Sean and the guys were already settled at two tables. One for the Boss, one for his crew. Smiling Lisa was serving them chilled draft beer. When Brad walked in, she shot him a warm, relieved look.
He smiled back. Gave her a quick wink.
In this whole mess with Anders he still had people—honest, decent, kind people—who wouldn't let themselves be scared off or bought out by that man. And that was… nice.
Dr. Stone might've been one of those people. Brad had no right to know that yet, not this early, but he felt it in his gut. Colin Stone was a good guy. He glanced over at him with a smile as the man passed and headed toward the bar. Damn, he really did look better without that beard. Lipski reluctantly tore his gaze away. A full pint sat in front of the empty seat at Sean's table. He could take it as an invitation—but he knew it was an order.
"Thanks for not smashing me to pieces," he said with a grin as he sat across from the Red Skulls' boss.
"Why didn't you tell me it was that bad?"
Lipski sniffed.
"Because it wasn't…"
"No?"
It was.
Had been for a long time.
At first just small stuff—trouble getting his car serviced, paperwork delays that should've been handled in a heartbeat. Nothing major, but once all those little things piled up, life got heavy. Death by a thousand cuts. One wound, five, nothing serious. But when you've got a hundred of them, you start to feel it.
It got really bad when he started looking for steady work.
He lowered his head, wrapped both hands around the pint. The cold made him shiver.
Brad could try lying to Sean, but what good would it do? The man already knew everything. He didn't need an answer.
"I'm handling it," Brad muttered.
"Good. You're not a kid anymore. But if someone threatens the people in our town again…"
"I get it," he said. "How'd you even know so fast this time?"
Sean jerked his head toward the bar, toward Dr. Stone.
The guy looked out of place here, like a city slicker dropped into a roadside hole-in-the-wall. Which, to be fair, he kind of was. Stone came from a big city, graduated from a real university, worked at a good hospital. What the hell was he doing in this little nowhere town of barely three thousand souls? But still—he didn't bother Brad's eyes. Quite the opposite, actually. He drew Brad's gaze the way something beautiful does, something that adds flavor instead of distracting.
"He came in looking for you. Pretty determined, too. And he wouldn't spill a thing until Lisa convinced him it was okay."
"Seriously?" Lipski felt a spark of pride. Well, well. Doc really did have guts. It was impressive—and very sexy.
Brad smiled, unable to take his eyes off him.
"I'm not sure it's safe for him to stay in Joseph's house," he said. "When the idea came up that he'd live with us, I expected someone… I dunno, less active. Some nerd buried in work. You know the type."
"You think he might have trouble with Anders?"
"I hope not, but…" He shrugged, then looked back at Sean. "Up until today I thought Anders was focused on me alone. But if he dared to threaten Aunt Sally's diner… That man is capable of anything, and not in the good sense of the word."
Sean nodded.
"We'll keep an eye on him. Kurt won't step onto my territory. Not after the talk I had with Dylan. He won't want to start a war."
That was comforting. Taking a sip of beer, Brad felt some of the tension drain out of him. Not all, of course—adrenaline was still pounding through his veins—but it felt good knowing he had Sean and his boys on his side.
And the Doc.
He glanced toward the bar again. Stone was nursing his glass of water the way other people nursed whiskey. Even in the dim light, his profile was clear—boyish yet masculine, strikingly attractive. Very much Brad's type. He swallowed hard.
"Think you can allow yourself a little downtime," Sean said with a grin, patting him on the shoulder. "We've got one more thing to take care of with the guys."
He stood. The others followed. He tossed some cash onto the table for the beers. Before he walked away, he clapped Lipski on the shoulder again—and suddenly Brad was alone with his pint and his eyes fixed on the city boy sitting at the bar in this forgotten, roadside dump.
***
Colin sat at the bar, slowly sipping his water. If he angled his head just a little, he could watch Brad and Sean talk without anyone noticing. He tried not to, but sometimes he just couldn't resist.
Tense moments weren't exactly new to him. Working in the ER had trained him to handle adrenaline. There was always something happening there. Not a day—especially not a night—without some sudden, brutal case rolling in. So much violence… He'd thought things would be different out here in the sticks. Yet on his first day there'd been a fatal bus crash, then a bar fight, and now this race…
God, and he'd been expecting a peaceful life and a break from all the violence.
But still, it was different here, he thought, watching the bartender move as she handed a beer to a new customer. People here cared about one another. Lisa had genuinely been worried when she heard about Brad. And now, with everything over, her smile practically lit up the whole place.
Well, the two of them were probably a couple.
Lisa stepped closer to where Stone was sitting, reaching for a bottle of whiskey on the shelf. Out of the corner of his eye Colin saw Lipski looking her way—and the heat in the man's gaze.
Damn, couldn't he look at him like that?
In your dreams, buddy. He sighed, defeated.
Why was he even thinking about this man? Was it because Colin's libido had always been just a little higher than average? Or because he'd been under so much stress these last months that he desperately needed a way to unwind—and for him there was no better way than sex? Or was it a messy mix of both?
If only Brad wasn't so goddamn hot. But he was. Oh, he was.
If they could just screw once. Just once would be enough to make Colin's body—and his mind—finally relax.
He smirked crookedly, bitterly, knowing how ridiculous the fantasy was and what an idiot he was for indulging it.
"You look a little down, Dr. Stone," Lisa said, leaning slightly over the bar. Her dark curls slipped forward, her voice soft and comforting, her smile warm and kind. "Or maybe tired?"
She was nice, and the question wasn't invasive. Just small talk to keep a customer company. Nothing threatening, yet Colin still felt a flash of irritation.
She was so nice. So caring and sweet. She fit Brad perfectly. Damn it.
"I'm just getting used to the local climate," he said.
She laughed gently.
"There's plenty to get used to," she admitted. "People from big cities tend to think life outside a metropolis is dull. But folks here have their own dreams and problems too. Oh, I'm not saying you thought that!"
"I think I kind of did," he admitted with an awkward twist of his mouth. It surprised him, but yes—he had expected peace and boredom here, because this wasn't a big city.
"Mm-hm." She nodded. "Your first days have been pretty exciting. It's usually not this hot around here. This town belongs to the Red Skulls, West Viking hangs around Gray Bay—the town north of us. But sometimes, well, you know." She shrugged.
"I can imagine," he said. Gangs probably followed the same rules everywhere—peace or not, they had to show once in a while who was the bigger dog.
"But now that Sean's back, things will settle down."
"Back?" he echoed.
"The boys were on a little run down south. Who'd have thought Kurt would dare step onto Sean's turf?" Lisa shook her head. "The whole gang was gone, so they were probably aiming for Brad, since he was the only one left. Well, him and Terence, but he's busy with his wife and newborn."
He smiled politely, though he couldn't care less about some biker's family life. Something else, however, did catch his interest.
"But Brad left the gang, right? They should know that."
"They do," she confirmed. "Which makes him a perfect target, doesn't it?"
"True," he had to admit.
Suddenly Lisa lifted her gaze. Her eyes brightened with joy. Her smile widened.
Colin caught a soft trace of leather, heliotrope, cedar, and vanilla. He didn't need to turn around to know who was approaching the bar—but he still did.
He met Brad Lipski's dark, sparking eyes looking not at the beautiful bartender… but straight at him.