A Cry in the Dark (Carly Moore #1) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,123
showed up. Bingham’s gaze searched me out straightaway, and he gave me a knowing smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
My heart leapt into my rib cage. He was here for his answers.
Bingham sat at a table by the windows in Ruth’s section—away from the crowd huddled in front of the TV. When she went to take his order, he loudly insisted over the hum of the crowd that he wanted to be waited on by the new girl.
I was taking another customer’s order for beer and wings, but I cast a glance at an flummoxed Ruth, who gave me a shrug.
Max wasn’t as nonchalant. “Carly,” he called out. “Can I see you for a moment?”
I glanced back at Bingham before I slipped behind the bar. He looked pretty pleased with himself. It was becoming increasingly clear that Bingham wasn’t a fly-under-the-radar kind of guy, despite his relative lack of footprint on the internet.
“You do not have to wait on him,” Max said when I reached him, his jaw set. “In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t.”
“He’s here to see me, Max,” I said. “If we get this over with now, maybe he’ll leave.”
He wrapped a hand around his still sheathed knife handle. “I could force him to leave.”
Bingham wasn’t a guy to be tangled with, and I couldn’t risk Max or Tiny getting hurt or killed on my account. “He’d just track me down later.”
“Wyatt can handle him,” Max said, although it looked like it pained him to admit it.
“I’d just be putting off the inevitable.” And risking the lives of the people I’d begun to care about. I gave Max a reassuring smile. “I can do this.”
“Do I need to remind you about Dwight?”
The crowd roared at the TV, half of the men groaning while the others cheered.
“Dwight was an impulsive hothead,” I said, leaning closer so he could hear me. “Bingham loves control too much to do anything in here.”
Max leveled his gaze on me. “And how do you know Bingham’s temperament? He wasn’t exactly in control on Monday night.” His eyes narrowed. “You’ve had a run-in with him outside of here, haven’t you?”
“I’m okay, Max.”
“You don’t have to go over there, Carly,” Max pleaded. “I’ve got Carson workin’ on it.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
Max leaned into my ear. “I told you I had an ace up my sleeve. My father still has pull in the county.”
Although I knew Max wanted to help, I wouldn’t be surprised if his father was partially behind my person-of-interest status. “While I appreciate the offer, I still need to talk to him.”
Before I could change my mind, I strode over to Bingham’s table.
He was as cocky as the only rooster in a henhouse as I approached him. He saw this exercise in intimidation as a win.
“Have a seat, Carly Moore,” he said, gesturing to the empty chair at the table.
“We’re having this conversation here?” I asked, slightly incredulous.
The crowd released a string of curses and cheers.
“That’s what happens when you meet in a public place. You have witnesses,” he said, cocking an eyebrow.
I wanted to argue but decided not to waste my breath. I sat in the open chair directly across from him. Gesturing toward his men, both of whom I recognized from Monday night, I said in a firm voice, “I want them to leave the table.”
Bingham gave me a cold stare. “We don’t have any secrets.”
“So fill them in later. You don’t see me bringin’ my friends over to hold my damn hand,” I taunted. It might be a stupid move, but I could tell he was using his men’s presence as an intimidation tactic.
Bingham looked at me for what felt like ten minutes but was probably only ten seconds. Finally, he flicked his hand. “Go watch the game.”
One of the men got up and walked away without complaint, but the other guy gave me a look that suggested he’d shoot me on the spot if he could get away with it.
“Wilson,” Bingham snapped, and the man got up, throwing his chair back several inches in a fit of temper before he stomped off.
I worried Max or Tiny would rush over to my defense, but Bingham had positioned my chair so that my back was to the bar, which I was certain was intentional.
“I’ve been doin’ some investigatin’,” Bingham said with a satisfied smirk. “I think I know who the other two guys might be.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise.
The crowd roared again as he pulled out his phone and