“Yes, she means no.” Emily uses her tiny fist and punches him in the face. “Fuck,” she whimpers and shakes her hand. “Shit.”
“You fucking cunts.” The jerkoff clutches his nose as blood trickles between his fingers. I must give her credit, my girl packs quite a punch.
A security guard shoves his way through the crowd on his way toward us. With each step, the crowd parts making room while enjoying the show.
The guy’s face is as red as the blood covering his skin as he lurches forward. “I’m going to–”
“Stay the fuck away from my girl, or I’ll beat your ass.” I shove his chest with both hands, knocking him off balance. I’m not looking forward to telling my boss about this incident tomorrow, but I’m not about to let this guy touch Emily again.
If we were in Brookhaven, I’d have him in cuffs on his way to the station, but we’re in the city where I have no jurisdiction. Nor any proof that he tried to drug her.
Xavier and Ruby bust through the crowd from the other direction.
“You’re a fucking pussy.” The nasal sound of his voice after getting his nose smashed makes him sound comical.
“You got hit by a girl.” I smirk and push him, slamming him backward. My girl. Who just admitted she was heartbroken because she thought I’d taken Amanda out on a date.
Now that I have my head out of my ass, it all makes sense. The night at the fire. She was fine until Amanda showed up. And the night she spent in my arms? She was molten lava.
Until my phone pinged, and she disappeared. Which was also Amanda’s fault. She had to have seen her message and thought something was going on between us.
“Emily!” Ruby’s face is white as she grabs Emily’s upper arm. “Are you okay?”
“No, my fucking hand hurts.” She shoves it in Ruby’s face. “See?”
“Yes, baby, I see.” She rubs her thumb over Emily’s knuckle.
“Dude.” Xavier slings his arm over my shoulders. By this point, the band has stopped playing and is also watching. “You sure know how to cause a scene for a cop.”
“A cop?” The guy raises his hands in defense and backs away. He bounces into a woman behind him, sending her off balance, turns on his heel and speedwalks away like he’s about to shit his pants.
“Is everything okay?” The security guard motions for the other customers to stand back.
“I’m fine and dandy, like a hard candy Christmas,” Emily says while staring at her knuckles like they’re the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen.
“Everyone, get back. We don’t want anyone cut.” The guard pushes the button on his handheld radio and calls for a cleaning crew.
Chapter Forty-Four
Emily
My girl? No. He didn’t say that. Or if he did, he didn’t mean it, right?
Please, you’re drunk, maybe drugged, and delusional. You need to sleep. To wash your mouth out. To shower the stink of that guy off. And crawl into a hole and die.
It doesn’t matter what order I go in.
Except, my hand hurts.
“That asshole tried to drug me,” I say to Ruby who’s studying my hand in the backroom of the bar. I can’t tell whether my hand hurts worse or my head. With each heartbeat, pain shoots through my skull. “Do you think it’s broken?”
It’s the fifth time I’ve said it since the guy fled the scene. The owner has reassured us he knows who he is and that he won’t be allowed into Callahan’s again.
The back room is not exactly a back room. It’s a huge warehouse cordoned off into the kitchen, storage areas, offices, bathrooms, and stairs that lead to a personal living area. The private space is nearly as large as the bar/restaurant.
“I don’t think it’s broken, but you’re the paramedic.” She squeezes my arm and lowers my hand to my side. “You would know better than I would.”
“Right. I’m the paramedic.” I rub my good hand over my face. “Why’s my head spinning?”
