I crouch down and glower at him, anger blasting through my veins.
I look him in the eye. “Watch your fucking mouth. That’s my wife you’re talking about.”
His eyes widen before he glares at me.
“Easy, man.”
It takes a second before I register the sound of Xander’s voice behind me. I’m too enraged. Too focused on how every cell in my body is ready to tear this guy to shreds with my bare hands for hurting Ellie.MyEllie.
A hand lands on my shoulder and hauls me up. Xander plants a hand on my chest, holding me in place.
“He’s not worth it, dude.”
I’m clenching my jaw so hard, it feels like my skull is about to break in half. I’m running off pure instinct right now. My instinct to protect Ellie. My instinct to get rid of anything and anyone that would ever harm her.
I try to move around Xander, but he holds me in place and shakes his head.
“He’s not worth it,” he repeats, louder this time. “If you beat the shit out of him, you’ll get arrested and thrown in jail.”
I try to step around him again, but he holds me back.
“Camden, you’re a tourist. If you get caught kicking the shit out of some guy in a bar, how do you think that’ll go? They’re gonna throw the book at you.”
The rage cloud in my brain starts to dissipate. Xander’s right.
I force myself to take a breath. It doesn’t do much though. I can still feel the rage and adrenaline pumping through my veins like lava.
Xander walks me back toward the door. That’s when I notice Blomdahl is standing there too.
“Come on. Let’s go back inside,” Blomdahl says.
I reach for the door.
“Have fun being married to my sloppy seconds, asshole. Your lying bitch of a wife owes me money. You know what that means, don’t you? You owe me now too.”
The three of us stop walking. I start to turn around, but Xander holds me back. I’m about to tell him to let me go, but Blomdahl steps forward and punches Damien in the face.
A sharp cracking noise echoes through the darkened alley. Damien groans and falls back into the wall, holding his nose.
We both gawk at Blomdahl.
“Dude, what the hell?” Xander says.
Blomdahl shrugs, his expression unbothered.
“I’m a dual citizen. They’re not gonna do shit to me,” he says. “Besides, you guys fight on the ice for me all the time. It feels good to fight for you for once.”
Xander is smiling and shaking his head as we walk back inside the bar.
I look at Blomdahl. “Thanks, man.”
“Anytime. Now go check on your wife.”
The three of us weave through the crowded bar to where the ladies are. I zero in on Ellie, sitting at the table, her shoulders hunched. She’s wiping tears from her cheeks as Sophie hugs her arm around her.
My chest goes tight, the need to be next to her, to hold her and comfort her, surging through me like a tidal wave.
When Sophie sees me, she scoots over. I thank her for looking after Ellie, then sit down. I notice the ladies are quietly looking at her, clearly concerned for her. Ellie must have told them what happened.
