2. Too Young to Die

Mari's POV

“Watch where you’re going, bitch!”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I apologise profusely, grabbing my tray with my other hand to steady it. Placing it on the table, I grab a wad of tissues and go to dab the incensed customer’s white shirt. “I’m sorry!”

My hand is suddenly slapped away, and I lift my gaze to find the woman sitting next to him glaring daggers at me. “Are you trying to seduce my man?” she demands, wrenching the tissues from my hand and tossing them into my face.

I straighten and glare back. “I was trying to…”

“Just fuck off!” she snaps. “Desperate whore,” she accuses, turning to her date and wiping his shirt with her hand.

An asshole and a bitch. They deserve each other.

I’m barely containing my anger as I snap up my tray and march back to the bar. But I take deep breaths. I need to calm down. If I grab her stupid orange wig and drag her across the table, Joseph might just decide to fire me himself. And keep my money to himself.

“Okay there, Mari?” Jim, the bartender, asks, peering into my face as he mixes a drink.

He has either seen that little altercation or noticed that I’ve been tense all night. I can’t stop looking around, searching for signs of Connor and his cronies. That’s what I was busy doing when I spilt the cocktail on that man’s shirt. I know Joseph said security will kick him out if he shows up, but I can’t help being paranoid.

What if they kick him out and he decides to wait outside until we close up?

“I’m okay,” I tell Jim, plastering a fake smile on my face.

I’ll only be okay once I leave here and get somewhere really far.

Another waitress, Christie, shows up with an order. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a secret admirer tonight, Mari,” she says as she stands next to me.

“What?” I ask, turning to her.

She looks behind us and gestures with a lift of her brow. “That tall hunk over there. I noticed him the moment he walked in, and his eyes have been on you since then.”

I follow her gaze, not that I’m interested. Men, hunks or not, are the absolute last thing on my mind tonight. Unless you’re counting the one I’m running from, of course.

“Where?” I ask, not seeing anyone of interest.

“Booth five.”

Now, that’s a direction I can work with.

My eyes move along to the aforementioned booth. It’s the closest one to the dance floor, and I have a clear line of sight from the bar. I count four people—three men and one woman.

“The one in the black shirt,” Christie says, before picking up her loaded tray and disappearing.

I roll my eyes and turn back to the bar. They are all wearing black.

You know what? I could use a little restroom break. Leah, another one of my fellow waitresses, shows up, and I turn to her. “I need to rush to the ladies, keep an eye on my tables, please?”

“Hurry,” she tells me before listing her orders to Jim.

“Thanks,” I tell her before heading for the back.

In the restroom, I inspect my face to ensure my makeup is still flawless and hiding my bruises. It’s all perfect.

Only a few more hours, and this nightmare will be over. It’s already past ten o’clock. If Connor planned on coming after me at my work, he’d be here already, right? Maybe he thinks I’ll go back to the house. After all, I’ve done it before. He has hit me before, countless times, and I never left. He knows I have nowhere to go. And after taking every little saving I had, he could be thinking that I’ll have no choice but to go back to him, begging for forgiveness.

Maybe I would, but it so happens that I’m done with his shit. I’ve been done with him for so long, and I only stayed until this long because I was saving up for my big escape.

Besides, he legit tried to kill me.

I’m too young to die at the hands of a psychotic motherfucker.

Taking a deep breath, I leave the restroom, ready to tackle the rest of the night head-on.

That’s until I walk back into the club and find an all-out brawl.

A flying glass crashes into the wall behind me, missing my head by an inch. Quickly, I duck behind the bar and stand next to Jim. “What the fuck is going on?” I ask him, surveying the club.

The people on the dance floor have moved to one side to get away from the fight. I notice three of our security men engaged in a fight with… Five men.

I swallow hard.

Five men, all of whom I recognise.

“Security turned those men away, but they wouldn’t leave,” Jim explains. “They attacked.”

My eyes are roaming the place, looking for him. I know he’s here. Those are five of his friends. He brought backup.

I need to get out of here.

I’m about to sit behind the bar, hiding, when I make eye contact with him. An evil grin covers his face as he walks towards the bar, pointing at me. “Thought you could run from me?”

Jim looks at me, then grabs my arm and pulls me behind him. “What the fuck do you want?” he demands.

Connor sneers at him, and then his eyes find me. “Is this the one you’ve been fucking behind my back?”

“Look, Connor, you don’t have to do this—”

“Don’t tell me what I can do, bitch!” he yells. “Come here!”

I look nervously towards the door leading to the back. Where’s Joseph? Shouldn’t he show up right now with his gun and show this idiot who’s the boss here? Because if he doesn’t, we are screwed. Connor’s men seem to have gained the upper hand on the security men.

“Don’t even think of running away,” Connor warns, reaching behind his shirt. His hand emerges with his gun. My stomach sinks as he points at Jim. “Now, Mari, don’t make this hard.”

Joseph appears then, brandishing his gun too. Relief washes over me, but it only lasts a second. Because as soon as he points the gun at Connor, a gunshot rings through the club, and Joseph lurches backwards, grasping his stomach as he falls to the ground.

My eyes move to one of Connor’s men, who’s the one who made the shot.

Jim curses next to me as the place erupts in screams. Customers are scrambling for the exit, with some falling over tables and chairs.

Connor comes towards the entrance to the bar, his gun pointed at Jim’s head. “Come quietly or I’m going to pump every last bullet in his head.”

“Don’t!” I cry, stepping around from behind Jim. “Don’t hurt anyone else! I’ll come with you!”

Jim tries to hold me back, but I push him aside. Does he have a death wish? Connor and his men obviously have no qualms shooting people.

I should have known I can’t get away.

How many times has he told me that if I tried to leave him, he would hunt me down? How many times has he threatened to kill me if I left him?

Connor reaches forward to grab my arm.

I’m so sure this is the end for me.

But then, a black blur appears between us and the next thing I know, Connor is flying over the bar before his body crashes onto the deserted dance floor.