“You weren’t exactly blameless!” she shoots back. “I didn’t get pregnant by myself.”
“No, but you sure as fuck made me suffer for that mistake.”
We glare at each other.
“Forget it,” she says, shaking her head. “I should have known you haven’t changed or grown up.”
I smirk. “What you see is what you get.”
“Ugh.” She turns on her heel and walks away, heading over to a group of ladies hanging out at a high top.
I watch for a second. The sway of her ass in that very tight little dress. Long legs that bottom out in a pair of high stilettos. Gorgeous hair that falls halfway down her back.
Why does she have to be so damn gorgeous?
Even when she was just seventeen, a senior in high school, I’d taken one look and she was all I thought about. All I cared about. Fate—and her father—had other plans for us. Even though we waited until she was eighteen before we had sex. Even though I treated her like a fucking queen. Even though I loved her more than life itself.
“I thought you were leaving?” My friend and teammate, Milo Holland, comes over and lifts one eyebrow.
“Ran into a guy giving a woman a hard time, told him to knock it off.”
“You just randomly got involved in something that had nothing to do with you?”
I shrug. “She asked him to leave her alone multiple times. And he kept grabbing her. Besides, I used to know her, so I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
He follows my gaze, zoning in on the table of ladies Victoria is hanging out with.
“Which one?”
“Blonde. Green dress.”
“She’s hot.”
“She’s trouble,” I mutter. “And before you say anything stupid, no is still no.”
He frowns. “Of course it is! I wasn’t going to say anything about that.”
Why was I so quick to defend her? Jesus, she’s always had this effect on me. I really need to get out of here. I glance at Victoria one last time and see her striding across the busy dance floor toward the big pink neon Restrooms sign.
And before I can turn away, I watch as Franklin follows a little way behind her.
“God dammit.” I clench my jaw.
“What?” Milo is watching too. “Is that the guy?”
“Yeah.”
“You want me to go make sure she’s okay and you can take off?”
I hesitate because the answer is yes. Fuck yes. I’d love for him to handle it so I can get the hell out of here.
But I won’t.
I’m not going to leave Victoria’s safety to someone else. Especially now that I see two more guys trailing behind Franklin. Like they have some kind of plan.
“I think it’s going to take more than one of us,” I say as I make my way in the direction they went.
The scene in front of me makes me see red.
