Chase raised an eyebrow at me. “If you don’t leave soon, then I’m making you sleep in my office,” he said. “I don’t want to find out you’re passed out in a ditch somewhere.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, fine. I’m going.”
I left him and Blake to finish closing up before leaving.
The night air was cold as I stepped out into the parking lot. The Celtic Knot was located in the Newbury mall, which was a sad, empty location despite the Hell’s Renegades’ recent attempts to revive it by helping new businesses set up shop.
The Celtic Knot was always the last place to close for the night, so I wasn’t surprised to see the parking lot nearly empty. I saw Patrick still in the parking lot, in his car. He gave me a wave as he started to drive off.
I had reached my motorcycle when I saw headlights light up in the back corner of the parking lot. I tensed up. There were never many cars in the lot, especially at this hour. But this wouldn’t be the first time the Demons had tried to spy on the bar, especially if they were planning on attacking us.
I waited until the car drove out of the parking lot and then I followed on the road. It was going in the direction of Middleton, where the Demons had a base of operations. I scoffed. Just because the spy was in a car and not on a bike, didn’t mean they weren’t completely obvious.
I sped up, trying to pull ahead of the car. It was dark so I couldn’t see the driver, but the car increased speed when they saw me. However, I kept increasing speed.
The car was old and had definitely seen better days. Its paint was faded and there was a couple of dents in the bumper. Not a bad spy vehicle if the driver hadn’t outed himself with the headlights. Old cars were typical in Newbury.
I kept speeding on the road with the car as I tried to signal to the driver to pull over. He ignored me, of course, instead trying to drive even faster.
And then the car stopped suddenly, stalling. I heard the engine turn over pitifully. I parked my bike in front of the car and went to the driver’s side and wrapped on the window.
The window slowly rolled down, revealing Harley’s pale, scared face on the other side. I was surprised. “Shit,” I said, taking off my bike helmet. “What are you doing here?”
She looked a little sheepish. “Stalking my father,” she admitted. “I just wanted to see him. I’m not ready to talk to him but you told me he went to the Celtic Knot, so I stayed in the parking lot to get a glimpse of him. Why did you come after me?”
“I thought you were a Demon,” I said. “They do surveillance on us sometimes.”
Her brow furrowed. “What were you planning on doing?”
“I would have just persuaded him to leave town and never come back,” I said. “But it doesn’t matter because I was mistaken. I’m sorry.”
“No problem.” She turned the key in the ignition but the engine sputtered but refused to start.
“I can take a look at your car,” I said. “It’s the least I can do after scaring you again.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” She tried the key again.
“If you expect me to leave you alone on the side of the road at night, then think again,” I said.
“What? You expect me to feel safe with you?” She scowled. “Do you expect me to be brimming with gratitude and fall into your arms for saving me?”
I sighed. “Whether or not you feel safe with me, you are. And no, I don’t expect you to fall into my arms especially when I got you in this mess in the first place.” I realized my hands were clenched into fists and I forced them to relax. “I get why you’re scared of me,” I said. “I don’t blame you. But please give me the benefit of the doubt. You can stay in the car with the doors locked. All you have to do is pop the hood and I’ll see what I can do.”
She frowned. “Why would you even want to help me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I countered.
“People only help if they expect something in return. Especially men like you.”
I nodded. “Fine. You think I’m going to hurt you. I guess I can’t blame you there. But either I fix your car, or I stay with you while you call a tow truck. The choice is yours.”