You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 690

Patricia and Aiden watched as Jackson and Sara went at it, tossing playful insults back and forth. It was always the same—Sara had no hope of winning. Jackson was just too good at this stuff, almost like he was born to roast people. He had this effortless confidence that left Sara speechless every time.

By the time they finished eating, nearly forty minutes had slipped by.

Sara wrinkled her nose and sniffed her shirt, then leaned over to Patricia. “I’m going to hit the restroom. Be right back.”

Jackson stood and headed off to pay.

Aiden stayed behind with Patricia, making small talk about life at Cloud Peak. He started telling her how Johns had tried rounding up stray cats in the garden to get them fixed. It turned into complete chaos—kittens shooting off in every direction, a whole crew of people chasing after them, everyone trying to grab a wriggling ball of fur.

“Excuse me, I have to take this call,” Aiden said suddenly, glancing down at his ringing phone.

He looked a little anxious. It was his boss calling—those calls always meant a location check. He didn’t want to answer in front of Patricia without her okay.

Patricia noticed, glanced at his screen, and gave him a quick nod. No need to make life harder for someone just trying to do their job.

At the register, a line was forming. Jackson waited his turn while Patricia scrolled through her work group chat, her fingers flying across the screen.

That’s when she caught a glint of something metallic out of the corner of her eye, coming straight at her.

She barely had time to think. Instinct took over. Patricia twisted away and dropped down, just missing the swing of a steel pipe aimed right where her head had been.

She spun around and saw Kent looming above her, pipe in hand. Before she could even catch her breath, he swung again.

Patricia flung up her arm to block him.

“Jackson—” she gasped, her voice trembling.

The whole restaurant erupted into chaos. Diners leapt up, chairs scraping back as they scrambled to get away.

A couple of big guys rushed over, putting themselves between Patricia and Kent. “What’s your problem, man? If you’ve got something to say, say it! Hitting a woman? Seriously? The police station’s right across the street. Don’t ruin your life over this.”

She clung to the edge of the table, fighting back, but after taking two hits from the pipe, she was losing strength fast.

“Kent, come on, man. Let’s talk about this. Don’t hurt anyone,” one of the bystanders called out.

“Hurt her?” Kent snarled, his grip tightening. “You think I’m the bad guy here? You have no idea what she’s done. Back off, or I swear I’ll put her face on that grill.”

“Easy, dude. Let’s just calm down…” Jackson said, holding up his hands and taking a cautious step back, trying to buy time.

He leaned over to someone nearby and whispered, “Did anyone call the cops?”

The guy nodded, looking shaken. “Yeah. Someone ran over. The station’s right there.”

“Kent, whatever you want, we can talk. Just let her go,” Jackson pleaded, his voice steady but tense, watching for any chance to jump in.