Before Rome or Georgie could respond, I kneed Georgie in the balls, and he crumpled with a look of surprise in his eyes. As he bent over, I kneed him in the nose.
He screamed as blood spouted from it.
"We're over. Obviously," I said and walked back to the bar.
He'd leave without saying another word to me. The man had a wife and what he thought was an untouchable business. Those were two big things he wasn't willing to lose by causing a bigger scene than he already had.
I needed to confirm that the damn photos I snapped would be enough evidence for our family to take him down. I probably needed more, and letting my family down wasn’t an option.
I thought about running after him, but I'd never run after anyone. I’d learned that very few people were worth my pride. There was always another way, and I was willing to get dicey enough to find that path.
I’d assess, adjust, and navigate my way into whatever we needed.
But first, I needed to get rid of the hot-as-hell fuckup who followed me to the bar.
6
Rome
She was trying to kill me.
Or send me to jail.
Or have me lose one of my bars.
There was a motive to the shit she pulled.
There had to be.
When she sat down at the bar and ordered a shot for herself and the bartender, I tried my best not to tell my bartender to fuck off.
"Hey, Cole. Our customers can't knee a guy in the balls and then come drink here. We should be kicking her out." I eyed Cole for good measure.
He held up his hands. "You got her, boss? I'll let you take over making her drink or throwing her out."
I nodded, and he winked at Katie before stalking off to go help the few others that were out here on a weeknight.
I shook my head at the little tornado sitting in front of me. "Why are you at my bar stirring up shit?"
"I'm not. Little Georgie was supposed to be out of town."
When she didn't offer any further explanation, I went around the bar to pour her shot. She wanted a rum, some of the strongest I had on the shelves. If she wanted to get drunk, I didn't care about her enough to stop her.
I slid her the shot, and she curled her glossed lips at me. "You're not going to have one with me?"
I shook my head.
"Come on. I make it a rule to never drink alone."
I shrugged. "Not worth it to me."
She sighed and shoved some of her unruly curls away from her high cheekbones. "I'm buying. One shot's not going to set you back."
I laughed. "You're not buying either of them."
She glanced Cole's way. "He always makes me pay."
"Good. He should." I lifted a shoulder and spun one of the dark rings on my finger. “We don’t hand out free drinks at Heathen’s Bar.”