washed over him. It held the same smooth quality as
when she sang with the radio in her kitchen, and he’d imagined her singing lullabies
to a baby. Now, she was putting on a show. Her feet tapped in rhythm and her hips
swayed.
From the shadows behind him, someone tapped his shoulder. He couldn’t take his eyes
off Quinn.
“She’s better than you thought, right?”
The question drew his attention. Kate stood beside him. “No, I already knew. I caught
her singing the other day.”
He looked back as Quinn finished and took a bow. The crowd applauded. Some stood and
cheered. She rushed off the stage.
She was moving so fast she couldn’t have seen much. It was like watching a cartoon
character as she skidded to a halt. The flush of pleasure from singing slipped for
a moment when she saw him. Then it returned even brighter as she jumped past Kate
and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I did it. Did you see? By myself. I was good.”
“Yeah, I heard.” He took a minute and held her pressed against him, inhaling her soft
scent. The relief he felt in holding her smacked him so hard he had to take a steadying
breath. Anger replaced the worry. Anything could’ve happened to her in this dive.
He stepped back, but held her elbow. “Let’s go.”
She jerked her arm and shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m having fun. I
might even sing again.”
“You sang. You can mark it off your goddamn list. Let’s go.”
She took a step back and walked away. Kate was no longer at his side. He hadn’t noticed
her leave.
He followed Quinn and barely caught her elbow before she sat.
“You’re not staying at this dive. You want to drink and have fun, go to O’Leary’s.”
She yanked her arm back. “Why? So you can spy on me some more? Watch my every move
and make sure you approve?”
“No—”
“You don’t own me, Ryan. So we slept together. Big deal. That doesn’t give you the
right to tell me what to do.”
“It’s not—”
She held up her hand to stop him. She turned to Kate. “Let’s go somewhere else.”
Kate stood, eyes wide in shock, and grabbed both their purses.
Quinn turned back and poked him in the chest. “Don’t follow me.”
She stormed out. Kate looked back and gave a slight shrug. He’d feel better if he
knew where they were going, but at least they left Duffy’s.
He looked around at the staff bustling by. Not one of them stopped the slight altercation
between him and Quinn. It was no wonder the sleazebags used Duffy’s as a hunting ground.
No one paid attention.
“What the hell happened? I leave you alone because you look ready to make out with
Ryan, the next minute, you’re fighting.” Kate started the car but waited for Quinn’s
response.
“He was being an ass.” Quinn turned in her seat. Out the back window, she saw Ryan
leave the bar and scan the street.
“How?”
“I didn’t tell him I was coming here. He just showed up and said, ‘Let’s go.’ ”
Kate glanced out of the corner of her eye.
“Like I don’t have the right to go wherever I want.”
“Hmm. Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did he want you to leave?”
“I don’t know.” Her phone rang. Ryan. She pushed it to voice mail.
“This is what I know. I watched him while you sang. He’s really into you.”
“Funny way of showing it. You know, screw this. Let’s go back in. I want to sing again.
I’m not going to let him ruin my night.” She stepped from the car and left her phone
on the console. She was being petty by not answering it, but he had no right to tell
her where she could hang out.
Even more proof that friends with benefits didn’t work.
She thought of how good it initially felt to find Ryan standing in Duffy’s. How natural
it had been to throw her arms around him to share her triumph.
You can’t have it all. Either he’s a friend or a lover
.
The voice in her head nagged her. As good as the sex was, she wanted the friendship.
She wanted to be able to call him to chat, or hang out, without being the needy, demanding
girlfriend. She felt comfortable around him and didn’t want that to change.
Back in Duffy’s, she scanned the room. They’d lost their table, so they found a couple
of stools at the bar. They hadn’t sat for more than two minutes before a hairy, burly
guy squeezed between them and faced Kate.
“Hi. Can I buy you a drink?”
Kate tapped her glass. “I’m good, thanks.”
“I’ll buy the next one.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’m married.”