Bodie by Nyssa Kathryn

Chapter 9

As Maya opened a container of peanuts, she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why anyone would eat from snack bowls at a bar. All she could think of was dirty fingers rifling through them, touching every single one.

Nope. Not Maya. She was a germaphobe through and through. Spending most of her adult life working in a lab, she’d learned just how quickly germs and bacteria spread.

One of the first science experiments she could remember doing involved swabbing half a dozen items and growing the bacteria in petri dishes. The copious colonies of bacteria that had grown from swabbing a keyboard alone had disgusted her. After that, sanitizer had become her best friend.

This was actually the first year in the last eight that Maya wasn’t working in a lab. And she missed it. Science had always been her strength. In school, when she felt disconnected from the world, being shifted from foster home to foster home, science had been her constant. The thing she excelled at.

She missed that feeling. Of being accomplished. Capable.

A little voice in the back of her mind reminded Maya that there was a possibility she might never get back to that job…that life. There was a chance that this running and hiding and working in whatever job was available could be forever.

“You fill that bowl any higher and our customers will have more than a snack.”

At Trish’s words, Maya was pulled out of her thoughts, noticing the overflowing dish of peanuts in front of her. Darn it! “Sorry, Trish.”

Like she needed to give her boss another reminder that she was the worst bartender in Keystone.

Trish shrugged. “A few lost nuts aren’t going to cost me my livelihood, hon. Don’t stress.”

How did she do that? Be such an amazing boss? No matter how many mistakes Maya made—and there had been a few—the other woman never seemed to get frustrated or angry.

The bar owner moved to the next table, refilling the napkins. “I didn’t always own this bar. There was a time when I was just a bartender here, too. If I told you the number of mistakes I made when I first started, you’d be shocked.”

“You? Make mistakes?” Maya teased.

“Oh, yeah. I was a hot mess. I came in, begged for a job, even though I had no idea what the job entailed. Hell, I’d barely stepped foot in a bar before that day.” Sounded exactly like Maya. “I’d never done much of any work. But that wasn’t the main reason I was terrible at the job. I was terrible because I was distracted.”

Maya swallowed as a hard look came over Trish’s face. There was also a glint of anger in her eyes.

“I was running from a man who treated me like his personal punching bag. I was scared, always looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to find me and kill me.”

Maya sucked in a quick breath. The strong, hard woman in front of her was someone Maya would never pick as being a victim. “I had no idea,” she said quietly.

Trish nodded. “Everyone’s got a past. Some are just worse than others.”

That was for sure. “Did he find you?”

The other woman chuckled. It was devoid of humor. “Of course. Didn’t take him long, either.”

Maya tried not to react to Trish’s words, but they hit too close to home. Of course. Like it was inevitable. Like the evil that stalked a person would always find its victim.

A chill crept down Maya’s spine.

“But by then, I was ready for him,” Trish continued. “I was stronger. I wasn’t afraid to use whatever means necessary to protect myself. And, I had friends then. Friends who would back me up.”

Maya went back to filling the bowls, but her mind was ticking with Trish’s words. She made it sound easy…winning…surviving.

The problem was, where Trish’s ex was likely a normal civilian, Maya’s enemy was anything but. He had a far reach. He was a man of authority with strong men to fight his battles.

Maya snuck another peek at Trish. “What happened?”

“He attacked me.” Trish said the words so casually. Like it wasn’t one of the most terrifying moments of her life, which Maya was sure it would have been. “He hurt me.” Trish looked Maya dead in the eye. “I fought back. My friend Mick heard what was happening and helped. My ex was arrested, and I told him if he ever came near me again, I’d shoot his dick off. Haven’t seen the bastard since.”

If Trish’s words weren’t so chilling, Maya might have laughed at the threat she gave her ex. But she had to ask. “Would you? Shoot him if he came back?”

“Hell yes, I would. I meant what I said and he knew it.” Trish placed napkins on the last table before crossing the room. She stopped in front of Maya. “There are shit people out there who can make us feel like victims. Like we have to leave the world we know to survive. But we all have the right to feel safe. And sometimes, it’s up to us to remind the assholes.”

Trish knew.

Not the exact story. Not that Maya’s enemy was a faceless man with killers in his pockets…but she knew something.

That was why she’d hired Maya. Kept her on even though she made one lousy bartender. It shouldn’t surprise her. She’d shown up in town with no ID, no money, and probably reeking of desperation.

“I think you’re telling me to fight back,” Maya said softly, knowing there was no point in denying she was running. “But I don’t think I would win that fight.”

In fact, Maya was almost certain she would lose. The price would be her life.

Trish leaned closer. “I’m telling you to survive first, but when the time comes, and it usually does, you use whatever means necessary to live.”

Ice filtered into Maya’s limbs. When the time comes.

Other than hiding, she had no means of surviving. She didn’t even know if it was possible to survive against her enemy. Instead of telling that to Trish, instead of admitting that if she was found, she was dead, she forced a small smile to her lips. “Thank you.”

Trish opened her mouth, but before she could say anything else, the door to the bar opened. Looking up, Maya saw Bodie enter, looking just like he always looked…tall, dark, and so damn sexy.

“Afternoon, ladies.”

His gaze flicked from Trish to Maya. It remained on Maya for a moment longer than normal.

Heat washed over her torso before she gave the man a small smile.

Lord, she needed to get ahold of herself.

Turning back to her task, Maya filled the final bowl before heading to the kitchen. The bar was set to open in five minutes. Hopefully, it was busy again and she could focus on work. She would not spend the entire evening staring at Bodie. Nor would she be letting their almost kiss from the previous night occupy her thoughts.

Okay, technically, it was a kiss. Just not the kiss Maya wanted. Not the one she’d been expecting when his head had lowered.

She’d been so sure his lips were going to touch hers…her entire body had tingled with anticipation. Only they didn’t. He’d pressed another kiss to her cheek. Similar to a kiss from a friend. Because that’s what Bodie was. A friend.

Shaking her head, she busied herself in the kitchen for a couple of minutes, deliberately waiting until she heard the sound of customers out front before joining Bodie and Trish.

Over the next few hours, the bar steadily filled with people, and time passed quickly. Unfortunately, there were still too many moments when Maya wanted to lookin Bodie’s direction. When her eyes wanted to track him, see that smile stretch across his lips.

But she didn’t. Even though it took every little scrap of self-control she had, she didn’t look his way once. She almost felt like she deserved a medal.

“Maya, help an old man out and hydrate me.”

She smiled at Roe across the bar. “Hate to break this to you, Roe, but beer isn’t actually all that hydrating.”

Roe put his hand to his chest. “I have so little in my life. Why do you need to hurt me with these truths?”

Maya laughed, grabbing his beer. She’d grown fond of the older man and genuinely looked forward to seeing him each night. Roe never failed to bring a smile to her lips.

“How’s the boy doing?”

Boy? Bodie wasn’t a boy. He was all man, and her ovaries knew it.

Maya almost looked over at him. Almost.

“He’s doing good. He certainly slipped into the role of bartender a lot smoother than me. We both have zilch in the way of experience, but he’s obviously a faster learner.” She pushed the beer over to Roe.

“Nonsense. You’re my favorite bartender here.” He frowned. “But don’t go telling Trish or Shayna that.”

Maya shook her head. “You’re too kind, Roe. Not that I believe you.”

He took a drink of his beer. “I only speak the truth.” He leaned over the counter. “But remember, not a word to the other women.”

Because Roe undoubtedly told them the same thing.

“I’m a vault. Let me know if you need another.” Smiling, she moved from behind the bar and headed out to clear some tables. She swore she heard the older man scoff. Probably because he never had just one. It was always a few. Not that Maya was judging him. She was sure he’d worked hard his whole life, and if this was how he wanted to enjoy his retirement, then it was no one else’s business.

Arriving at the back corner table, Maya began clearing the glasses. The corner was quieter than the rest of the room, and she welcomed it. Working in a noisy bar was often a shock to her system, and something she’d really yet to get used to. It was the furthest thing from the quiet lab.

Maya was stacking glasses, listening to the background chatter, when something caused her to stop moving.

A voice. A voice so familiar, it had her stomach cramping.

Spinning around, she frantically searched the faces around her, expecting to see someone looking at her. Watching. Waiting to take her.

But there was no one looking her way.

Placing the glasses back on the table, Maya listened. Had she really just heard it or had the voice been in her head? She focused all her energy on the sounds in the bar, praying she wouldn’t hear it again. That she hadn’t heard it in the first place.

There was no familiar voice. Nothing to pull her attention. But her heart still hammered in her chest. Her breaths were still short.

The room suddenly felt too crowded, but she couldn’t help but continue to scan the people around her. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for. Maybe for someone’s gaze to clash with hers. A look on someone’s face that told her to run.

Her heart continued to pound. His voice was now a whisper in her head. Those same words she’d heard him speak that night on repeat.

Kill them. All of them.

Shaking her head, she tried to push it away. The problem was, every man she saw was starting to look like an enemy. Every face was the face of a killer.

Because giving a kill order made you a killer, right?

Maya tried closing her eyes, but the moment she did, she was back there. Back in that lab, watching her friends be murdered. Waiting her turn.

It was the only time in her life she’d wished for death. Because surely being dead was better than anticipating death. Knowing your turn was moments away.

A whimper escaped her lips. So soft, it would be lost in the noise of the room. Similar to the whimper that had escaped her lips that day. The one that made the murderer look her way. Look her way and smile like he enjoyed her fear.

Her chest constricted.

A hand pressed to her shoulder, and she jerked.

Was it him? The man who’d been on the phone? Or was it them—the men doing his killing?

A soft voice spoke in her ear. A voice so different to the one in her head.

“You’re okay, Maya. You’re in Keystone. You’re safe.”

Safe.

She wasn’t in New York. She wasn’t in the lab watching her friends die. She was here, at Inwood Bar, and Bodie was speaking to her.

She tried slowing her breaths—oh god, did she try—but her airways weren’t cooperating. She wasn’t sure if it was her heart or her panic that was the problem. Probably both. But she was suffocating.

An arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her away from the people. Pulling her toward silence.