Tequila Smash

by Aliyah Burke

  Chapter Eleven

  “Are you sure about that?” Ellie tapped her foot and unflinchingly held the stare of the man in bed who made just such an outrageous claim.

  Dogfish scowled up at her. “Of course I’m sure. I was here when it was said. Where else would I have been? I’ve been stuck in this place for far too long.”

  “One, don’t raise your voice to me. Two. You were shot and it was worse than you’d first believed. This is the safest place for you right now. So you’ll stay here and recover until the doctor actually releases you to go home.”

  “You sure are lippy for an employee.”

  “Manager, and a damn good one who’s keeping your hellhole flush in cash while you’re here.” She crossed her arms, ready to push him back if he even thought he would climb out of bed while she stood there.

  “Be nice to her, Mr. Burton. This young lady has been here every day to see you whether you remember it or not.”

  Ellie turned to see Nurse Bryn Hunt enter the room. She was her favorite, not taking any gruff from Dogfish, and nothing but polite to Ellie when she saw her. Her mocha face, a stark contrast against the pale pink scrub top she wore. A top matched by the shoes on her feet, the pink stream broken up by the dark navy pants.

  “You,” he snapped.

  Ellie whirled back to Dogfish, shocked at his behavior. “Be nice,” she responded sharply.

  “This…this…”

  “Nurse, would be the word you’re searching for, Mr. Burton. Especially since you’ve not had your shot yet today. I am more than happy to go ask Nurse Ainsley to let me have that pleasure.” She held the man’s gaze, and if Ellie hadn’t been watching she wouldn’t have believed it for a second.

  Her boss looked away first. She faced the nurse who had a soft smile on her face as she looked at Dogfish.

  “He’s like most military men we get in here. Full of angry bluster used to men jumping at anything they say.” She shook her head. “Well, he’s got nothing on my own DI I had.” Nurse Bryn met her gaze. “Besides, it’s always fun to give them some of their own medicine.”

  “I can hear you,” he groused.

  “You’re supposed to be able to, and now we have confirmation there’s nothing wrong with your hearing.”

  “You were in the military?” Ellie asked her.

  “I was in the Navy.” Behind her, Dogfish had returned his attention to her. “Was a corpsman and used it to pay for college to become a nurse. Served for eight years and got out to follow this passion.” Another brilliant smile. “I love my job, even on days when our patients are less than pleasant to us.”

  As she began to spin back, Dogfish closed his eyes and pretended he hadn’t been all into the conversation between Ellie and Bryn.

  “Well, Last Call is a bar that has mostly a military clientele if you’d ever care to stop by. First drink’s on me for taking such good care of my boss.”

  Bryn met her gaze once more. “Maybe I will take you up on that. Especially since I know he’s in here and won’t ruin my night.”

  Ellie bit the inside of her lip, doing her best not to laugh at the expression on Dogfish’s face. Lord help her, she tried but failed.

  “I look forward to seeing you there. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a nice Navy man.”

  Bryn angled her body so she could see them both. “That would be a refreshing change, especially after dealing with old crotchety Marines.” She finished, adding his medication to his IV and disposing of the needle. “I’ll be by tonight. Thanks for the invitation, honey.”

  “Looking forward to it. Thanks so much for taking such good care of him.”

  She didn’t comment, just provided Ellie with another warm, matronly smile before she exited the room.

  “Why is it so hard for you to be nice to Bryn?” Ellie dragged the chair closer to the bed and curled up in it, feet beneath her.

  “The woman should be called Attila,” he groused, yanking on the blanket Bryn had just adjusted over his lower body. “Can’t believe you invited her to the bar.”

  “My mistake, I mean, it’s a bar. Drumming up business is a good thing, or so I thought. Perhaps you have a magic wand you wave to get new patrons. But I thought it would be nice to do something for the woman who’s been charged with taking care of you.”

  “It’s former military there and current.”

  “I’m aware of that,” she said, struggling to keep the humor from her tone. “From what I’ve seen of Bryn, she is more than capable of handling herself. She is prior Navy, after all.”

  He fisted a hand. “Humph. She wasn’t a Marine.”

  Looking up in silent prayer, she shook her head. “Thank God, because I couldn’t handle the bloodshed that would come from two stubborn Marines butting heads all day.” He sent her a glare that would have sent her running to a corner in the past, but now all she did was blow him a kiss and pull out her list of books she wanted to hunt for this weekend. A few of the titles were being held for her at shops but some would be an adventure.

  “Did you even hear me?”

  “Uh huh.” She made notes beside the ones she had for sure. “You wanted me to give Bryn all her drinks tonight on the house. No problem, boss.”

  “Not what I said.”

  She looked up and smiled. For a moment she was taken aback by how much older he suddenly appeared to her. This getting shot business had taken more out of him than she’d thought at first. Pain leeched into her heart. This old man was a father to her in every way.

  “I’m sure it’s what you meant instead of ‘keep an eye on her,’ as if I have the right to keep an eye on Bryn and make a decision on who she decides to talk to or go home with.” Another few notations. “Or that you have the right.”

  “She goes home with someone, Half Pint, and I promise to you I will find a way out of this bed and to your house.”

  “She’s a grown woman, boss. I can’t make those decisions for you. But,” she added when he began sitting, “I will make sure that Bennett follows her home so we are sure she gets there safe.” Then you can pester him for information about where this woman lives.

  That answer must have been acceptable for he settled back on the bed. After a few moments of silence, he patted the mattress. “Did you come here to work on your list or keep me company?”

  “I am capable of doing both.” She never looked up from her sheet.

  “We have a game of poker going. Get the deck.”

  She folded up her list and shoved it in the front pocket of her jeans, followed by the pen. Then she reached for the worn deck of blue cards and passed them over. After a bit of rooting in the drawer, she found their score sheet and bit back her curse. Thank the gods this was just a game or she’d be in serious hock to this man.

  She stayed for another two hours before taking her leave. After stopping by the nurses’ station, where she reiterated her offer of free drinks, she went to the park where she was supposed to meet Bennett for lunch.

  Sitting on a park bench watching the mixture of people flow by, they had a lovely meal from a food truck. Locals, tourists, it made for wonderful people watching. Currently, they were trying to figure out what the day jobs of those they picked out were.

  “I think he’s an accountant.”

  She readjusted her sunglasses she depended on to protect her from the glare off the Pacific Ocean and the bright rays that shone down from above. “What makes you think that?”

  He took a big bite of his cheeseburger. “He walks like one.”

  Scooping up ketchup with her fries, she shook her head as she chewed. “That doesn’t make sense. How do you know that?”

  “What do you think he is?”

  The man had thinning hair and a poorly-fitted suit as he moved slowly along the sidewalk.

  “I think he’s miserable. He came here to cheat on his wife and now that he has he’s trying to figure out how best to lie to her about it.”

  “How did you get to that conclusion?”

&
nbsp; She sipped her drink. “While we’ve been sitting here, he’s dug in his pocket and pulled on his wedding ring. So, whatever he was doing to acquire such a wrinkled suit, he didn’t want his marital status known. And the expression on his face is one of regret. His affair seemed like a good thing at first but now he’s questioning the wisdom.”

  “And if you were the wife?”

  “I would tell him to keep his ass in Hawaii and file for divorce.” Her fingers tightened around her cup and she forced herself to relax them a bit.

  “Better than me. I would have whopped his ass.” Bennett kissed her. “Ready to walk around for a bit?”

  Downing her last few fries, she nodded. They dropped the trash in the receptacle and walked along, holding hands, enjoying the day. After a while, he guided them into line for a sno-cone.

  She ran a hand through her short hair and sighed. Days didn’t get much better than this.

  Ahead of them a couple bickered, and ahead of them a young couple were kissing. In front of them was another couple who grabbed her focus. When the woman moved to the side, she could see the dark marks on her upper arm.

  The man with her held her in a bruising grip as he snapped at her. The woman shook her head but the man shoved her out of line. “If you don’t want to wait then we will go right now,” he barked.

  Ellie’s world of sunshine and beauty instantly transformed into one of stormy weather and tornados. In less than a second all the light vanished, and she was once again trapped in a world abuse and fear. She’d managed to survive these past years, even seeing men treat women in less than respectful way but this was different.

  In every way.

  Because that man there, wasn’t just another stranger. He was her ex-husband. She fainted.

  * * *

  Bennett barely caught her before she hit the ground. She’d gone stiff about five seconds after they got into line. He didn’t think it was the quarrelling couple before them. When the man two spots ahead of that one shoved the woman he was with out of the line, he found who had bothered her.

  She gasped, “Trevor.” Then collapsed, leaving him mere seconds to grab her before she hit.

  He moved her out of the line and lay her down. “Come on, wake up. Someone call an ambulance.” He wasn’t taking chances, not with her. A crowd grew, including the man who’d done this to her.

  Bennett nearly snarled in anger but he shoved it back, determined to remain focused on Ellie. Even so, he marked where the man went and was careful not to say her name in the small chance he didn’t recognize her. His left hand curved as if he had a sidearm there, determined to protect this woman from any and all threats.

  The sirens cut through the milling crowd and some dispersed, while the majority merely moved back.

  “What happened?” the nearest EMT demanded as he approached.

  “She just collapsed.”

  Bennett moved back just enough that they could get close to her and check her out. The man she’d been staring at moved a bit to the left, the woman with him still in his clutches.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Ellie,” he said, returning his attention to the man who knelt over her.

  “Could be heat exhaustion, vitals are fine. Her pressure is up and pulse is skittery. I’d feel more comfortable if we could take her in.”

  “Do it but I’m riding with her.”

  “Sure thing. Come on, Karen, let’s get her in the back.”

  The pair worked efficiently and soon they were rolling to the back of the ambulance. He climbed up after they secured her in and sat on the side not taken by the guy who was in the back. Karen slid behind the wheel.

  “Can you hear me, Ellie?” He adjusted her oxygen mask and hooked her up to an IV. “Just electrolytes,” he said to Bennett.

  He picked up her limp hand, wishing there were more he could do for her. One thing was certain, they were having a chat when she woke up from this. He needed to know what had scared her so badly it had made her drop into unconsciousness.

  They rolled into the hospital and he followed them inside the building. They made him stay out while they examined her, and he paced. Finally, the doctor came out to him and held up a hand to ward off his question.

  “She’s going to be fine. From all indications, this was nothing medical that will need to be of concern. We took x-rays and no broken anything.”

  “She didn’t fall,” he said. “I caught her before she hit the ground.”

  “This time.”

  He scowled. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that for a woman with so many healed bones, never mind. I can’t discuss anything with you. She’ll be moved to recovery in a bit, you can go see her if you’d like.”

  “Thank you.” He strode off down the hall only to slow and stop. The doctor’s words rang like a ship’s bell in his head. Loud and clear.

  Healed bones. Bones didn’t need to heal unless they’d been broken or fractured. A red haze settled over his eyes and he wanted just two seconds with that man from the park. The park. Where he truck was. He needed to get it so he could take her home. But at the same time, he had no wish to leave her.

  The desire to see her won out and he made his way to reception and asked for her location.

  “She’s over behind curtain four. Second on the left side.”

  “Thank you.” He made his way there and cleared his throat on the outside of the hanging sheet. “Smash? You decent? I’m coming in.”

  It wasn’t like there was a door or anything for him to knock on. So, he slid the drape aside and exhaled sharply. Seconds later a litany of curses streamed from his mouth.

  Ellie was gone.

  He hadn’t a clue how the hell she’d managed to get by him and out the door. Not only that, but who had she called for a ride? He had her purse and phone with him. His worry ratcheted up the more he thought about what could happen to her as she went home.

  Dashing out of the hospital, he flagged down the first taxi he saw and barked out her address as he slid across the backseat. The driver took off the moment he’d shut the door.

  Bennett dug for money and tossed it in the driver’s direction as he bolted from the cab and toward the door. He dashed up the stairs to her door.

  Bam. Bam. Bam.

  “Ellie. Open the door.” His heart pounded in his chest. Nothing came from the inside. Not a peep.

  She never came to the door, so he whirled around and made his way to the bar. It hadn’t opened yet. He checked his watch and saw the doors wouldn’t be opening for another ninety-five minutes.

  Where the fuck had she gone?

  He hung around the bar, waiting for her to show up and open the doors. Right at the appropriate time the neon sign in the window clicked on, the plastic on was turned to read open and Rachel propped open the door.

  “Where’s Ellie?”

  “Hi, Bennett. Good to see you. How am I? Well, thanks. Why don’t you come on in?”

  The reprimand was blatant and he gave her a small smile. One that wasn’t returned. Rachel walked away and he followed, eyes immediately swinging to the bar and he sighed as he spied her back there, with a clipboard in hand.

  “We need to talk, Smash.”

  She jumped at his voice. Actually, jumped then flinched slightly and it curdled his gut. Body incredibly tense, she faced him, expression drawn and strained.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Harvey. I’m a bit busy right now, if you can make an appointment that would probably be best.”

  He narrowed his eyes and noticed how she drew into herself before she shored up her backbone and lifted her chin. Even so, there wasn’t any denying the lingering fear in the backs of her eyes.

  “I’m afraid now would be better for me.”

  “Perhaps I can help you with your problem.”

  In his periphery, he watched Mikeyla stride up. Still looking as out of place as she had the last time he’d seen her. That familiar expression of “don’t fuck with me” on her face
as she neared.

  “No, ma’am, but thank you. This is between me and Smash.”

  He turned his gaze back to her and arched an eyebrow. Her hands were trembling slightly as she put the clipboard on the counter. She hid it well and slipped her hands into her pockets.

  “The sooner I deal with this the sooner I can get back to work.”

  Deal with this? Like he was an issue? Bennett grew angry.

  She led the way over toward the office and slowed. “Do we need to be in there or is here fine?”

  Oh, they needed. “Inside.”

  She preceded him in and waited for him to pass before she shut the door behind, closing them in together.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ellie fought the urge to rub her sweaty palm off on her thighs. No weakness. No hesitation.

  “What can I do for you?”

  She ensured that her voice didn’t hold any of the emotion she had for him. Time to make him go away before she got in any deeper and had another situation as she’d had previously.

  Waking up in pure panic mode in the hospital had been the icing on the cake. She swore she’d felt every single one of the breaks and bruises her ex had given her, lying in that bed. The doctor had come in trying to ask her about the x-rays and the old familiar lies had poured out of her mouth.

  Shame flushed her skin and, as soon as she could, she fled. While she’d not had her phone, identification, money, or anything like that, she got a sweet nurse to allow her a phone call. And she used it to ring Dogfish’s apartment. Thank God his niece answered the phone and that’s where she’d gone. Mikeyla had met her and paid her fare before bringing her up into the apartment where Ellie had promptly fallen asleep on the couch.

  Nightmares had plagued her and she woke screaming with tears streaming down her face. Mikeyla sat beside her and held her. Didn’t ask questions or anything, just held her until the tears stopped and she fell back to a restless sleep.

  When she woke for work, her eyes were red and puffy and her throat already raw. Her bones made her wonder if something hadn’t been broken once more. She showered and changed before the women headed down together.