Page 4

“Don’t you know who I am?”

I squint at him. “I don’t care who youthinkyou are; it’s time you paid the lady and found another bar.”

His nostrils flare, and his hand slides to his pocket. Nope. Not going to allow that.

I grab his arm, twist it behind his back, and slam him against the wall. “Pay the lady, andleave.”

He squeals like a rat caught in a trap. “Fine, fine. Let me go, let me go,” he says, panting.

I yank him around and look at his friends. “You hear that? He wants to go. Pay up, and get out.”

The guy who took a swing reaches for his wallet and for his cell on the table, and he hauls out a fistful of twenties. “Here, here, just let him go,” he says.

I eye the other two, who seem frozen in place at the table. “Time to skedaddle.”

Both spring to their feet, but it’s not until they exit past a massive figure watching from the doorway that I spot they all have their cell phones out.

I release the head bully and give him a little shove, propelling him out the open door.

I’m met with a grin that’s almost as massive as the man in front of me. “Looks like I missed all the fun,” Caleb says.

With a smile, I pick up one of the toppled chairs as the waitress cautiously approaches.

“Thank you.I was freaking out. We have a bouncer, but he’s off sick. I’m on my own until five, and the cook is a little old woman from Vietnam. She barely speaks English.”

I give her a lazy smile. “No worries. Maybe next time, threaten to call the cops.”

She shakes her head, eyes widening as she puts a plastic ketchup bottle back on the table. “I can’t do that. His father’s a lawyer. And he isnota good guy.”

Caleb grunts. “What’s his name?” He pulls out his phone and dials. “Delilah, you have time to run a check on someone for me?”

Whatever her response is, it makes him chuckle. “You know the Lighthouse Bar and Grill? Yeah, that’s it. Call it now. There’s a waitress who needs your help.”

He ends the call and winks at the waitress. “Don’t look worried. Delilah and Adena will deal with him.”

Her brow creases in confusion when the phone rings at the bar, but she leaves us to answer it.

As curious as I am to see how this plays out, I’m not here to drink beer or to deal with the product of too much education and not enough discipline. “Silas said Hightower has a better chance of catching her,” I say.

Caleb nods. “We don’t have to go through the same channels as law enforcement does. But if we agree to work this, we’ll need your continued discretion.”

I work my jaw as I consider. “You mean you want me to continue to keep my trap shut about what I heard and saw on the plane?”

He nods. “Without compromising your commitment to homeland security, of course.”

I hold back a laugh. “Of course.”

A wry smile appears on his lips. “Verity said you kept your cool. Not sure I would have.”

I swallow a mouthful of bitter liquid. “Can’t say I agree. I should have done something.”

“What? One move and you’d have been blown to bits.”

“And your point being?”

“You’re here. Must be for a reason.”

As I mull that over, the waitress finishes her conversation, stunned, glances at us, gives a weak smile, then heads into the kitchen.