Quinn’s POV

Trying to keep myself looking busy for the rest of the night I kept stealing glances back at the back table. Every time I’d look in that direction he was already staring at me. I had to wonder why he was looking at me too.

Tonya returned to the bar with another huge order from the back table and I began to fill their order, when Tonya says with a giggle, “Jaxson asked me who the new girl was.”

With my back turned to her I gave a smile now knowing he was asking about me. I quickly removed it as I reminded myself that I was just passing through. I couldn’t let myself get involved with anyone, especially if I wanted them to stay alive. Turning back to Tonya with a sober face, I placed the drinks on her tray and said, “That’s nice but I’m not interested. I sort of have a crazy ex-boyfriend that has scarred me.”

“Oh sweetie, say no more I get it. See the guy sitting at the end of the bar with the red cap on?” Tonya says to me, as she stares at me and moves her eyes to the right. I glance in the direction of the guys I already pinned as the jocks reliving their glory days. “That’s my ex the captain of the football team and was to be my ticket out of this town. Unfortunately, he got hurt in his first year in college and came back home to work in the local factory. Shortly after he came back, I busted him with my now ex best friend.”

Well, I had called that one right, but a part of me felt bad for her that I was right, so I said to her, “You are better off without him.”

“You can say that again. I have been saving up all my tips since then and I plan on leaving this town as soon as I have enough saved up to leave.” Tonya tells me before she turns and moves back to the back table once again.

Leaning against the bar I watch as Tonya moved back towards the table, and she handed Jaxson and Bishop their drinks. The larger of the two men which I now assume is Jaxson began to say something to Tonya and she began to shake her head and said something back to him. Instantly his head turned in my direction and I could see the look of displeasure on his face. I began to wonder what she said to him to have him looking at me like that. He then said something back to Tonya who then turned towards me and hurried back to the bar.

Once she got to the bar she leaned over the bar and said to me, “Jaxson wants to speak to you.”

Instantly, I began to laugh as I dried a glass in my hand and placed it on the rack and said, “Tell Mr. Jackson that I am working and I don’t think my boss would like me leaving the bar unattended.”

“But.” Tonya began to say to me and I stopped her by raising my hand up and said, “Just tell him I am working, and I don’t have time to fraternize with the customers.” I then walked away from her to the other end of the bar to ring a tab out for two men that had been here most of the night.

Once I rang them up, I handed them their credit card back and their receipt with a pen to sign their receipt. The one man grabbed my hand as I hand his receipt to him and held it tight as he asked, “What are you doing after you get off tonight?”

Trying to pull my hand away from the death grip he had on my wrist I said, “Let me go!”

“Come on now. I can show you around the town.” he said as he tried to pull me across the bar.

“I’m sure you would.” I said as I gritted my teeth and I pulled my wrist free from his hand and then added, “It’s time for you to leave.”

“Come on sweetie. A pretty little thing, like you shouldn’t be going home alone tonight.” He then said and before I could respond with a smart remark to him, a growl radiated through the bar, at least that was what it sounded like. All eyes moved to the back of the bar where Jaxson now stood up eyeing the man that was assaulting me.

The man that had hold of my wrist then stumbled off his bar stool and looked towards Jaxson and said, “You think you're so much better than the rest of us, you and that weird cult of yours.” The man's friend quickly moved to his side to shut him up, but now every man at the back table stood as if they were all commanded to. I didn’t realize till they all stood how large they all were. I then began to wonder if they were all on steroids.

“Sorry Jaxson. He’s had a few too many.” The other man said as he tried to usher the other man out of the bar before something went down.

Everyone’s eyes were on the back table as the bar remained eerily quiet as the two men exited the bar. Once the men walked out of the door, Jaxson made a move of his head, and two of the men beside him walked towards the door following the other two men outside. Jaxson’s eyes then moved back to me as I held my wrist in my hand rubbing it knowing that the man probably left a bruise on it. His eyes then moved to my hand and I could see that displeased look on his face again.

The other man that walked in with Jaxson which I assume now was Bishop stepped into the middle of the bar and said, “Everyone out. Bar is closed.”

Everyone stood and began to throw their money on the bar towards me as they all cleared out of the bar and I had to wonder what the heck was going on.

Quinn’s POV

Collecting all the money from the bar that the customers left behind, I began to pray that it was enough to cover all the outstanding tabs that were left for the night. I didn’t know how I was going to explain a short register to Charlie on my first night here. As I began to count the money the door to the bar opened and the two men that had followed my assailant outside returned and locked the door behind them. They then moved towards their seats that they were in before Bishop had closed the place down.

Tonya moved herself behind the bar and began to help me to try and figure out the mess that I had going on with the register. I was thankful she was here with me on my first night. in case the register didn’t add up so that she was my witness of what happened. In all my bartending career days I had never seen something like this happen.

“Jaxson would like to have a word with you.” I heard someone say from behind me and turned to see the big guy named Bishop standing at the bar looking straight at me.

“Well, can’t you see you guys have made a bit of a mess for me on my first night. If I don’t figure this all out, Charlie is going to fire me on my first night here. So, you just tell Jaxson it’s not going to happen tonight.” I told him as I turned back around and went back to trying to make sense of the mess in front of me.

Tonya gave me a look when I turned back around and whispered to me, “You really have no interest in him.” Like she was shocked that someone would not want to speak to the hottest bachelor in this town.

Looking over my shoulder I took a glance back to the back table where he still sat and his eyes were on me. Was the man hot, yes, he sure was. Did he send heat to my lady bits, he sure did, but I knew my rules, and they were to stay low and not to let myself get attached to anyone. Just like all the towns before this I wasn’t sure when my ex was going to find me and I would have to make a quick getaway. Getting involved with someone was just going to cause me more heart ache or the death of whomever I am seen with.

“Like I said earlier, I have a crazy ex and I’m messed up from it.” I tell her as I finish adding up all the tabs. “What total did you get?” I then asked her as she finished counting the cash.

“Four hundred and twenty-two dollars, and you?” She asked me as my face fell, knowing that the register was short and I was going to have to take my tips to make it right.

“Five hundred and ten dollars.” I told her as I moved to my tip jar praying that there was enough to make the difference.

“What are you doing?” Tonya asked me as I stood there counting my tips.

“Making up the difference so that I don’t get fired on my first night here.” I tell her and I thankfully have enough to cover the difference plus an extra twenty which will at least get me some food for tomorrow.

“Quinn, it’s not your fault, let Jaxson deal with it.” Tonya tells me and I look back at his table before I hand her the money and say, “I don’t want to owe him anything.”

Moving around the bar I began to pick up glasses to clean them so that I could just get this night over with. Charlie had finally come out from his office and saw that the bar had been shut down by the group of men in the back of the room. “Quinn, when you get that all cleaned up, you can go home for the night and I will see you tomorrow night.” He then moved to the back of the bar and took a seat at the table next to Jaxson and the two men began to talk like old friends.

Once everything was cleaned up I told Tonya that I would see her tomorrow and grabbed my belongings. I headed towards the door to leave but was stopped by Bishop when he says, “Let me walk you to your car, to ensure your safety.”

My eyes instantly moved to the back table to see Jaxson staring at me with an intense look on his face. “Did he put you up to this?” I asked as I nodded towards Jaxson.

“I’m not going to lie and say he didn’t.” Bishop says to me and I had to give him credit for not lying to me.

“I think I like you, Bishop.” I tell him as I unlock the door to step outside allowing him to walk me to my van.

When I stop at my van and began to unlock the door Bishop says, “Wait, this is yours?”

I knew that the van wasn’t much but over the last year of me being on the run, it had been home. I had been able to convert the inside into a makeshift living area so that I didn’t have to worry about having a roof over my head. Most of the small towns had a campground and I was able to stay on the properties for cheap and use their amenities for showering and other purposes.

“Yep, this is mine. So, now that you saw me not just only to my vehicle but to my home you can tell Jaxson you saw me home too.” I told him as I gave out a slight chuckle.

“This is really cool. So, you just travel around wherever you feel like going with this?” Bishop asks as he looks inside of my van. I am shocked that he isn’t judging me for what little I have but interested in old Betty, knowing what Tonya had told me about them coming from money.

“Yeah, that’s been my lifestyle for the last year or so.” I tell him as I can’t believe it has been that long since I have been on the run.

“So, are you parking her here for the night?” Bishop now asks me and I shake my head and say, “No, I got a spot over at L & M for the time being.”

“That is awesome. My family owns that campground. It’s a quiet little campground and I am sure they will take good care of you there.” Bishop tells me and all I could think about was what Tonya had said about them owning half of the town.

“Well, its late and I need to get going.” I told him as I moved to get into old Betty.

“Hey, we are having a little get together this Sunday at my place, and since you are new here and don’t really know anyone, I was wondering if you would like to join us.” Bishop said to me before I closed my door.

The thought of actually getting to let my guard down and hang out with people my own age was enticing but I knew I couldn’t allow myself to have that luxury. One wrong move is all it took for him to find me. Whether it be a picture someone innocently put of me on their social media, or a report with my name on it at the police station because of a bar fight, he always found me.

“Listen Bishop, you seem like a really nice guy and I would love to come to your party but I can’t.” I told him thinking that I let him down easily and he would except it but he didn’t.

“Is this about your ex that Tonya told us about? You know we can keep you safe from him.” Bishop says to me and I have to laugh when I say, “No one can keep me safe from him. I have to go.” I said to him and Bishop steps back from my van as I shut the door and started old Betty.

Quinn’s POV

As I pulled out of the bar’s parking lot I looked in my rear-view mirror at Bishop standing there watching me. A part of me wished that he and his group of muscular men could protect me from my ex, but that was a lesson I had already learned months ago. It didn’t matter how much bigger the guy was than Tristan, he was always stronger than them and faster. I knew the night I had run from him when he showed me his true side that he wasn’t human and it scared the crap out of me.

What I couldn’t understand was why he just wouldn’t let me go. I was a nobody with no family to run to. I was raised in the foster system since I was a baby and I had been shuffled around so much that I didn’t even know where I truly came from. Getting into college was my biggest accomplishment but that was short lived when I met Tristan and my whole world got turned upside down once again.

The only person in this world that I could truly count on was myself and I had to listen to what my instincts were telling me and that was to stay low and stay alive. That meant not letting myself have friends that might want to help me, like Bishop. I didn’t want any more blood on my hands from what Tristan might do to them if he found me.

It was a lonely life that I was living but at least I was alive and surviving. Something I had promised to Asher before Tristan killed him trying to get to me. It was a promise that I had vowed to keep in memory of him and I planned on doing what it took to keep it so that he hadn’t died in vain.

I found myself having a heck of a time trying to fall asleep once I got situated in my van at the campground. When I tried to close my eyes, Tristan’s face plagued my dreams. I knew it had to of been the incident at the bar that caused it. Finally, around three in the morning I took my mind in a different direction as I thought about Jaxson and the way he gazed at me all night. There was something about him that called to me. I knew it just had to be my lady bits that so desperately needed attention from a man but something inside of me told me there was more to it than that.

The intensity of his stare was a bit overwhelming. It was as if he was calling me to him. I did all I could to resist knowing what the outcome would be. Asher’s bloody face was all I had to think about to resist the urge to go to him or to the party that Bishop had invited me to. And I so desperately wanted to go the more I thought about it.

It had been almost a year since I have let myself kick back and enjoy a night out. This lifestyle I was living wasn’t doing anything for my social life. I had been alone on the road for so long that I had forgotten how to relax and enjoy a few hours of not living in fear. It was a privilege that I no longer had thanks to Tristan. I regretted my decision that one night that I had given into him.

I had been working at a local bar off campus for over two years and I was making good money there to help support myself through school. Not too many of the college students went there and the normal crowd was the locals who tipped very well due to it being a higher-class side of town. Most of the clientele there was the more elite and I didn’t have to deal with the nonsense that a normal bar would cause.

The night Tristan had walked in, I could remember like it was yesterday. Something about him drew me to him and his charm was all it took before I was agreeing to go out with him. I knew right away after the first date that I was below him in status, but it didn’t stop me from continuing to see him. He made me for once in my life feel like I belonged somewhere and I fell for it all. I fell for all the promises he made me and all the dreams that he placed in my head about the future of the two of us together.

A month later was when I figured out that Tristan wasn’t who he said he was when I walked in on him with another woman at his house. The sounds of a woman moaning drew me to his bedroom and when I opened the door to see them both naked in bed together. My heart began to break into a million pieces but my attention quickly moved to what he was doing to her at that very moment. His mouth was on her neck as she moaned and I could clearly see he was feeding from her like a vampire would in the movies.

Fear consumed me and my heart began to race at the sight in front of me. That’s when his attention turned to me, he pulled his teeth from her flesh, and looked at me as blood dripped from his lips in shock that I was standing there watching him. At the speed of light he was out of the bed and to me as the woman’s body slumped to the bed.

I remember him looking into my eyes and saying, “Quinn, you saw nothing tonight. You were never here and you need to go straight home and wait for me to call you.”

Watching enough vampire movies in my time, I knew what he was doing. He was trying to compel me into thinking I saw nothing but for some reason his compulsion wasn’t working on me. I used that to my advantage as I turned around and walked out of his door and ran as fast as I could to my apartment where I packed up everything that I owned and headed for the hills.

That’s when I met Asher and I was hesitant to get into another relationship. We kept it on a more friendly base which was easier for me to accept after what had just happened with Tristan. Asher was the bouncer at the new bar that I had gotten a job at and we made friends right off the bat. He was easy-going and was full of life and he pulled me from the dark place that I had been after seeing Tristan’s true self.

It had been a little over a month since I had moved and Asher and I were getting more involved with each other. He had asked me to move in with him. I was hesitant as I was still worried that Tristan might come looking for me since I had seen him for what he truly was. I told myself that it had been over a month and there was no sign of him so he wasn’t looking for me. That was the biggest mistake of my life thinking that I had freed myself of him. That one little mistake cost Asher his life and I will never forgive myself for it.