Served (Breaking Free Book 3) Page 2

  “I always told you there was only one way for you to ever get away from me.” He pushed her up against the dumpster, her body trembling. The paralysis started to wear off. Her eyes were wide as she glanced back at the dumpster, clawing at the sides of the cold, dirty metal, trying to get away from him.

  “Jon? Jon, stay away from me!” She tried to push him away, trying to untangle his hands from her hair, but he slammed her head back against the dumpster. The metal scraped across her back, catching on her pristine white chef’s coat.

  “What did I tell you?! You don’t get to leave until I say so, Juliette.” he shouted, spittle landing on her face as his bruising grip increased on her arm. She couldn’t help but cry out at the pain. An evil grin spread across his face like it always did whenever he hurt her. Oh, there was always ‘remorse’ and apologies later, but in the heat of the moment, she knew he enjoyed the things he did to her.

  “Go to hell, Jon. Get away from me!” She pushed against him with both hands and he gripped both of her wrists, bending them to the point she thought they would snap. Her breath caught in her throat as the pain wouldn’t even let her scream.

  “I say when you go,” he said, relaxing his grip slightly. Rox attempted to push him away again, but it was like she was that teenager again, weak and unable to fight back against him. Her feeble attempts to push him off only enraged him more, as his face turned beet red and he turned his lips up in a vicious smile.

  “What did I tell you?” he said again, but this time he pushed his body against hers and wrapped his hands around her neck and applied pressure. Her hands came up to cover his. She clawed at them to try to get him to release her. Her lungs burned and her vision dimmed. Tears sprang to her eyes as she threw her head from side to side.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” A voice boomed from behind Jon. Suddenly, Jon’s weight was no longer on her and he was flung to the ground. Sliding across the concrete, his head whipped up as his wild eyes glared at whoever had come to her aid. Rox bent at the waist, gasping and coughing, trying to get some air back into her burning lungs. She wiped at her face now covered with blood and tears.

  The sounds of flesh smacking against flesh and grunts and shouts filled the warm evening air. Rox didn’t stop to look. She ran straight back into the kitchen. In shock, she stumbled past her team who were so engrossed in their work they didn’t even notice her and pushed into the main room of the bar. Flinging the kitchen doors open, she froze inside the room as several pairs of eyes turned to her. Panting, she glanced around, eyes wild. Mark appeared in front of her. He gently grabbed her by the arms and forced her to sit. Everything happened in a blur. One second everything moved at light speed and the next things were garbled and slow. Everyone was freaking out around her. Her head swam as her heartrate gradually slowed and she could breathe again. Drops of blood were dripping onto her chef’s whites. That was going to be a bitch to get out. Had anyone plated the next round of appetizers? Had her ex just tried to kill her again? Someone reached out and put a cloth to her head, holding it there while her hands sat limply at her sides.

  Had someone remembered to take the braised short ribs out of the oven? What about the poppers? She needed to get back into the kitchen. She tried to stand but strong hands held her in place. She glanced up and Jen stared down at her. Her kind eyes shined with unshed tears.

  “Sit, Rox. Don’t try to move,” Jen said, gingerly, rubbing her arms over Rox’s shoulders. Rox glanced down at her feet. A drop of blood dripped onto her shoe, the blood spreading across the fabric.

  What was she going to do now? She didn’t want to leave. She had a place she belonged now. She’d have to pack up and leave again. Once she got some rest she’d figure out what to do. Her shouldered slumped, exhaustion setting in, she just wanted to lie down.

  3

  Chapter

  Lucas giving him shit about The Bramble was the last thing that Liam wanted to deal with tonight. Agreeing to work with Mark to run this place and start up a new place in NYC had seemed like a great idea at the time. Not discussing it with Lucas had been a mistake, but he’d seen a chance to make a change in his life and leapt at it. Between the pressure of running the technical side of the company and the evil shit Yvonne, his ex, had tried to pull on him, he needed a change of pace. He had to figure out exactly what he wanted in life or turn into a hermit.

  “I don’t know why you couldn’t have just given Mark the money and stayed at Doppel. Why do you have to run this place? Hire someone to do it for you!” His brother seethed, jaw clenched.

  “Luc, I couldn’t do that to Mark. You know how much he loves this place. He’s entrusting me with the bar and I’m going to make sure everything goes well while he’s in New York.”

  “Listen, I love Mark too. The guy knew us when we were nothing, but I don’t get it, Liam. We are so close to this acquisition. You stepping down as Chief Tech Officer and leaving Doppel doesn’t look good for the acquisition talks going on right now.”

  “I don’t really care, Luc. We have enough money and it stopped being fun a long time ago,” he said, sighing and glancing around for an escape route.

  “Everything in life can’t be fun and games. We have responsibilities. We have a company full of people depending on us and investors that need to see results.”

  “Like I said, no longer fun. I get it, but this was supposed to be something we did together where we could chart our own course, make new friends, build cool stuff. Now, I feel like we’re in the backseat being driven around from place to place without a real say in any of it.”

  Lucas let out a deep breath, like he always did when he lost patience with his twin. “I get it - you’re burnt out. It makes sense, you’ve been living at the office these past few weeks, but you can’t pick up and leave like this. Why don’t we call it a sabbatical? A one month sabbatical?” he said, nodding like he could convince Liam that all he needed was a month off.

  “You can call it whatever you want, I’m not going to be coming back to Doppel anytime soon and definitely not in a month.”

  “Sometimes I want to strangle you, you know that?” Lucas held his hands up like he was going to choke him.

  “The feeling is entirely mutual,” Liam said, his eyes narrowing.

  “I’m out of here, I’ll call you soon.” Lucas checked his phone and glared up at Liam. “Don’t ignore my calls or I’ll have my friends hack your phone, trace it, and I’ll hunt you down.” He stormed off in a huff as he always did whenever things didn’t go his way.

  Liam headed back toward the kitchen to get some air. Lucas had always been the more driven of the two. He couldn’t understand why Liam didn’t want to be a tech magnate like he did. And the cracks in Liam’s facade were beginning to show. He’d thought fake it ‘til you make it would work, but right now, he couldn’t breathe. The weight of what they’d built sat on his chest and refused to let up. Getting up in front of crowds and talking about the ways their tech would change people’s lives and presenting to investors was all Luc. Liam only did it when necessary and he hated every minute of it with his heart thundering a mile a minute and sweat dripping down his back, soaking his shirts. The whole running a company thing had become stifling. Lines of code were comforting, but even that got old when it became your life. Running a bar seemed much more fun, manageable and nowhere near as much responsibility as running a company with over two hundred employees and counting.

  Founding Doppel with Lucas had been exciting. The two of them worked on it late at night in their college dorm and then in any space they could find after graduation. They crashed on couches, squatted in warehouses, and took over coffee houses, all for a little more time working on their baby. It had been interesting back then, relaxed, less formal. Now, going to work was nothing like he’d hoped it would be. And as they got bigger, the responsibility of it all took its toll. Not to mention the attention that working at a company like theirs brought to them. Luc lapped it up, but it made Liam want
to revert to his hermit ways.

  Crazy parties, meetings with titans of industry, and the women. Holy crap had the women come out of the woodwork. Lucas had always done well when it came to the ladies. But being his overweight twin growing up, he hadn’t exactly won much attention beyond pats on the head and maybe a kiss on the cheek. Having a twin that you could be compared to in every way hadn’t made things easier.

  Taking up boxing and losing the weight with a personal trainer after all those late-night pizza binges in college had finally put Liam on equal footing with Lucas in the looks department. Fitter and with a tech buzz floating around the dynamic duo, they garnered attention—a lot of attention. At first it was fun, but then Lucas met Anna, his now wife, and it all became a lot less fun. They had been the dynamic duo. VIP tables at clubs, bottle service, trips on yachts to St. Tropez, you name it, they’d done it. All that was a lot less fun and a bit creepier when you were flying solo. Then there was the fiasco with Yvonne, which had officially put him off chasing the fairer sex for a while.

  If only high school and college-age Liam could see him now.

  Inside the kitchen, everyone glanced up at him as he passed by. Obviously, not where he belonged, but everyone knew he would be taking over for Mark, so they didn’t hassle him. The back door glinted under the light of the kitchen, propped open with a box. Escaping the stifling expectations of a company full of people and your twin brother? Right this way. He stepped out into the alley taking a deep breath of the warm summer air.

  What awaited him was a scene that had him shaking his head to figure out if it was real. He wondered if the summer heat and lighting in the alley were playing tricks on him, but it wasn’t a hallucination. Rox was out there, bleeding from the head and some guy had his hands around her neck. What the ever-loving fuck?!

  Feet slapping on the concrete, he sprinted toward the two of them, his heart pounding and his fists tight in anticipation of caving this guy’s skull in. Running over to the pair, he yanked the guy off her. He took a seconds-long glance at Rox to make sure she was okay while he gripped the guy by the front of the shirt. She bent over coughing, but seemed to be okay.

  His heart pounded and he balled up his fists. His breath came out in pants as he whipped around to the fucker who attacked Rox. The guy pushed himself off the ground and Liam launched his body at him. Hitting the guy in the stomach with his shoulder, satisfaction flowed through him as the wheezing sound of the wind being knocked out of Rox’s attacker rushed past his ears. He’d see how this guy liked not being able to breathe. The guy doubled over trying to pull in a breath and Liam pulled his fist back and landed a solid uppercut. Blood splattered against his shirt and the guy staggered back against the alley wall.

  His boxing training came in handy as he grabbed the guy up by the collar. The guy’s eyes were wild and his mouth bloody, Liam glared down at him before delivering a combination of punches that reverberated through his hands. He pulled back to deliver another blow and caught sight of his bloody fists, not as bloody as the guy’s face, but blood covered them. Liam’s vision tunneled as he thought about what might have happened if he hadn’t needed some air. Rox could have died! A renewed rush of wanting this guy’s blood to spill flowed through him.

  This prick could have killed her. Pulling back for another punch, he wanted to grind this guy’s face into dog meat. Momentarily distracted as Rox sprinted past the two of them, Liam missed the guy ducking underneath his punch. Unable to stop it as he turned to watch Rox’s escape, Liam’s fist landed solidly into the brick wall behind the attacker’s head. The solid hit against the wall reverberated through his hand and up his arm as he roared in pain. Liam cradled his injured hand and the guy pushed himself off the wall and scurried past Liam before he could catch him. The guy took off down the alley before darting onto the main road. Liam gave chase as the guy ran across the street. Tires screeched as cars slammed on their brakes to avoid hitting him. Liam stood on the other side of the street holding his fist as the guy disappeared into the evening crowds. Fuck, his hand hurt! He hoped it wasn’t broken.

  Storming back into the bar, he needed to check on Rox and make sure she was okay. And he wanted to get some ice on his hand. Pushing through the kitchen into the bar, Jen and Mark hovered over Rox, cleaning up her head wound. Eyes moved from Rox to him and someone grabbed him a chair. People darted around them both. His heart rate started to slow and as the adrenaline wore off, the throbbing in his hand pounding even harder. He unclenched his fist and stabbing pain shot through his hand and up his arm. Someone thrust some ice covered in a towel at him. He glanced up and gave Keira a grateful smile before putting it on his hand.

  He peered over at Rox, who stared out the front of the bar with a thousand-yard stare. Jen fluttered to her and crouched down, putting her hands on Rox’s leg. Rox looked over at her moving her head like she was under water. Did she have a concussion? Had someone called the cops or an ambulance? Was Rox going to be okay?

  4

  Chapter

  The fussing over her made Rox want to lay down in her bed and pull the covers over her head before she snapped and strangled everyone. The cops had shown up and Mark walked them all up to his office to talk to her. The questioning hadn’t taken long. They’d asked if she’d like them to call an ambulance, but she’d turned them down. She gave them all the information she had, which was pretty much nothing. She had no idea how Jon had found her and how long he’d been searching for her.

  She needed to send a text to the case worker she’d met with during Jon’s trial to find out why they hadn’t informed her that he’d been released. A heads up would have been nice. The office door opened and Liam came in, pulling Mark aside to talk.

  “I’m going to go downstairs and get you some coffee okay, honey?” Jen said, crouched down in front of her. Jen gave Liam a nod as she passed him on the way to the door. Jen glanced back at her with watery eyes before she left the office and headed back downstairs. The subdued partygoers rumbled downstairs. Eric had stopped playing while everyone tended to her, but music was playing down there. She hoped she hadn’t ruined everyone’s night. Liam crouched in front of her and she pulled back, not expecting him to get so close. Her vision swam at her sudden movement and she put a hand to her head. Maybe the ambulance was a good idea.

  “How are you doing?” He placed his non-towel wrapped hand on her knee and she flinched, a nervous reaction. He jerked his hand back immediately and moved back a little. Some of the blood from his hand seeped through the towel. He’d come to her rescue. She didn’t even want to think about what might have happened if he hadn’t come out into the alley. Why had he come out there anyway? The sounds of flesh hitting flesh were still fresh in her mind. She hoped he hadn’t hurt his hand too badly.

  “Sorry,” he said, breaking eye contact.

  “I’m okay. A little dizzy, but okay. Thanks for your help out there,” she said, staring down at her hands.

  “Of course, Rox. What was that all about? Who was that guy?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, glancing up at Mark who was giving her a grim look.

  “He was her...” She shot him a skin-searing glare and shook her head. Mark’s mouth turned down in a frown and he glared right back.

  “Mark…”

  “No, Rox. He should know, especially if I’m not going to be here.”

  “I don’t need you to tell him anything and I don’t need his help,” she hissed at him.

  “You’re going to need someone’s help, especially if….”

  Glancing back down at her hands, she squeezed them together in frustration. This was not how things were supposed to go. She was supposed to be safe now.

  “It’s nothing. I can handle it,” she said, interrupting him. She glared at Mark, daring him to divulge her secrets after she’d asked him not to. Mark threw his hands up in the air and shook his head. No one else was going to get hurt trying to protect her. It was for the best Mark and Jen were leaving. No chance for Jo
n to get to him. And she wasn’t going to get Liam roped into this, no matter how much he pissed her off.

  Jen came back up with a cup of coffee and handed it to her. The warmth of the mug soothed her, warming her back up. She hadn’t realized how cold her hands were. The heat of the kitchen, busy party, and warm summer night did nothing to keep the cold from seeping in. She shivered and brought the warm drink to her lips. She blew on it and ignored the little argument she saw Jen and Mark having out of the corner of her eye. Liam leaned against the desk, his eyes locked on her. She shook off the tremors that coursed through her at being under his scrutiny. Mark slammed his fist against the filing cabinet and Jen shook her head before coming over to Rox.

  “Do you want to lie down? Do you need a blanket?” Jen fussed, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch, and throwing it over her shoulders.

  She shrugged off the blanket, set the mug down on the desk. She’d had enough. A little normalcy would do her good and being back in the hot kitchen would warm her up like the coffee.

  “I’m fine, I just want to get back to the kitchen to finish things off for tonight.”

  “Rox, maybe that’s not a good idea…” Mark took her by the shoulders and tried to steer her back to the couch.

  “No,” she said, shrugging him off. “I’m fine, I’m feeling a lot better. I want to get down there, get into the kitchen and finish up this party, okay?” Jen and Mark exchanged looks and Liam hung back, leaning against the wall.

  “It wasn’t a freaking request. I’m going downstairs to my kitchen and I’m going to finish tonight’s service,” she said, daring anyone to stop her. She stormed out of the office and downstairs. Her skin started to tingle as everyone’s eyes focused on her, dissecting her. She saw Eric Newcastle, Mark’s friend and resident rock star, sitting on the edge of the stage talking to Keira, one of Mark’s best friends. Eric had somehow decided that The Bramble was his go-to haunt when he was in LA and not on tour. He’d driven down from Seattle, just to perform for Mark’s going away. He wasn’t playing, but the music still played through the sound system.