Read Counting on Cayne (Hallow River Book 1) for Free Online

clomped
toward the other end of the bar, holding onto chair backs and tables for
balance.
    Once inside the ladies’
room, I clutched the edges of the sink and breathed deeply through my nose. Was
I having a breakdown or was I just drunk? Or maybe a little of both?
    When I reluctantly
raised my eyes to the mirror, all I saw was fear. Perhaps I was foolish to
think that I could maintain the charade of a normal existence when there was a
devil hunting me. But what choice did I have? Granton had already taken so much
from me. He had taken my happiness, my career, and my sense of self. He had
taken my passion and my confidence, thrown them onto a bonfire fueled by his
own inadequacies, and laughed as the flames licked them into charred ruins. I
refused to let him take anything else.
    “Brinley?” Cami’s voice
came through the door. “Brinley, are you ok?” The hinges creaked as she pressed
it open a crack. “Can I come in?”
    I cleared my throat and
willed my voice not to tremble. “Yeah, I’m fine. No big deal.” I dotted my wet
mascara with a paper towel. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
    When I emerged, Cami was
already back at the table. Cayne turned in his chair and watched me. I gave him
a weak closed-lip smile from across the bar.
    Another person had
joined the group in my absence. He looked to be in his early 20s, had black
hair slicked back from his forehead, and wore a leather jacket studded with
rivets. Cami chattered excitedly in his ear and whirled the straw around and
around her nearly empty glass. He observed her with an amused expression.
    Cayne stood when I
reached the table. I resumed my seat. He raised his eyebrows in an unspoken
question. I nodded to indicate that I was better.
    “Brinley, I would like
you to meet Jasper Slade, a dear friend and total jackass.” He pointed to the
leather clad young man.
    “Thanks, bro. That’s
quite an introduction.” Jasper held out his hand to shake. The edges of a
tattoo curled around the side of his neck. His steel gray eyes shifted fleetingly
over to Cayne as we both settled back into our seats. I got the impression that
Jasper already knew something about me.
    A riot of giggles
sounded from a nearby table. A group of five girls, none of whom appeared to be
over the age of twenty and all of whom were clothed in sparkly tube tops in
varying shades of pink, red, and purple, was taking a selfie. They leaned
provocatively forward, all smooth arms and cleavage, and made pouty duckfaces
into the camera.
    Jasper poked Cayne with
his elbow and jutted his chin toward them. “That looks right up our alley, man.
How about it?” He winked and leered suggestively at a pair of long bare legs in
white five-inch platform heels.
    I glanced over at Cami.
Her posture had visibly deflated. She gulped the last remaining bit of her
drink and slammed the glass petulantly onto the table.
    “Nah, man.” Cayne
laughed and held his palms up in a gesture of surrender. “Too easy. There isn’t
enough brain power there to find its way out of a paper bag.”
    “Who cares about brain
power? I don’t want to discuss current events with them.”
    The girl with the legs
noticed Jasper staring. She flirtatiously flipped her light brown hair over her
slim tan shoulder.
    Cami sighed and tossed a
rolled up section of napkin in Jasper’s direction. His attention was completely
absorbed by the girl in the tube top. She bent forward and played with the
strap on her sandal, giving him a full flash of her pert young breasts as she pulled
down the seam of her top and adjusted it so it rested barely above her nipples.
Jasper bit his lower lip and grunted.
    “I have an idea.” Cayne
slapped Jasper’s arm with the back of his hand. “Why don’t you and I get these
two lovely ladies home? I’ll take Brinley and you take Cami.”
    “Huh? Seriously?” Jasper’s
jaw hung slack and his eyes were glazed.
    “Yes. Seriously.”
Cayne’s voice deepened with the command. He stared at Jasper