“Jealousy is an ugly look on you bro,” I tell him.
“I know, I know.” He pushes his hand through his hair and grins at me. “But watching you these past couple months as you fell down the Sutton Price rabbit hole…” He shrugs. “It’s cute and I think I wouldn’t mind experiencing what it feels like to really fall for someone the way you did.”
“Or he just wants to get laid,” Bishop laughs beside us.
“Says the guy who looks at Mack Adams like she’s the only girl who will give you the time of day.”
“Fuck you, Kill. Mackenzie and I are friends, you know that.”
He cocks a brow. “Just friends?”
Hop rolls his eye. “Yeah. Just friends. Because unlike you, I’m capable of being friends with a girl and not fucking her.”
“Bet he would if given the chance though,” Killian mumbles on the other side of me before wrapping his hand around his beer and taking a nice long swig.
I’m about to respond to Killian’s comment about Bishop and Mackenzie when the front door of the bar swings open. The burst of cold air hits the room, but it’s not what makes my entire body go rigid. It’s who walks through that door.
Micah Brannigan.
He stumbles as he enters, clearly drunk, scanning the crowded bar until he lands on Sutton, who’s delivering a tray of shots to a table near the front. My blood runs cold as I watch his face transform, that predatory smile I remember from the medical hallway spreading across his features.
“What the fuck?” Jake mutters, following my gaze.
“Isn’t that—” Boonestarts.
“Yeah,” I cut him off. “It is.” I’m already halfway out of my seat. “He’s not supposed to be anywhere near?—”
Sebastian’s hand clamps down on my shoulder. “Easy,” he says, but I can feel the tension in his grip. “He’s banned from team events,” he reminds me. “Not from every bar in Portland.”
Micah hasn’t noticed our table yet, his focus entirely on Sutton as he weaves through the crowd toward her. When she turns around I watch as the color drains from her face when she recognizes him. The tray in her hands trembles ever so slightly, but she doesn’t drop it.
“Well, well,” Micah’s voice carries over the music. “Look who it is.”
I stand tall and immediately catch Sutton’s eye, letting her know I’m right here. She’s not alone. She gives me a subtle nod that she’s okay and lifts her chin defiantly at the prick standing in front of her.
“You need to leave,” she tells him, her voice shaky.
“Actually, I think I need a drink,” Micah slurs, swaying as he steps closer to her. “And I’ll stay as long as I want. You owe me.”
“I don’t owe you shit, you sick bastard.” Sutton’s voice rings out over the crowd and my chest tightens as I stand tall behind Micah, watching my girl take back her power knowing she’s not alone in this bar. She’s got an entire family looking out for her.
Micah’s face twists into an ugly sneer. “Still got that mouth on you, huh? Some things never change.”
“Shep, maybe you should do something,” Kyler murmurs beside.
“No. She can do this. She needs to do this for herself, but I’m right here if she needs me.” This is Sutton’s moment. She wanted to take her power back, and I promised to stand beside her, not in front of her.
“We’re all here, bro,” Jake reminds me. “She’s not alone.”
“Actually, some things do change,” Sutton says, setting thetray down on the nearest table with deliberate calm. “I changed. I’m not that terrified nineteen-year-old girl anymore.”
Everyone is watching now, conversations dying as everyone turns to witness the confrontation. Cal moves toward them from behind the bar, but Sutton shakes her head, stopping him.
“You think you’ve changed?” Micah laughs, harsh and cruel. “You’re still the same pathetic girl who can’t function without a man to take care of her. Just traded up to a richer model, didn’t you?”
My teammates shift around me, ready to move, but I hold my ground. This is her fight and as much as I want to punch this asshole’s lights out, I have to let her do this.
“No,” Sutton says, her voice growing stronger with each word. “I’m the woman who survived you. Who rebuilt her life piece by piece after you tried to destroy it. Who learned that real men don’t need to rape women…” She swallows. “Or physically break them to feel powerful.”
