Free Devils Among Us (Devin Dushane Series Book 1) by Chastity Harris Page B

her,
there was never a nicer person.”
    Everyone at the bar nodded in agreement and stared into
their drinks, drowning in their memories of Laney for a moment until Chuck blew
out a rush of air.
    “I thought bartenders were supposed to be good listeners,
and here I go prattling on letting a pretty lady go thirsty. What can I get you,
dear?”
    Devin eyed the draft beers that Henry and his friends were
enjoying but ordered a bottled light beer instead. It was much easier to nurse
a drink in a dark bottle, because it was harder to see how much you had
actually consumed, especially if you kept your hand wrapped around the bottle.
    After an hour Devin was glad she was only through about half
of her beer. With a clear mind, she could better keep track of all the stories
she was hearing about her dad and her aunt. No details had emerged that could
crack the case by any means, but she was getting a great feel for the community
around the time of Laney’s murder.
    A few of the boys from the back of the bar had made their
way up to the two young blondes playing pool and were getting increasingly loud
and pushy. Devin turned around on her stool and rested her back against the bar
to keep an eye on the situation. No one else seemed particularly concerned
about these three drunken Romeos, but the two girls were beginning to look like
they were in over their heads. Devin was just turning to ask Henry who these
guys were when the loudest of the three tried to wrap his arms around one of
the girls.
    “Get off me, creep!” The girl’s shrill cry tore through the
noise of the bar. Despite her struggles, he was not letting go, a fact which
his friends found hilarious. The second blonde looked like she was about to
bolt.
    Devin glanced down the bar to see who was going to break up
this little interlude, but apparently the sports clips on TV had become
mesmerizing and no one would make eye contact with her.
    “Seriously?” Devin asked the room at large and then pushed
off her stool, leaving her beer on the bar. As she made her way over to the
little group everyone in the bar turned to watch. I guess the sports program
must have gone to a commercial.
    Easing into a situation was not exactly her style, so she
walked straight up to the couple tapped the guy on the shoulder and used his
moment of surprise to slide in between the two as if she were cutting in on the
dance floor.
    “Hey, how’s it going?” she asked brightly. It took his
alcohol-fogged mind a moment to realize that Devin was moving backwards with
his intended behind her.
    “Hey! This is a private moment, if you don’t mind. You can
have your turn in a minute, sweetheart.” Devin rolled her eyes as her new
drunken friend raked his eyes over her.
    In your dreams, slug.
    Someone had entered the bar and taken the stool next to her
empty one. She didn’t look over, but she just knew who it would be—Shane. Trust
Adam not to be able to keep his mouth shut.
    She focused her attention on the leering redneck in front of
her. “Yeah, well, I don’t think she really wanted to be part of your little
moment, so you need to head back to your corner of the bar and find someone
else to harass.”
    Devin reached back with her left hand to push the girl further
away, but when she did, the drunk caught her right wrist and yanked her towards
him. “I’m gonna need a little entertainment, so if you wanna take her place…”
    At that moment she was aware of every sound in the bar, the
snickering of his drunken friends, the sharp intake of breath at the bar, and
the retreat of the two girls behind her. She went completely still and fixed
him with her blackest stare. “Didn’t your mama ever teach you to keep your
hands to yourself?”
    “No, but my daddy taught me how to handle mouthy little
wildcats.” He took another step closer. “You just need to know your place.”
    Devin still hadn’t moved. “Second warning—take your hands
off me.” In her peripheral vision, she saw