“Excuse me?” I burst out of the restaurant, hot on his heels. “Knox? Can I talk to you for a second?” He’s already halfway to a car parked near the corner with his brothers way in front of him. His head is moving back and forth like he’s looking out for danger.
He spins around once he hears me, tense and snarling. “What the fuck are you doing following us?” He faces me with his arms folded, and all of a sudden, I don’t think this was such a good idea. Sitting down, he was manageable. I was taller than him. I was in control of the situation.
Now? I’m a bug he could squash. And he looks like he wouldn’t mind doing that, towering over me the way he does, looking at me like he’s disgusted.
“Well?” he barks, and I jump. I hate myself for jumping, for showing how intimidated I am. “What, pissed you didn’t get a bigger tip?”
“What? No. It wasn’t that at all. I didn’t even clear the check off your table yet.” I fall back a step because this was the dumbest idea I’ve ever had. He was nice to me when he wanted to be sure I wouldn’t spit in his food, but this is now. “Forget it.”
“Wait.” His hand shoots out and grabs my wrist. There’s an ugly bruise there, thanks to Dale, but it’s covered by my sleeve. That doesn’t mean I can’t feel it, though. I wince, sucking in air through my teeth before I can stop myself. It’s one of those uncontrollable reactions.
“Let me go,” I whisper, but he doesn’t. Instead, he yanks up my sleeve without even asking. He stares at the purple bruise, shaped like a hand, with finger marks and everything. I’m so ashamed. I want to crawl into a hole and die.
The one thing I’ve always made sure of was not letting anybody see the bruises. I know it’s not my fault—what he does to me—but I’m still ashamed.
I can only stare at the ground. I can’t look at him. I don’t want to know what he must think, like I’m weak or something. Like I can’t stand up for myself.
Knox’s voice sounds funny when he finally speaks. Tight. Like something’s squeezing his throat all of a sudden. “Who did this to you?”
And even now, I want to lie. It almost falls off my lips before I even think about it. I’m so used to trying to hide things and cover them up—not for Dale, but for me. It’s enough to make me laugh softly at myself.
Knox growls. “Tell me.” His hand tightens, and I wince again, harder this time.
“You’re hurting me.”
His eyes widen a little just before he lets go. “Why did you follow us out?” Somebody calls for him from the car, but he ignores them. He’s practically staring a hole through me. I wonder if he can even hear them.
I pull my sleeve down until it covers my hand, then tuck my arms close to my body. “I need help. Protection.”
“Protection?”
I nod, looking at the ground again. Now I wonder if this was a good idea or not. It seemed like it a few minutes ago, but something’s different now. He’s different. But I started this, so I might as well finish it. “Yeah. I don’t have any money, but I could pay you back. I promise. It’ll take a little time, but I swear, I’m good for it.”
He’s quiet for so long, I’d think he walked away if it wasn’t for the toes of his shoes staying in place. Now that I’ve said it out loud, I know it’s a stupid idea. I’m sure he thinks it is. “I don’t know how these things are usually done,” I mumble. “But I figured since you were here, I had to ask.”
“So, you think this is what my family does?”
“I thought so.” I glance around, hoping somebody will come to my rescue.
“That we take money to hurt people.”
“I didn’t ask for that. I asked if you would protect me.” I wish I had never set eyes on him or any of his brothers. I wish I hadn’t come to work. He sounds angry, suspicious, bitter.
“Who could somebody like you need protection from?” I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean. Somebody like me? People like me need protection all the time.
“Will you do it or not?” I have to force myself to pick my head up so he won’t see how humiliating this is. He has no idea how hard it is for me to ask for help.
He frowns, and once again, his eyes crawl over me. Finally, in a flat voice, he makes his decision. “I’ll think about it.” Then he’s gone, turning and walking to the car. I guess he’ll find me if he decides to help.
I wish I knew whether I had just made a huge mistake.