you?”
The guy, who was probably around my age, leaned in and kept his voice low as he said, “Are you Thea?”
My instinctual response was I’ve never heard of her. What if he was here with a Halloween-o-gram and was about to break out into a rousing rendition of “Monster Mash”?
But the guy looked worried—nervous, even—and that worried me. What was going on?
Levi must have been thinking the same, because he joined me at the register and asked, “What do you need with Thea?”
The guy looked between the two of us. “Leo Sharpe is out back, and he asked me to come in here and ask for Thea. He, uh, looks kind of banged up.”
Adrenaline rushing through my veins, I was out the back door before Levi even had a chance to respond. I easily found Leo in the alley and sprinted to him, calling his name.
He turned toward me, and even with the dim lighting, I had no trouble making out the swelling along his nose and the bloody towel in his hand. “Oh my god. What happened?”
“I’m okay,” he said immediately. “Just a boxing injury. Nice ears, by the way.”
I skidded to a stop in front of him. “Boxing?” I fisted my hand, more than ready to punch him myself. “You scared me half to death over a boxing injury?”
His smile was sheepish, though he winced and let it fall. “I’m sorry, babe. I just didn’t want anyone to see me like this.”
A low whistle sounded from behind us, and I twisted to find Levi standing in the doorway. I’d been so distracted, I hadn’t heard the door open. “Are you supposed to be boxing, man?”
“Obviously not,” Leo grumbled. “Which is why I’m hiding back here. If anyone finds out, I’m off the team for good.”
I studied the obvious swelling and bruises that were forming. “It’s not like you’re going to be able to hide it. You have a game tomorrow, and the ball the night after that.”
Vincent was going to kill him for showing up to the event of the year looking like he’d gotten into another brawl. Which wasn’t too far from the truth.
“I know.” He pushed his fingers through his hair. “Maybe I deserve to get kicked off the team. First the fight, and now this.” His shoulders noticeably slumped. “Maybe it’s just time.”
“No way,” Levi said, coming to stand beside us. “I’ll cover for you. No big deal.”
I turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Leo came to see you and was waiting back here for you to go on break. Some guy in a Pennywise mask tried to mug him, and when he refused to hand over his wallet, the guy sucker punched him. I came outside to take out the trash and scared the guy off. End of story.”
“Are you sure?” I tried to think through any holes in the tale. “What about video cameras?”
“There aren’t any in the alley. And we decided not to call the police, because there was no way to identify the guy. There are probably a hundred guys wearing that mask in town tonight.” He looked at Leo. “If your coach gives you any trouble, send him to me. I’ll back you up.”
Leo studied him. “Why would you do that?”
He shrugged. “You’re the only hope we have of making it to the playoffs.”
As if he cared about football. I knew better, but I wasn’t going to contradict him. He was trying to help Leo out, because he was that nice of a guy.
“If you’re sure.”
“It’s not a problem.” Levi started for the door. “I’ll get some ice for that nose while Thea clocks out.”
After telling Leo I’d be back in a minute, I hurried after my co-worker. Thankfully, no one had entered the coffee shop in our absence. “I still have two hours of my shift left.”
“It’s fine.” He swept an arm out to encompass the empty space. “I’m not exactly expecting a rush of customers anytime soon. Besides, Jess will be here soon to help close up.”
“Okay.” I planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for everything.”
“It’s no big deal.” After handing me the bag of ice he’d prepared, he took me by the shoulders and gently pushed me toward the back. “Get out of here already.”
Once Leo and I were in my car, I turned to him, forcing myself to act sterner than I actually felt. He was obviously in pain, and I didn’t like it. “Do we need to go to the emergency