Will let out a harsh laugh and poured himself a glass of whiskey. He dug in his pockets and fished out a pack of smokes. “Then call yourself a priest when we’re done, Murdock, because I can’t fucking help you get right with God.” He blew out a puff of smoke. “But I just might keep you alive long enough to make it to confession.”
Charlie came close to him, and looked over his shoulder before he spoke. “I want you to leave my sister out of this,” he said. “Whatever plans you have to defend this place, don’t write her into them. It’s just me and you, understand?”
Will gave him a look as he exhaled smoke. “Are you saying she’s not a secret assassin, then?”
“Listen, asshole, I’m serious,” said Charlie, pointing a finger to Will’s chest. “Just stay away from her.”
“I would be pretty shitty at my job if I tried to put bookworms in sundresses on my front lines,” said Will. “You don’t need to worry about that.” Talking about Eva out loud only made an image of her pop into Will’s head, beautiful and distracting. With it, his guilt resurfaced.
“Good,” said Charlie. “My uncle called earlier to check in and I didn’t know what all to tell him, so I just got off the phone and said I’d call him back. I really want to tell him what’s going on with his bar.”
“Don’t,” said Will. “We don’t know who’s listening. And he could still be—“
“He is not involved with this,” insisted Charlie with gritted teeth. “And you want me to just lie about all this?”
“Don’t lie, just keep your fucking mouth shut. Tell him things are fine. He can’t do anything to help us, anyway.”
“Just like the cops, right?”
Will finished his whiskey and stood in front of Charlie with his shoulder squared. “If you don’t trust me, Murdock, that’s fine. I’ll go. But believe me when I tell you that you and that lovely sister of yours will pay the price if I do.” He paused. “I’ve seen it before.”
Charlie fell silent. His face betrayed his internal struggle with himself, trying to read a situation that was over his head. In the end he said nothing, only sighed. “All right, all right. Just… this is a lot to swallow, man, you know?”
Will didn’t have any urge to empathize with Charlie, so he didn’t. All he needed was for this city boy to listen to his very simple instructions so he didn’t get his bar blown to fucking bits with his family inside. “Just take it easy for today. Something tells me they won’t be back right away. They’ll give time for any cops we called to fart around the scene and do nothing about it before they hit again. Keep the bar closed for the day. Tomorrow, you and I will open up. We’ll keep your sister in the house, away from it.”
Charlie made an exasperated face and put his hands on his waist. “She is not gonna like hearing that.”
“I’ll talk to her,” said Will before he could stop himself. Oh you will, huh? And with no ulterior motive, I’m sure. “I want to check out the house, anyway. Make sure it’s secure.”
“Good luck. I’m going to go close down the till,” said Charlie. He split from Will and returned to the bar, and Will turned the opposite way, heading up the hill through the small grassy forest to the quiet rambler tucked against the foothills.
Will listened to the soft song of the wind through the trees as he waited on the porch for Eva to answer his knock. After a few moments, the door swung open. Her eyes were hard, her lips scrunched up, everything about her dark and shadowed from the screen door between them.
“Did you need something?” she asked.
“Can we talk?”
Eva shifted on her feet and looked down the hallway. “I got bit the last time I tried to pet a mean dog,” she said, meeting his eyes with a glare.
Will looked down at his boots and licked his lips as a sliver of shame ran through him again. He clenched his jaw. “I was out of line. I sometimes get like that after a fight, but I shouldn’t have been such a dick. Can I come in now?”
Eva huffed for a few silent moments, thinking, before she sighed and opened the screen door to him.
Will followed her into the living room as his gaze took in the surroundings. The place looked very much like it was owned by a man of Owen’s age. Even though he visited often, Will was not close with the bartender, never in a particularly chatty mood whenever he found himself at Swashbuckler’s. The man was nice and kept a clean, quiet establishment. From the looks of his house, he lived a comfortable but modest life running the bar, though his décor was stuck somewhere between the late 80s and early 90s in all the worst ways. Among all the earth-tone furniture and tacky kitsch accents, Eva in her delicate form looked like a rose bursting out of decaying forest undergrowth.
Arms folded, she eyed him warily. “So, what do you need to talk about?”
Will rubbed the leaves of some plastic flowers in a vase between his fingers, and then brushed off the dust from his fingertips. “Listen, we need you to stay up here for the time being, until this is all over.”
“What do you mean?” she said.
“Every person in that bar is a potential casualty when this shit goes down, and obviously we don’t want you among them,” said Will. He tried not to hold his gaze so long on her face, but he couldn’t help himself. “So it’s best if you just hole up here until it passes.”
“Oh, is that what you and my brother decided was best for me?” He could tell by the tone in her voice that he had struck a deep nerve. “Just keep me locked up like some princess in a tower until you heroes figure it out, is that it? No, thank you.”
Will scoffed. “I don’t remember mentioning you had a choice.”
Eva’s jaw dropped, and so did her arms. She walked up close to Will and stood in front of him, close enough that he could smell some wickedly divine scent of lilac and jasmine floating over her skin. The anger he saw in her eyes didn’t do a damn thing to change the lust that was rolling through his veins. If anything, it made it worse.
“Your apology sure didn’t last long. Just who the hell do you think you are, anyway?” she said, locking eyes with him. “You saved us, thanks, and I’m fine with you doing it again, but you do not get to come in here and tell me what to do.”
Will took a step closer to her, narrowing the distance between them. Eva didn’t retreat. She let him stand mere inches in front of him, close enough that he could feel her crossed arms brushing against his chest. Eva began to breathe a little heavier.
“I think I get to tell you what to do if it’s going to save your life,” said Will.
“I’m not a child,” she said in a voice just above a whisper.
“No… you’re not,” he said, making it clear he approved as he ran his eyes over her body while she glared at him. He saw blood rush to her cheeks. She licked her lips impulsively, and some part of him knew he had her right where he wanted her.
This is not your best idea. This isn’t some stripper taking side jobs, hungry for cock and cash. This woman looks like she stepped right out of a 1950s public library. And that’s speaking nothing of her grumpy big brother…
“Are you done staring at me like that?” said Eva, breaking his train of thought. Her words said she was angry, but the glint in her eyes and the rise and fall of her chest told Will a different story.
For good measure, he gave her another once-over, fully aware that she was watching him do it. Still, she stood silent, her jaw clenched until he was done and took a few steps back. The heat between them slowly dissipated once there was more distance between them, like some supernatural force had left the room.
“Stay out of the bar, or I’ll drag you back up here myself,” he said to her. “Understand?”
“I understand you’re delusional, if you think you can tell me what to do,” said Eva. “I’ll speak with my brother before we decide any course of action, thanks.”