“Everything okay?” Nate’s voice.Fuck.
“It’s forgotten, okay?” I tell Adam, hoping to fuck he’ll keep his attention on me and not turn it on Nate.
“Who the fuck are you?” Adam asks Nate. No suchluck.
Everything in me stiffens, ready for a fight. If he even so much as fucking looks at Nate wrong, I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.
“Nate, get back in the car, I’ll be there in a second.”
Even though I don’t take my eyes off Adam, I can tell Nate is hovering between us and the car. Why can’t he listen to me without needing to know why, just this once?
“Is that little Nate Castellani?” Adam asks, a hint of a snarl in his tone. “He your boyfriend now, Evan?”
Paddy pulls on his arm. He’s like the kid in a divorce, hating his mom and dad fighting, trying to keep the peace. Even if it means getting caught in the crossfire.
I shake my head. “Come on, Nate.”
As I turn, Adam pulls me back by my sleeve.
“I’m talking to you,” he says.
Adrenaline pumps through my blood, circulating my odds. There’s three of them—two and a half, really—and one of me. I meant what I said to Ma about Nate being a pussy. And I fucking like that he’s not a fighter. I don’t want him to ever have to fight a day in his life, especially not because of me.
If I just walk away, Adam’s gonna think I’m soft. Soft people get walked all over. Guys like Adam, they get a kick out of it. I already let him headbutt me, doesn’t matter that the fight got stopped before I could retaliate. He’s not gonna see it like that.
I push him as hard as I can, nearly knocking him on his ass. I can hear Nate saying my name behind me, but I have to block it out. I can’t be the guy who goes all fucking gooey at the sound of Nate’s voice, not right now.
Before Adam can retaliate, I throw a right hook. It catches him on the jaw and his head snaps back. Mystomach roils at the crack of my fist making contact. I don’t like violence either, but sometimes it’s necessary.
Paddy just stands there, waiting for someone to tell him what to do. But Corey’s running over now, his footsteps getting faster the closer he gets. He shoves me and I shove back. Adam recovers from the hit to the jaw and comes at me, asking Paddy why he’s just standing there.
They all come at me.
Nate steps in the way.
“Look at this pretty boy,” Adam says, leering at Nate. He knocks the cap off his head and I fucking lose it.
“Get your fucking hands off him.”
“Fuck me, heisyour boyfriend, isn’t he? I knew you were a fucking fa-”
I throw another punch and he grabs my jacket and holds on. I feel someone punching me in the back of the head. See their faces up close, snarling, like a pack of dogs. Everything is fists and grunts and the sound of flesh getting smacked. I don’t know where Nate is. I just know I have to fight my way out to protect him. I hope to fuck he ran back to his car or to the warehouse to get help.
I don’t notice people coming out of the back of the warehouse until Bob’s voice is raised above them all.
Big, meaty hands are between us, prizing us apart, and then the guys are running for the trees, shouting shit over their shoulders and Bob’s gripping me tight by the arms to hold me back.
Some of the women gather around, asking if I’m alright.
“I’m fine.” I shake Bob off.
I look around for Nate. He’s on the ground. My stomachdrops.
“Nate!”
He looks up, grabbing his arm. There’s a little bit of blood under his nose, dirt on his face, but apart from that, he looks okay. I check him over anyway. Not giving a shit who’s watching.
“You okay? You hurt?”
