Dino by Jaime Lewis
Chapter Twenty-TWO
Arianna putzed around behind the bar. It was a slower night than usual. The forecast of sleet and freezing rain didn’t help as it kept folks from venturing out. But the ones who braved the weather and roads were happily eating and drinking. She had already restocked the entire bar and wiped down all of the bottles of liquor. Since business was slow, the downtime gave her mind plenty of time to wander, and boy, did she have a lot to think about.
The good news of the day was her dad was showing more signs of waking. At least that was what the doctors told her when she stopped by earlier to see him. They finally removed the ventilator, and he was breathing okay on his own and moving his hands and arms more. Dr. Rowtowski said he had observed his movements and that her dad appeared to be agitated. She didn’t really care what kind of state he was in as long as he woke up.
“Now that is a look of someone who has a lot on their mind.”
When she turned and looked up and saw Dino’s sexy smile, she couldn’t help but return the gesture. He just did that to her. During breakfast this morning, she apologized for leaving him hanging the night before. He said it was all good, but the devilish grin he gave her made her think he had some sort of payback in mind.
“Just got a lot on my mind.”
“My ears are open if you want to talk it out.”
“Thanks, but I prefer to dwell in my sorrows,” she joked.
He looked across the room then said, “I’ll be right back.”
She tracked him with her eyes as he swaggered over to the old jukebox and dropped a few quarters into the machine. He pressed a couple of buttons, and then John Michael Montgomery, I Swear started to play through the speakers.
He strode back towards her, and his expression reminded her of a man on a mission. He didn’t stop as he walked behind the bar and stood in front of her. The gleam in his eyes made her wonder what he was up to. She went to make a sarcastic remark about him not being allowed behind the bar, but he held his hand out.
“Dance with me.” In most cases, it would be a question, but with Dino and his authoritative nature, it came out as an order.
This was a different side of him, so she decided to oblige and placed her hand in his much larger palm. He led them out to the small dance floor. She felt a little silly since only a handful of people were in the bar, but none of them were paying any attention to them. They took a relaxed, closed-hold dance position.
“Talk to me,” he said. Her first thought was that it was the pot calling the kettle black. He had a lot that he needed to talk about, but it wasn’t the time for that.
She laid her head against his shoulder, and they swayed to the beat of the music.
“My dad mainly. I feel that he is so close but still so far away.”
“He’s fighting to get back to you. Even the doctors said he is responding to the treatment.”
“I know, but I miss him,” her shaky voice was full of emotion.
Sensing her emotion, he pulled her close, and she burrowed in then closed her eyes, absorbing the connection she felt to him. Above her head, Dino sang along to the song, and she listened to each word, which made her heart soar. He had his odd ways of expressing his feelings without coming right out and saying it. And that was okay, because she truly believed they were headed in the right direction, and she’d take it.
◆◆◆
Arianna set the clipboard down on the shelf next to her. She was in the basement going over the alcohol inventory. The distributor had delivered an order earlier in the day, but she hadn’t had time to go over it until now. She looked down at her watch and sighed—three o’clock in the morning. She was still reeling from Dino’s sweet gesture earlier when he pulled her onto the dance floor. It had been unexpected, but it was an opportunity to see another side of him.
Since it was a weekday and with the anticipation of bad weather, she decided to close early. She had sent both Bruno and Dino home a few hours ago against their wishes. They both tried to argue with her. Bruno said he wanted to stay and help her while Dino was just against her being by herself. She assured both that she’d be fine. It was the perfect opportunity to get the complete inventory done without getting interrupted.
She still had an entire wall full of cases of liquor to go through. However, she may have had it done by now if the previous bartenders had kept everything organized like they were supposed to. Disorganization was one of her dad’s biggest pet peeves. He’d be pissed off right now if he saw the mess she had to sort through. Nothing was in its place like it should have been.
Dino had been texting her every thirty minutes, making sure she was okay. In her last message back to him, she told him to go to bed because he had work in the morning. She planned to work through the night and crash on the sofa in her dad’s office and then head home later.
Just as she squatted down to lift two cases of Crown Royal, she heard a thump from above and immediately froze.
Other than her dad, Bruno, and herself, nobody else that she knew of had a key to the place, unless Victoria had a duplicate made before Arianna took her key from her.
Carefully, she set the cases back on the floor, pulled her phone from her back pocket, and called Bruno. It rang four times and went to voicemail. The footsteps got louder, signaling whoever was upstairs was making their way toward the office and closer to the door leading to the basement. Suddenly another set of footsteps followed, heading in the same direction and indicating that she was dealing with at least two people. Her heart began to race. As quietly as she could, she made her way across the room and flipped the light switch sending the entire basement into complete darkness. Using her phone as a light, she looked around for something to use as a weapon. Unfortunately, the gun her dad kept hidden was in the office locked in the desk drawer.
Not wanting to be heard, she texted nine-one-one instead of calling. She typed out that there was a break-in, the address, and where she was hiding. She had never texted the police before and wasn’t sure how it worked, so for added insurance, she texted Dino.
“Someone broke in. I’m in the basement hiding. I texted 911 but not sure if it went through. Please send help.”
Suddenly, she heard the door leading to the stairs creak open. It was the creepy sound she hated when watching a horror movie and knew something suspenseful was getting ready to happen. She felt like she was going to faint. She tried to control her breathing, but she was scared. She tip-toed over to the cases of whiskey and lowered herself behind a couple of the boxes. She felt her phone vibrate but didn’t want to look because she didn’t want the light from it to be seen.
“We don’t need to be going down there. We were told the papers were in the office,” a male voice said from the top of the stairs.
“I’m telling you, I heard something, and it came from down there,” the other male voice said.
Arianna put her hand over her mouth to keep from making any noise as she stayed crouched behind the makeshift hiding spot. She wondered what papers they were talking about.
The light in the stairwell flicked on, illuminating the basement. Footsteps soon followed as one of them descended the stairs. Her heart was racing, and she prayed that the police were on the way. The shadows of the figures against the wall were throwing her off.
On her hands and knees and staying low enough behind liquor cases, she started to crawl toward the opposite side of the room. Suddenly a large hand latched onto her ankle, and her body was dragged across the rough cement floor. She screamed and tried to kick her way out when the other man appeared with a baseball bat in his hand. Both of them were wearing dark-colored ski masks.
She heard the clicking sound of a taser and turned back to the first guy. She saw him coming towards her with a taser. She scrambled to her feet as both men jumped toward her. She jumped to the right as the guy with the taser lunged at her. She swung her leg around like she was taught in the self-defense class and knocked the guy down with a roundhouse kick. The other guy came at her swinging the bat and just missed her head when she ducked at the last minute. She came up from behind him, and when he turned, she forearmed him in the throat. She heard a roar from across the room and saw the taser guy charging at her. There was nowhere for her to go, so she readied herself for the hit. He slammed into her and then fell into a stack of liquor bottle cases. The bottles crashed to the floor, shattering all around. As soon as they hit the cement floor, she rolled away from the glass, but the guy was right there with her. He swung his arm, his fist catching her in the eye, and she cried out.
In the distance, police sirens could be heard, and she prayed they were coming for her.
The one guy must have heard the same because he leaped up and pulled the other guy behind him.
“She ain’t worth it. Let’s get out of here before we get busted.”
Arianna lay on the floor, holding her side that had taken the brunt of the fall. Minutes later, she was surrounded by chaos; police, paramedics, and one pissed off Navy SEAL.
◆◆◆
Dino’s heart was pounding as he flew down the side roads, racing to get to Arianna. Thankfully the weather hadn’t been as bad as the forecasters had predicted as he made his trip to Bayside quicker and safer.
When Arianna’s last text came through, he felt as if the world had stopped. When he texted her back but got no response, he called the police. They told him that they had already received a notification and that officers had been dispatched to the scene. He then called Ace to tell him what was going on, and Ace said he’d meet him there.
As he made the turn onto the road where Bayside was located, he saw the multiple cop cars with their lights flashing, along with an ambulance. Just as he pulled into the parking lot, Ace pulled up. He wasn’t surprised to see Alex with him.
The three of them walked over to the cop that was standing outside. Ace knew the guy and told him that they were friends with Arianna.
The cop gave them a brief rundown on what he knew. There had been two suspects, but they escaped through the back door before the cops got there. They had units scouring the nearby streets and the beach.
Dino’s only concern at the moment was Arianna.
“Where is Arianna?”
The cop looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek. “She’s inside. A little banged up, but she’ll be alright. She’s a tough one and held her own against those two guys. You three can go in. They got her upstairs in the main room.”
Dino yanked the door open. He didn’t have to look far to seek her out. She was sitting at a table with two cops and a paramedic who had her shirt lifted and was checking her side. Fuck!
“Arianna!” He called out, and when she lifted her head, he saw her holding an ice pack against the left side of her face. He rushed over to the table, and she dropped the ice pack and fell into his arms, burying her face in his neck. He was careful, not knowing how bad she was hurt. Her body shook, and he felt the wet, hot tears against his skin. He kept whispering to her that he was there and that he’d take care of her. Jesus, he felt like ten years had been taken off of his life.
After a while, she started to pull back from him, but she kept her hands against his chest. Her eye was starting to swell and turn purplish. He brushed her hair off her face and placed his palms against her cheeks. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Just my side is a little banged up,” she told him, her voice sounding scratchy and rough.
“I don’t think she broke anything, but she’s going to be sore.” The paramedic said as she started to gather her medic bag. She glanced at Arianna. “You may want to get an x-ray just to be sure.”
“She will,” Dino replied, and Arianna went to argue, but Dino just raised his eyebrows, telling her there was no point in arguing with him.
Ace and Alex joined them at the table. The police officer asked Arianna to go over everything one more time to make sure they had everything.
“You heard them say that someone told them that the papers were in the office?” The cop asked Arianna and she nodded.
“Yes. At least, I think that’s what I heard.”
Arianna rested her head in her hands, and Dino could tell that she was running on fumes. She’d been through enough for the night. He looked at the cop.
“Do you have everything you need?” Dino asked the cop.
“I think so. Bruno said that he would pull the video footage when he gets in and send it over to us. If we think of anything else, we’ll reach out.” He looked at Arianna. “If you remember anything else, give me a call. I wrote your case number down. If I’m not available, another officer can assist.” He handed her a business card. “Forensics should be done shortly. They just have a few more areas to dust for prints, and then they’ll be out of your hair.”
Dino shook the guy's hand. “Thanks.”
Dino sat down next to Arianna, and she leaned into him. She was barely able to keep her eyes open. Ace must have noticed, too, because he told Dino to take Arianna and go home, and that he and Alex would stay and lock up after the forensics team left. Moments like this were why Dino was proud to serve with the guys on his team. They all had each other’s back, especially in a time of need.
◆◆◆
Dino carried Arianna into the house and upstairs to her room. She was half asleep, cradled against his chest. Now that his mind had time to process everything that happened, he realized that he could’ve lost her. It bothered him that the cops didn’t have a lot to go on. Hopefully, forensics came back with something, or the video footage produced a lead.
It appeared the guys who broke in were after something specific, but what that was, was the critical question. When the cops asked Arianna if she could think of anything that could be of importance in the office at the restaurant, she said no. All that she was aware of was just paperwork that pertained to the restaurant and bar.
He carried her into the bathroom and made her sit on the toilet lid while he started the shower for her. Her clothes were soaked with liquor. That must’ve happened when she fell and fought the guy on the floor. He was still upset that she was injured and pissed at himself for not being there. He should’ve followed his gut and told her she didn’t have a choice and that he was staying with her. But that wasn’t fair either. She wasn’t his girlfriend. Fuck! His head was so messed up.
She didn’t say anything as he helped her out of her clothes and into the shower. She leaned against the wall, letting the warm spray of water beat against her sore body. He removed his clothes and moved in behind her. He took her shower puff and squirted a little bit of her candy apple scented body wash on it. Starting with her feet, he gently scrubbed her skin, working his way up her legs to her arms. He made sure every inch of her flesh was covered in white bubbles. Once he was satisfied, he guided her under the spray and washed away the suds.
She surprised him when she turned around and slid her arms around his waist.
“Thank you,” she murmured against his chest.
“What are you thanking me for?” He asked, running his hands down her bare back.
“Tonight, now, everything.”
He placed his fingers under her chin and nudged her head up. She stared up at him, and he leaned down and kissed her lips. It was quick. “You should know by now that I’d do anything for you.”
“I do. But I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you. If it weren’t for you and our friends, I honestly don’t know what I’d do.”
He smiled. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” he said as he hugged her tight against him. He didn’t want to let her go.
“Let’s get you out of here and dried off. I think Nigel’s waiting in bed already.” That ignited a smile from her.
He turned the water off, grabbed the extra-large bath sheet, and wrapped her up in it before he grabbed the other and wrapped it around his waist.
He lifted her without any objections from her and carried her to the bed. She was almost asleep when he laid her down.
In a whisper, he asked, “Arianna, babe, what do you normally wear to bed?”
His dick became instantly hard when she responded. “Nothing, normally I sleep in nothing,” she murmured in a sleepy voice before turning onto her side and burrowing into the pillow. Her towel came undone, revealing her beautiful breasts, and his mouth watered. He yearned to taste her.
Everything about her turned him on. Her beauty, enthusiastic personality, kindness, strength, and so much more were what he had always wanted in a woman.
Once he had the covers over her, he pulled the towel from her body. The sounds of her deep, even breaths became a relaxing rhythm. He couldn’t hold back the small grin when a couple of soft snores escaped her lips.
She was perfect.
As he turned the light out and left her room to go to his bedroom, he started to think about all of the incidents throughout the last few weeks involving Arianna and her dad, and he began to wonder if they were all connected. There was one thing for sure; he would protect her at all costs. But first, there was one thing he needed to do.
