Dante's Angel Page 5

  “Hey! Ease off man!”

  One of the other men tried to reach out to help his friend, but Reggie held him in place. “You’ve caused enough trouble. Trust me when I say, you don’t want a piece of that.”

  Dante ignored them, purely focused on the piece of shit he was holding. After he’d walked Zoe home last night, he had promised himself that he’d try to stay away from her. It was either that or risk his sanity. He’d been doing a decent job, trying to keep his distance because he knew if he were anywhere near her, he would want to kiss her again. Hell, he’d even escaped to his office to do paperwork so he wouldn’t be tempted, but it had done no damn good.

  The memory of their kiss had been seared into his brain.

  Unable to help himself, he’d kept one of the security monitors he had playing in the background focused on her. All of the screens were muted, so he missed what was said. Still, watching Zoe interacting with the three young men had been enough to put him on alert.

  He’d tried to tell himself she would call for help if needed, but Dante had been up and out of his chair before he could think as soon as he saw the expression on Zoe’s face when the little prick had obviously insulted her and she’d shoved him back into his chair.

  The crowd of people had parted for Dante, as if they had somehow sensed his mood when he had stormed out of his office. He’d just walked up to the bar when he’d heard the asshole call Zoe a cunt. Then he’d lost it. The male staff members didn’t take insults to any of the female staff lightly, but no one fucking insulted Zoe and got away with it…not while he was around.

  Dante wanted to pound his fist into the kid’s face, wanted to snap the finger right off the stupid fucker’s hand. He let all the anger and frustration he’d been feeling boil to the surface as he pressed the young man’s face tighter against the hard bar top. He whimpered in fear now that his drunk bravado had worn off, and the weak sound pleased Dante.

  “See her?” Dante moved the man’s head so he was staring at Zoe. GT stood next to her, watching the scene with a look of satisfaction on her face. When the young man just whimpered again, Dante leaned down and barked out, “Answer me!”

  “Yes, I see her!”

  “No one disrespects her in my place. You understand?”

  “Okay! Whatever, man!”

  “Whatever? You little fuck.” Dante squeezed harder, wanting to teach the young man a lesson, but Zoe’s soft voice cut through the haze of his fury.

  “Hey, caveman. Just let Reggie show them out. You’re starting to scare the natives.”

  He didn’t give a shit about the other people in the bar, but he finally tore his gaze away from the stupid kid he held because he’d heard the slight tremor in Zoe’s voice. His quick scan assured him that she was fine, and that helped settle him a little. Then he really looked at the expression on her face, and it made him want to sigh. Damn it, she wouldn’t be happy with him if he beat the shit out of the kid now. Part of him wanted to risk the lecture she would give him if he did, but the worry in her eyes made him hold back.

  Unsatisfied with the turn of events, Dante yanked the young man up, pulling him off the bar stool. He would have fallen, but the brutal hold Dante had on his neck kept him upright. Dante noticed that another bouncer had come over, ready to assist. Jimbo had worked at the bar for years. He looked like a scary biker, but the truth was he was a man with a soft heart who doted on his wife and new baby like a mother hen.

  Jimbo grinned at them. “Well, well. Looks like you’re having a party and didn’t invite me.”

  Reggie pushed the two scared, docile young men at him. “Here hold onto these.”

  “Damn, do I have to?” Jimbo complained, but he held onto the shoulders of the two men who had been passed to him. They looked up at him with fear in their eyes, and he grinned down evilly at them. “Behave or I’ll have to hurt you.”

  Both men nodded vigorously, wisely keeping their mouths shut.

  That brief moment of levity helped get rid of a little more of Dante’s anger. He wouldn’t hurt the kid he still held, but he wasn’t done with him yet. “Apologize. Now.”

  “Fuck! Dude, I’m sorry!”

  “Not to me, asshole,” Dante growled, letting his exasperation show.

  The young man’s frantic eyes flew back toward Zoe and GT. “I apologize!”

  Disgusted, Dante pushed the kid into Reggie’s waiting arms. “Show these little shits out. Make sure our guys working the door know that they’re banned.”

  “Hey, wait a minute. We’re here for the whole week! You can’t—”

  Dante cut off the boy’s complaint, piercing him with an icy glare. “This is my place, and I decide who comes here. I should beat some manners into you, but I wouldn’t want to upset the ladies. You obviously don’t know how lucky you are to get away with just a warning.”

  “I wouldn’t be upset,” GT called out, then muttered when Zoe slapped her arm, “What? I wouldn’t be.”

  Zoe braced her hands on her hip. “I’m not going to be happy if I have to clean blood off my bar top tonight.”

  Dante liked seeing the fire flash in Zoe’s eyes as she glared at him. He felt far better dealing with her snarky attitude rather than seeing her worried. She was annoyed—that was clear—but there was also feminine appreciation in her gaze.

  Christ, he always felt ten feet tall when she stared at him like that. He had to stop himself from flexing his muscles just to see her reaction. Looking at her and remembering their hot kiss had his cock jerking to attention. Damn it, she was potent. Pushing his lust aside, he asked, “Your bar top?”

  Zoe’s cheeks flushed to a pretty pink, but she jerked her chin up. “You know what I meant.”

  Always the instigator, Jimbo drawled out, “I don’t know, boss. They don’t sound sorry to me. I still think these three still need to be taught a lesson.”

  “Hey! I said I was sorry!”

  “Stay quiet and let the grownups talk,” Reggie barked as he slapped the back of the kid’s head while he held him in place. “And if you keep squirming around, I may just knock you out myself and be done with it.”

  Dante took perverse pleasure in goading Zoe’s temper. “See honey? Jimbo and Reggie agree with me.”

  Zoe’s eyes narrowed. “I mean it, caveman. I don’t like blood. You know that.”

  “I know, honey.” Dante sighed, then jerked his head toward Reggie. “Get them out of here.”

  “Got it, boss,” Reggie said before turning to lead the young man out of the bar.

  Jimbo dragged the other two guys toward the front door after them. When another bouncer passed by, Dante called out to him. “Hey, Cole. Help pour drinks for a bit, would you?”

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  Cole opened up the pass to go behind the bar where he got busy tending drinks to waiting customers. Dante turned back to the women just as GT spoke.

  “Aww, they left their money. What a shame.”

  Dante glanced down at the hundred-dollar bill still on the bar top. Suspicion made him look over at Zoe. “What did he say to you, angel?”

  Zoe wasn’t fooled by the soft tone of his voice, nor was she willing to tell him anything while the stupid young men were still in the vicinity. Despite letting them go, Dante would follow them outside and make good on his threat to beat the boys to bloody pulp if he knew exactly what the guy had said to her. She shook her head, denying him.

  “Damn it, Zoe.”

  “Damn it, Dante,” she parroted back, then she sighed. “I’m not going to tell you so you can follow them outside. I really don’t want to have to bail you out of jail tonight.”

  One of his eyebrows rose. “Jail? So, it was something bad enough to piss me off that much?”

  “Probably,” GT said, earning a glare from Zoe.

  “Tell me what he fucking said.”

  Zoe’s lips tightened, as if by that act alone she could hold back the words. Unfortunately, GT had no problem telling Dante what had happened…th
e traitorous wench. After she finished, Dante’s jaw clenched and his eyes all but burned with rage. His hands fisted, and Zoe knew that he was seconds away from following the men outside.

  “No,” Zoe said forcefully, denying him once again. “It’s almost last call, and we have too much stuff to do here for you to go running off looking for trouble.”

  Dante’s eyes narrowed, then his head turned as shouts sounded from where a fight had broken out near one of the pool tables in the back. Flicking a glance back at Zoe, he said, “Looks like you might have to put up that bail money after all.”

  Zoe started to call out as she watched him stalk to the back of the bar where he forged his way into the center of the brawl without hesitation. She sighed again. It seemed like he didn’t have to go looking for trouble. Turning, she glared. “What the fuck, GT? Why did you tell him?”

  “Seriously? Dante has been in a shit mood all day. Actually, both of you have been on the warpath today. You know you would have ended up telling him when he wouldn’t let it go. I just saved you from spending the next ten minutes bitching back and forth until he broke you down.”

  GT paused to look over at a man who started to interrupt them to ask for a drink. He shrank under her icy glare and quickly disappeared back into the crowd. She picked up the hundred-dollar bill on the bar top, then shoved it into the front pocket of Zoe’s jeans.

  “Keep that. You deserve it after putting up with those jerks. Now, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. You really need to give the boss man some loving. Celibacy is making him a total bastard.”

  Zoe’s mouth fell opened. “What?”

  GT rolled her eyes. “Everyone here knows you’ve been holding out and he hasn’t been getting any. We’ve even got a bet going to see when you’ll give into him.”

  “I…sweet Jesus, I can’t believe you guys!” Zoe hissed. “You’re betting on us?”

  “Hey, ladies,” Cole called out. “We’re getting mobbed here. Move your fine asses and serve some damn drinks.”

  Both women scanned the waiting crowd and realized that the amount of people waiting for drinks had doubled while they’d been taking their break. Before they could get back to work, GT slung an arm around Zoe’s shoulder, giving her a companionable squeeze.

  “We just want to see you both happy. Face it, Zoe. You know you two are involved in some fucked up, convoluted relationship that no one understands. You’re the only one Dante listens to, and you practically run this place with him. But do me a favor, won’t ya?” she asked, lowering her voice. “If you two end up hooking up before the month is over, I win the pot. So, get on that…or I should say, get on him soon.”

  Torn between utter dismay and reluctant amusement, the only response Zoe could think of was, “I fucking hate you sometimes.”

  GT laughed. “I’m totally okay with that.”

  Chapter Four

  After the bar closed, Zoe was tired but too revved to sleep.

  The rest of the night she’d been busy, serving drinks nonstop until they had announced it was last call. Then she and the other bartenders had dealt with the mad dash as the crowd of people had hurried to order one more drink before the night officially ended.

  The bouncers had wasted no time forcing people out of the doors the second closing time had come. Zoe found that she went through cleaning up by routine, her mind busy thinking over everything that had happened over the last few days.

  At first, she’d been embarrassed that the people who worked in the bar had been talking about her and Dante, not that it really surprised her. Still, she knew that it was important to keep her private life just that—private. She didn’t want people gossiping about her, and she certainly didn’t want people speculating about her past.

  But all of that was part of living in a small town, she supposed.

  Dante usually helped with the cleaning after a packed night, but he had taken off again right after he’d settled the fight in the back of the bar. It was something he seemed to be doing a lot lately, and she knew she was the reason. Guilt plagued her. She wasn’t someone who liked lying. In fact, she hated it. And keeping secrets from Dante about the real reasons she couldn’t be with him were weighing on her like a ton of stones.

  She’d had a difficult time sleeping after he’d walked her home last night. Left hot and aching for him, she’d known it was her own damn fault that she’d ended up in bed alone. Her body urged her to give in to Dante, but her mind knew all too well the dangers of letting go. After hours of staring at the ceiling, she gave into the inevitable. She’d taken out her favorite vibrator and given herself the best orgasm she’d ever experienced, her pleasure heightened by the memories of the passionate kiss she’d shared with Dante.

  How sad was it that she turned to a toy when she had a man willing and waiting?

  Her body heated at the thought of Dante and all the pleasure he could give her. She could feel her cheeks flush with her arousal. Feeling like a fool, Zoe quickly glanced around the bar to make sure no one was watching her. It was pretty damn sad that just the memory of what they’d shared together was enough to get her hot and bothered, but she couldn’t help it.

  Zoe hurried through the rest of the clean up, waving away staff members that offered to walk back with her to their apartment building. She wasn’t ready to go home just yet. Feeling restless, she found herself walking down the quiet street, breathing in the cool night air. Aware that she was being trailed by two of the bouncers from the bar like two silent bodyguards, she sighed.

  What she really wanted to do was walk over to Fight Hard since Dante was inside working out his frustration on the bags, but with her two sentries watching, she wasn’t going anywhere near there. Instead, she made her way past Sinfully Sweet, the bakery her friend Kalista owned, then stopped outside the front door of another shop.

  She looked up at the sign for Ink This, which was in a bright red font on a black background, with a silver tribal scrolling design behind the script. Despite the late hour, the tattoo parlor was lit up inside, and the neon red open sign shone like a beacon through the darkness. It wasn’t unusual for the shop to be busy after hours when all the other stores on the street were closed down for the night, and by the unfamiliar motorcycles out front, Zoe assumed there were people inside since she couldn’t see through the frosted glass of the front window.

  Because they were busy, Zoe should have just gone home, but something pushed at her to remain where she stood. It wasn’t that she wanted to get inked. No, she’d done that shortly after she’d gotten to town to celebrate her newfound freedom.

  That thought gave her pause.

  How free was she really when she was letting the chains of her past stop her from moving forward with her life? Was she sabotaging her own happiness by keeping people from knowing who she really was?

  Considering those questions, what Zoe really wanted was to talk to the woman who owned the tattoo parlor. If anyone could understand her and give her some guidance, it would be Nikita Nuria, a woman who had more than her own share of secrets she hid from the world.

  She had to trust someone, Zoe told herself. Somehow, the idea of talking about her past with her friend seemed easier than exposing herself to Dante. Zoe knew that it was the fear of rejection that made her apprehensive. Hell, who was she kidding? She was terrified that once Dante learned the truth, he would turn away from her.

  If that happened, what the hell was she going to do then?

  Zoe was startled out of her self-musings when the front door to the tattoo parlor pushed open. Squinting against the bright light spilling from inside, she was immediately blasted with the sound of hard rock music mixed with the buzzing sound of tattoo needles at work.

  Nikita stood in the doorway frowning at her.

  It was hard not to admire her friend. A gorgeous woman with her killer body and unusual violet eyes that carried an air of danger around her like a cloak, Nikita Nuria was someone that seemed ill-suited for life in a small town.

  Si
nce she was wearing a black tank top with matching pants, Zoe could see the ink that covered both of Nikita’s arms in full sleeves that went all the way up to her collarbone. Her ink-black hair was pulled back into a tight bun on the top of her head, showing off a scar from a knife wound on the side of her neck that was usually hidden from view. Zoe had only seen the scar a few times before, but every time she did, it made her wonder just what kind of life the other woman had led before moving to Breakers.

  Nikita propped the door open, then walked over, bracing her hands on her hips as she came to a stop. “Are you just going to stand out here all fucking night, or are you coming in?”

  Caught, Zoe sent her a sheepish smile. She’d forgotten that Nikita had a kick-ass security system that allowed her to see who was outside the door before buzzing them inside. “I was just standing out here thinking about…stuff.”

  “Well, come inside. I need a drink after dealing with the fucktards I just worked on.”

  Zoe laughed. “Is that anyway to talk about your customers?”

  “It’s accurate. There’s a group of girls on spring break that came in. I spent a half an hour talking all four of them out of getting their current boyfriends’ names tramp-stamped on their lower backs, then had to deal with tatting them with butterflies and other fluffy shit instead. Now, two of them are just hanging around inside, flirting with the guys Hunter, Brody and Wes are working on. So much for the boyfriends.”

  With a wince, Zoe nodded. “Good thing you talked them out of the name thing.”

  “Yeah. I should have just done it for them and let them deal with the aftermath of their own stupidity. Anyways, if you’re done brooding over whatever you were brooding about, let’s go in and give your bodyguards a break for the night.”

  Casting a quick glance behind her, Zoe waved goodbye to the bouncers who idled close by. They didn’t even try to hide the fact they’d been following her, and Cole lifted two fingers to his forehead in a silent salute before the men turned to walk back the way they came.