Koby slams his big hand on my shoulder, squeezing once. “Given how fast she let the guy lead her away, I don’t think you’ve got much time. She’s played this well.”
“Elaborate.”
“Oh come on,” he huffs out. “Don’t pretend you’re blind. She wantsyou, and this guy... well, either she hopes this will make you jealous, or she’s moving on because you’ve ignored all the signals she’s been sending. Either way, your move.”
Jealous doesn’t scratch the surface of what’s pawing the dirt inside my head. As soon as they’re out of sight, I see red. My pulse skyrockets, imagination pulling images of Bianca against the men’s restroom wall, that slimy blonde fucker lifting her skirt and... I shoot out of my chair as if my ass is on fire.
Koby’s snickering is swallowed by the thumping bass as I barrel across the dance floor, my fingers itching for the gun tucked into my holster.
People step out of my way, the murder on my mind bleeding over my features if the fearful stares I get are any indication. I’min the dark corridor within thirty seconds, my heavy footsteps reverberating through the air.
A few men stand outside the restroom, looking amused until they see me coming. I grab the handle, but it doesn’t budge, the door locked from the inside.
“You’ll have to wait a minute. They’re getting busy in there,” someone says behind me.
Another wave of blinding fury shakes me. I’m not usually this violent. My iron-clad grip on control gets tested a lot, but I’m a master at diverting attention and remaining calm while everyone else flies off the handle.
This... this is the very first time I’ve lost my cool in such an extreme snap-of-a-finger kind of way.
Control? What fucking control?
The term, the idea behind it, slips out of my mind until it becomes a foreign concept. In a daze, a blinding jealous streak, I brace against the opposite wall and charge, entering the restroom like a wrecking ball.
The door snaps off its hinges, the thud accompanied by Bianca’s yelp and that fucker’s “What the hell?!”
She sits on the counter by the sinks, her skirt rolled up. The blond corpse stands between her legs, hands on her hips. He’s touching her and the smeared lipstick in the corner of her mouth tells me he already kissedher.
Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.
I don’t bother with words. I’m too far gone for that, the adrenaline levels in my system hitting an all-time high. I have him by the collar in three strides, shoving him toward the door with all my might.
He stumbles over his feet but regains his balance, unaware he’s just woken the devil.
Instead of running for dear life, he shakes it off, bends his knees, and raises his fists like a professional boxer. Behindhis back, a small crowd gathers in the doorway, watching the unfolding scene with amused interest.
“Come at me,” the blond taunts. “See what happens. Go on, try your fucking luck.”
Someone hollers, someone groans, someone mutters, “You’re dead, man.” I ignore the onlookers, my hand already at my holster. The cold steel in my palm injects a shred of control back into my system. Not enough to stop me flipping the safety or aiming straight between his eyes though.
“I’ll count to five,” I grit out past clenched teeth, fury like a separate, wild beast kicking a riot inside my mind. “Don’t test my patience. I don’t have any.One.”
“You’re going to shoot me?” he scoffs, but his combat stance falters. He looks at Bianca for reassurance. “Who’s that, babe?”
She doesn’t answer and I don’t glance over my shoulder to check her expression. All that matters is that she’s safely behind me, my body separating her from this scumbag.
“Three,” I seethe, skippingtwofor digression when he looked at my girl. “Look at her again, and I pull the fucking trigger.”
“Who the hell are you?” the guy huffs, opening his clenched fists to signal surrender. “Whatever, man, no pussy’s worth this shit.” He turns just as the bullet leaves the chamber.
It misses his head—as intended—by an inch and hits the wall, not far from the crowd in the doorway. They scatter, Bianca screams, and the blond almost trips over his legs on his way out.
“What iswrongwith you?!” Bianca booms, stepping into my line of fire.
I holster the gun immediately, flipping the safety back on in the process. “Me? What the fuck areyoudoing?”
“I was trying to get laid! What did it look like?”
My pulse spikes again. “You’re not getting fucked by some random idiot in—”
