Vicious Little Darling (Love So Cruel #3)

12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

EMBER

I stare after Xander. His back is turned to me as he speaks softly on the phone. I don’t know where my courage came from when I recognized him on the street, but it’s the perfect distraction for my mind right now—and trust me, I need one. I’m in the middle of a crisis.

A fucking moral crisis.

I let a masked stalker face and finger fuck me and, as much as I want to say I was drunk, I know damn well that I was sober enough to know what was going on. I wanted him to do it, and even now, the thought of him between my legs sends a tingle of excitement through my body.

I’m so unbelievably fucked up. I nearly groan as I pull my eyes away from Xander, the nice, way-too-hot-for-me stranger. If the poor guy knew what I’d done to fuck my head up so badly that I didn’t feel like going to work, he’d probably sprint out of here—and never give me a second look again.

“Sorry about that,” his deep, velvety voice cuts into my thoughts. “It was my uncle.”

I tilt my head back, taking in the way his warm eyes linger on my face. It’s as if he likes what he sees. “No problem at all. I should get going, anyway.”

His brow furrows. “Oh,” he says, disappointment in his voice. It makes my heart flutter. “Maybe we could continue this another time?”

Pursing my lips, I push back from the table and get to my feet. “Yeah, maybe. If you want to. I have a lot going on in my life right now…” I can’t meet his gaze as the words slip from my mouth, so I focus on his chin—his perfectly dimpled chin, hidden beneath a light layer of dark stubble. As painfully attractive as he is though…

I bet he can’t fuck like Skull-face.

“I guess I’ll just see you around then,” Xander breathes out, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Maybe I’ll get the job at the bar. We can at least be friends.”

Oh God, he thought this was a date… And here I am, ruining it. Had I not had a sexy creep between my legs last night, I’d be elated right now. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“I…” my voice trails off as I try to conjure up the words I want to say to him.

“It’s all good.” But he still frowns at me and then drops his eyes away, picking up his coffee cup and heading toward the door. Within just a few seconds, he’s slipping out of the coffee shop door and walking off down the street.

Shit. Shit. Shit! I leave my coffee on the table like a horrible person and dart through the shop, weaving in between tables until I reach the door. I shove it open and take off in the direction I saw Xander go, scanning the crowd for him.

But he’s nowhere. Well, I mean, he’s somewhere, just nowhere that I can see. I walk a few blocks in that direction I thought he took, my shoulders slumped and then, finally, I give up. So fucking stupid, Ember. You could’ve ruined it with someone you’re actually interested in. I let out a sigh, angry with myself for all the reasons…

Including the fact that I still want the skull-faced weirdo to show back up in my life. And this time, maybe he’ll have the balls to fuck me.

And potentially murder me.

***

“Ready for your first night?” Josh greets me with a massive smile as I step through into the empty pub.

“Yeah, of course.” I feign a smile, like I didn’t spend all day wondering why my creepy stalker was no longer hanging around. I mean, I told myself last night I’d change the locks, but…

“You seem distracted. Are you okay?” Josh asks as he holds out a hand towel. “I know you took the day off from the bookstore. I was hoping that helped. ”

“Yeah, it did,” I lie, and then am gruesomely reminded of my ruined coffee date. “I also met one of the guys you interviewed.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” I say quickly, sensing the need to downplay the encounter. “But it wasn’t anything special. He came into the bookstore to get a few things for his mom’s birthday, and then I ran into him on the street when I was trying to stay away from the area, to avoid Rich.”

“Ah,” Josh says, blowing out a sharp breath. “Well, I interviewed four guys, and only extended an offer to two of them. I let the other two know we were going in a different direction.”

I nod, acting as if I’m not trying to recall exactly what Xander said. “He seemed nice—like you two might get along.” The shot in the dark was meant to draw Josh out, but instead, he only shrugs.

“Let’s get your training over with. Those guys won’t start until the weekend, anyway.” Josh waves me over to the register, and then—for the next forty-five minutes—gives me the rundown of everything, including showing me the list of names that we don’t serve.

“What did these people do?”

Josh chuckles, folding his arms across his chest, which shows off his pectoral muscles straining against the fabric of his black henley. “Most of them didn’t pay. Some of them are fighters—they come in and they like to pick a fight with anyone that will look them in the eye. I try to avoid those types… And this guy,” he pauses as he extends his arm to gesture to the name. “This guy is a fucking creep. He’s followed women home from here more than once.”

I stare at the name. Jaxton Banks.

“Noted,” I say as my stomach does a flipflop in my gut. Could a guy like that be the one stalking me? Since it’s happened, I have not considered the fact that more than likely, I’m not an isolated event. I’m just one of many.

Ugh. Gross.

But I still feel my pussy ache at the thought of him there again, bending me over and whispering dirty things.

“You really are out of it.” Josh nudges me as he heads around to the front of the bar. “We open in ten minutes, so hopefully, you’ll snap back once the customers start showing up.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” I tell him, giving him a sheepish smile. “I think I just drank too much last night.”

Josh pauses, stopping at the jukebox. “I don’t know that you drank any more than you usually do when you go out, but yeah, I guess. That guy was a prick. I can’t believe Rich set you up with him.”

Right, Dylan.

I laugh, wiping a rag along the counter. “I knew from the moment he picked me up at my apartment that it was not going to work. He was judging me so hard.”

Josh’s face tinges red. “Why the hell would you let a stranger pick you up from your apartment, Em? That’s just asking for something bad to happen.”

My brows shoot upward. I was not expecting that reaction. “Well, I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know who he was. He’s Rich’s friend.”

“Yeah, and you can’t trust anyone in this goddamned city,” he snaps at me, just before kicking on the music. “That’s the problem with you, Em. You’re too trusting of people. You think everyone has good intentions and, in reality, most don’t.”

I open my mouth to spit out an argument, but just then the door swings open and the first bunch of patrons come in. It’s a group of two women and three men, and Josh greets them with a kindness that makes me wish I hadn’t mentioned the date with Dylan.

For the next seven hours, I fly on autopilot, making small talk and serving drinks, wiping tables, and generally helping Josh out to the best of my ability. Nothing exciting happens, and no one does anything more to me other than compliment my old band T-shirt and talk about the city. It’s a relief and serves as a great distraction from my strange day. However, by the time we hit closing, I’m fucking exhausted.

Josh locks the door after the final couple slip out of the doors. “Easy night,” he says to me as he turns back to me. “Just as a warning though, it’s not always like this. There’s usually always someone who tries to be stupid.”

“Maybe the universe knew I needed an easy night,” I joke, grabbing a rag and wiping down the counter.

“Maybe,” he says flatly. “Do you want me to take you home from here? I don’t think you should be traveling across this city this late at night. I don’t like that idea at all.”

“Um…” My eyes drift to the glass, taking in the dark streets outside. They’re mostly empty, with only a few stragglers making their way home. “I…” My voice trails off as the shadow of a figure steps into my view and I catch my breath.

“What?” Josh says, his back to the glass.

I stare at the skull-faced man, lingering just outside. “Um, yeah, I think I will take you up on the offer to drive me home.” I swallow the knot in my throat. If Skull-face is going to get me, I want it to be in the comfort of my apartment— not in a dark alleyway somewhere.

Josh nods in my peripheral vision. “I wasn’t going to let you walk home alone, anyway. At least now I don’t have to force you into my car.” He laughs, shaking his head as he grabs a broom and starts to sweep up. “Once the other guys start working, we can let them close up and I’ll take you.”

“Or one of them could take me,” I say, my voice quiet as I remain locked in on the man pressed against the window. “If they’re trustworthy, of course.”

“I guess,” Josh grunts, sweeping up a wad of napkins. “I swear people make such a fucking mess. I don’t even know how they do it.”

“Yeah,” I nod, just as Skull-face slips out of sight again. A shiver rolls down my spine, and I struggle to keep my breath even as I join Josh in the clean-up.

“Why don’t you tell me more about the guy who follows women home from the bar?” I suggest.

Josh chuckles. “I take it you’re in the mood to be scared shitless then.”

“Or hellaciously bored,” I counter.

He stops, looking up at me mid-sweep. “Jaxton is the son of a wealthy tech mogul here in the city. He thinks it’s his right to take whatever he wants—women included. He found my bar about a year ago, and got into the habit of coming in, sitting down, drinking one beer, and then following a pretty girl out of here. He was charged with first degree rape when he was seventeen. Seventeen, Em. That’s fucked up.”

I nod, my stomach feeling sick. “Yeah, that’s super fucked up.”