Free Mama Said by Wendy Byrne Page B

along the side of the glass filled with water. “Let me put it this way. They’re paying me five hundred bucks a week plus expenses. I’ve made twice that before. I’ve made half that before. I’m a singer. It’s what I do. I don’t have a whole lot of trouble finding jobs.” That part was kind of a fib, but she didn’t want them to think she was desperate.
    “What’s your name?”
    She gave him the information. After he took it down, they went in search of Mack and Donna.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Gabriella was beginning to believe Shane’s prediction of trouble, especially when Patrick strolled in later, surrounded by a posse of friends. It was pretty obvious they’d all had a couple rounds of beer and were spoiling for a fight.
    Shane seemed more withdrawn than usual as he manned his station behind the bar. She could tell Annie’s death was bothering him more than he’d let on earlier. Either that or he was still plagued by thoughts of Tony.
    Mack was being Mack, but a little more anxious than normal. Donna was upset, having known Annie personally.
    On the other hand, Gabriella was trying to maintain the status quo and hope all hell didn’t break loose even though it felt as if it might at any second. While she sat at the bar trying to worm more than simple one-word answers from Shane, Patrick came up and grabbed her hand.
    “Come on, Gabriella. Let’s dance. We can talk about why you need me.”
    Rather than watch Shane’s reaction, she ushered a slightly inebriated Patrick onto the dance floor. Her personal breathalyzer test on Patrick was holding at about a six point five, making him close to obnoxiously drunk.
    He chose a slow dance, probably because he couldn’t stand upright without her to lean on. She was wearing a short, tight, black leather skirt that hugged her hips just below her belly button. Lengths of gold chain linked around the top like a belt and a black lycra t-shirt stopped two or three inches above the skirt, exposing her midriff.
    His fingertips tickled the length of her exposed spine as he moved. It didn’t feel icky, but it also wasn’t something she welcomed.
    “Why’d you call?” His breath whispered against the column of her throat and he placed a kiss at the sensitive spot below her ear. “You wanna hook up?”
    That was the last thing she needed right now.
    She pushed back to get some space. “No. I…” In light of Annie’s death, reporting the purse-snatching incident now seemed almost silly. Shane was right. She had gotten her stuff back, and after the display of cop force earlier, she didn’t want anything to go haywire. “This gig will be over in a couple of weeks and I was wondering if you could line me up some interviews.”
    While she didn’t necessarily want to stay in Chicago, it was the first thing that came to mind. Besides, it made the most sense to keep the topic on her rather than on anything going on between Patrick and Shane.
    “I could get you a job tomorrow. One a hell of a lot better than this. Why do you stay here? Shane’s a prick.”
    She ignored his comment. “Why didn’t you tell me he was your brother?”
    He shrugged. “Don’t think of him as my brother. Never did, really. We’re not blood.” His narrow definition of family was sad for both of them.
    “Why?”
    “Loved to show how much better he was than me at everything from sports to women.”
    “Shouldn’t you have outgrown the sibling rivalry thing by now?”
    “Don’t tell me you’re falling for him? He’s an ass, always out for himself, never caring about anybody else. Killed the only mom I ever knew just as sure as I’m standing here.”
    The crazy notion that Shane had been responsible somehow for his mother’s death seemed ludicrous. From experience, she knew most people had a tendency to point the finger at others when something went wrong rather than admit that sometimes there wasn’t anyone to blame. She should know all about that. She blamed everything from the