in the background, and his head bobbed up and down with the beat as he secured the string of lights.
When Jimmy flipped a switch on the cord, a wash of orange and purple bathed the bar area. “Looks good,” I said, startling him.
“Hey.” Jimmy jumped down from his perch and folded up the step stool. “Didn’t see ya there.” He picked up an almost-spent cigarette in the ashtray behind the bar, took a drag, and stubbed it out. “What can I getcha?”
Before I could answer, movement from the back room caught my eye. Damn, I wasn’t the only customer today at Billy’s. This would make it harder to get information out of Jimmy, especially since his eyes kept darting to the back room.
“Um, a beer would be fine,” I said, and Jimmy’s attention returned to me.
As Jimmy made his way down to the cooler to retrieve my drink, I craned my neck to catch sight of the other customer. And then I wished I hadn’t.
There was no other way to describe the guy in the back as anything other than a bad-looking dude. He was huge, bigger than Nate even, maybe about the same size as Max. He had on jeans and a navy muscle shirt that showed off his bulging arms. Tattoos ran up and down his arms, but he was too far away for me to make out what they were.
I watched as he ran his hand over his closely shorn, white-blond hair and took a swig from a mug of beer. He picked up a pool cue—I guessed he was playing alone as there were balls all over the table. Suddenly he pointed the cue stick at me. “Bang,” he mouthed.
I quickly averted my eyes, ignoring him. Crap! Had he known I’d been watching him the whole time?
Jimmy returned and placed the bottle on the bar. He’d left the cap on, so I twisted it off with a huff. But he didn’t even seem to notice. It seemed my bartender-pal was distracted, as he kept glancing over at Mr. Cue Stick in the back room.
I cleared my throat. “Did I catch you at a bad time?” I asked, curious as to what was going on here.
“Nah.” Jimmy shot another furtive look to the back and then lowered his voice. “Hey, listen. I haven’t found that picture yet. And I figure that’s why you’re here. But today’s probably not a good day for you to be here—”
Before Jimmy finished, a rude voice interrupted, “Who’s the fresh meat?”
It was the guy from the back. He slammed his empty mug down on the bar, and though I kept my eyes on the bar, I felt his bore into me.
I heard Jimmy say, “Let her alone, man. She’s not lookin’ for what ’ya think she is.”
What the hell was Jimmy referring to? Drugs? No doubt.
The man laughed. “Hell, Jimmy, everyone can use a little pick-me-up from time to time.” He paused, and I reluctantly glanced over. He tapped his nose. “Isn’t that right, sweet thing?” He cocked his head to one side, examining me like a specimen. “Or maybe you’re just looking for a little tweak?”
His eyes were so dark, almost black. I couldn’t hold his stare, so I dropped my gaze. The tattoos on his right arm—screaming skulls with dark snakes writhing out of their eyes—seemed to be looking right at me. If the artwork hadn’t been so disturbing, I would have thought it beautiful in its intricacy. But as it was, I shuddered. There was something very wrong with this guy. I sensed he was still staring, so I glanced up. A shiver ran down my spine as those black eyes met mine.
I looked away, and he laughed. “I got all kinds of goodies to loosen up a tight little piece like you. You let me know if you change your pretty little mind.”
Still keeping my eyes averted, I found myself nodding out of sheer terror. The man laughed louder. “Don’t worry about the price either. I got all kinds of payment options for customers who look as good as you do.” I cringed at the thought, and he added, “Aw, don’t look so scared. You come spend a few minutes with me in the back, and I’ll get you so high you’ll think you’re in heaven.”
More like hell, I thought.
“Zeb,” Jimmy interjected, though his rattled voice betrayed his fear. “Leave her alone.”
I looked up to see Zeb turning to Jimmy, fury emanated from him. “You don’t tell me