Trust in Me - Quinn Ward Page 0,72
couldn’t because he’s visibly intoxicated.”
“I’m assuming that didn’t go over well?” I asked. I glanced over my shoulder, grimacing when I noticed how big of a crowd they’d attracted. I stood, turning to face the crowd. “As much as we appreciate your diligence, I need to ask that you go back to what you were doing before. As you can see, William has the situation under control.”
A few of our customers chuckled. Theron and my dad appeared by my side. I jerked my head toward William, and both of them immediately moved to shield the sight of one of our managers restraining a customer on the ground.
“Cops are on their way,” Corey told me when he made his way through the mass of sweaty patrons. He bent down, checking on his Daddy before stepping in front of me. “You have things under control here?” I nodded. “Cool. I’m going to call out a discount. You and Jack can bitch at me for it later, but we need to pull people away from here.”
“Do whatever you need.” I pulled out my phone, knowing Jack needed to be notified any time the cops were called. This was not how I wanted my family to see where I worked.
“Theron, help William make sure that asshole doesn’t go anywhere. Dad, can you make sure no one goes into the back deck? Until this is sorted, no one else goes back there.”
“Got it.” Dad stood in front of the door. If I wasn’t mistaken, he was all too pleased to play the role of sentry.
With that sorted, I crouched in front of John, pulling the shirt away from his face. Blood cascaded down his face and his nose didn’t look right. When I touched it, he sucked in a sharp breath as he flinched away from me. “Warn a guy next time, would ya?”
“Sorry, man,” I apologized. I looked over my shoulder. When I caught my mom’s eye, all it took was a jerk of my head towards John and she nodded before disappearing into the crowd. “We’re getting some ice for that. You want me to help you to the break room?”
“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “Just need a minute. The guy took a fucking cheap shot.”
“I can tell.” We must have looked like quite the pair when John held out a hand so I could help him up. When he lost his balance, I was sure both of us were going to topple and that I’d be buried under a pile of burly bouncer. He pulled back the shirt again and I had to focus on my breathing to keep from hurling. That would not be an effective way to show I could stay cool under pressure. I hooked my hand around his elbow. “You can be pissed at me later, but we need to get you someplace where I can look at your face.”
John must have been in more pain than he was letting on because he didn’t try arguing with me. I made eye contact with Theron and my dad. Jack might not be pleased that I’d left them out here to help William, but I wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight. This was supposed to be the world’s most awkward birthday celebration. It would definitely be one I’d never forget, although I’d much rather be sitting at home with cake than trying to clean up a head wound.
As we passed the bar, I called out to Corey, letting him know where we’d be. A few concerned guests stopped us to check on John and thank him for keeping everyone safe. Until tonight, I wasn’t sure I’d appreciated just how seriously John took his position. Incidents like this were so few and far between that most nights he seemed bored. He knew the regulars and they all knew better than to approach him with even the faintest hint of liquor on their breath.
“I’m fine,” John protested when I lowered him on one of the couches. Ignoring him, I pulled the first aid kit off the wall and donned a pair of gloves. I had zero clue what I was doing but I had to do something. The entire time, John alternated between insisting I tape some gauze to his head so he could get back out there—that so wasn’t happening—and thanking me for trying to get the bleeding to stop. Maybe he wasn’t quite as much of a prickly asshole as I’d originally thought.
The door to the breakroom opened and