‘Do I?’ Daniel ran a hand over his face. ‘The bar’s crowded. I had to elbow a couple of guys to get my orders heard.’
On stage, Cade strummed his last note and gave a quick bow.
‘One more!’ someone shouted.
Others echoed it, louder and louder, but Cade didn’t stop.
He walked off with his guitar.
A few voices groaned as the lights shifted back to dim red and amber.
‘Do you come to this kind of place often?’ Priya asked.
‘What, you mean a bar? No, not really.’ Daniel shook his head. ‘I’m more of an indoor cat.’
‘I find that hard to believe,’ I put in.
Priya nodded her agreement.
‘Because you’ve got a tan and you’ve got muscles,’ I pointed out.
‘Both could be obtained indoors.’
‘Didn’t peg you as the type to use a tanning bed.’
Daniel gave an awkward laugh. ‘Okay, enough about me. What about you, Mirabelle, Priya? What do you girls do when you’re not hunched over a sketchpad?’ Googlᴇ search novel_fіre.net
A server approached our table with a tray.
‘Sherry cobbler.’ He set down a glass of golden cocktail.
‘For you.’ Daniel pushed the glass towards me. ‘You said you wanted low alcohol. This one’s basically fruit and sugar.’
‘Hugo spritz.’ The server set down another glass.
Daniel nudged the glass towards Priya. ‘I know you like green.’
‘Rémy Martin Louis XIII Cognac, neat.’
I raised an eyebrow. ‘You sure know how to order drinks at a bar.’
Daniel shrugged, sheepish. ‘I hope it’s okay?’
‘Sure. I said I was picking up the tab.’
I picked up my glass.
It was cold to the touch, the stem slightly damp.
The shout came from behind me.
I was already raising the glass.
Then a hand caught my wrist.
Strong grip. Warm fingers.
‘Don’t. There’s something in it.’
I looked up, surprised.
Cade Lawson took the glass from me and set it down hard on the table.
‘Who the hell are you?’ Daniel demanded.
His eyes flicked down at the glass, then back up at Cade’s face.
The server hadn’t walked off. Still hovering nearby.
Cade turned and yanked him forward by the collar.
‘What the fuck did you put in her drink?’
The guy flailed, tried to step back, couldn’t.
I stood up slowly. ‘What’s going on?’
Cade didn’t take his eyes off the guy.
‘I saw him in the storeroom. He poured something white into one of the glasses. It looked like powder. Then he walked straight over here.’
The drink looked like any other sherry cobbler, translucent amber with a reddish undertone.
‘Why the hell would you spike my drink?’
The server shook his head so fast his ear pierced studs rattled. ‘I didn’t! I swear!’
Cade let go and shoved him back.
He stumbled into a chair and barely caught himself.
‘You were hiding behind the liquor shelves. I saw you add something. You ran the second I stood up.’
‘You’ve got it wrong! I didn’t do anything—’
Cade went to pick up the glass. ‘The drink’s right here. We can—’
Daniel stood up so fast his chair scraped the floor.
He marched over and punched the server in the face.
‘You think you can drug us?’ he yelled. ‘What the fuck were you trying to do?’
The server stumbled back, eyes wide, hand going straight to his jaw.
Daniel leaned in and got right in the guy’s face.
A second later, the guy kicked Daniel in the ribs.
‘Back the fuck off! I didn’t do anything!’
‘You dosed the drinks. You’re lucky I’m not dragging you outside.’
‘I didn’t! You’re lying!’
They went for each other.
Daniel didn’t hold back.
The server got one elbow in, then another.
By the third, they were grabbing at each other’s collars and swinging in every direction.
One of them hit the table.
The whole thing tipped sideways.
Glass shattered across the tiles.
Cut fruit slid onto the floor, half-smashed.
Liquid streaked across the concrete, soaked into napkins, and spilt down Daniel’s trousers.
Music cut off mid-beat.
People backed away, chairs scraped, someone knocked over a speaker.
I stared down at the mess, brows drawn tight.
I stepped around a broken plate, scanned the ground.
Cade reached for the server’s arm. ‘Stop it, both of you!’
I moved in. ‘Enough. Everyone shut up and back off.’
Priya grabbed Daniel’s elbow.
I shoved a chair out of the way and pulled at the server’s shoulder.
Cade stepped in from the other side.
It took all three of us to get them apart.
Daniel was breathing hard.
The server had a split lip, blood dripping from his chin.
He doubled over and spat onto the tiles.
I dragged Daniel a few steps back. ‘Calm down. What the hell was that?’
‘He tried to drug you. I had to do something.’
‘This is a public place. Not a back alley. Use your head.’
‘I thought this place was legit. I didn’t know this was gonna happen.’ He looked at me, shamefaced. ‘I’m sorry.’
I touched his shoulder. ‘Not your fault. Now breathe.’
A man came rushing over.
Mid-fifties, wide frame, sweat soaking through his collar.
His name tag said Vic.
‘I’m the manager. What’s going on here?’
I turned to him. ‘That’s what I’d like to know.’
Before he could open his mouth, Daniel cut in. ‘This guy spiked our drinks. I want to know if he did it on his own or if someone told him to.’
The server shook his head. ‘I didn’t. You’ve got the wrong idea.’
‘Then show us the footage,’ Daniel demanded. ‘Pull the security cam. Let’s see what really happened.’
‘I didn’t put anything in the drink—’
‘Someone saw you do it. Still going to lie?’
Before the server could answer, a sharp siren cut through the front door.