Thankfully, when they got back to the spot, all of them were gone, just like Ralen had said.
“I could say, I told you so,” Ralen sang. “Actually, I am going to say, I told you so, you deaf bastard.”
Cash hit the steering wheel with the palms of his hands. Addie squeaked and jolted back against Ralen. The other man wrapped his arm around her.
“Cash, calm yourself. You’re really scaring her.”
Cash turned toward her, and she let out another scared noise, pressing herself even closer to Ralen. Something like regret instantly filled his face.
“Fuck, shit. Fuck, shit, fuck. Fuck, shit, fucking shit.”
Okay, that was a lot of swearing. She was breathing heavily as she stared at him. He reached a hand up to run it over his short, dark hair.
“Fuck, Addie. I’m sorry. I just got mad when I saw that he’d touched you. I’m mad at myself for not keeping you safe. I should have handed him the keys to Crystal straight away and let him take her. Instead of being an arrogant ass, thinking I could take on all of them at once, without any harm coming to you. It’s been a long time since I had someone to protect.”
She wasn’t his to protect. But it seemed that these guys felt some obligation to help her.
As weird as that was.
Anyway, he shouldn’t feel bad about the fact that she’d gotten hurt. Plus, if he’d given those guys the keys to his pickup, they could’ve still attacked them.
Cash ran his hand over his face. They were all tired and needed some sleep. She placed her hand over his on the steering wheel and squeezed it slightly. Then she gave him a tremulous smile.
Cash let out a deep sigh and took hold of her chin again. “I can’t believe that fucker hit you. He could have done worse if Ralen hadn’t come along.”
“But I did come along and I took care of that bastard,” Ralen said. “Now let’s get out of here.”
Cash nodded and they headed out.
She was starting to realize that Cash hadn’t been talking about the dead body man when he’d said that she was in trouble just before. Because there was no way that he could know about the man and the body. There was also no way that he could know what she and her sisters were doing here.
So when he’d said she was in trouble, it had to be something that had just happened.
“Why am I i-in trouble?” she asked quietly.
Ralen handed her the electrolyte drink and a piece of candy.
“Suck on that,” Ralen ordered. “You’re still trembling. Probably in shock.”
She nodded and took the piece of candy into her mouth.
“Fuck,” Cash said with a groan. “I know you’ve been through a lot tonight. First, a bar brawl and losing your sisters. Then seeing your hotel room trashed and a fight on the way to Callahan Security.”
Even though she’d heard Ralen list everything, it was as though it hadn’t penetrated. But when Cash laid it all out, she realized that a lot had happened in just a few hours. No wonder she felt like she was falling apart.
“You forgot her passing out,” Ralen said. “And vomiting.”
She doubted anyone could forget that she’d vomited. After all, it had landed all over Cash’s boots, and Ralen had ended up sympathy puking with her.
“Right,” Cash agreed. “All of that combined is an insane night. So I’m trying hard not to scold you right now. But you’re also in trouble because you came into the fight when I told you to hide. Although you probably came back out fighting because you were worried that one of them would come around and find you.”
Well, that wasn’t exactly true, but she wasn’t going to argue his point.
And that’s why he’d said she was in trouble? Because she’d helped them? Maybe she’d been the pivotal point in the change in the fight? Without her, he might be lying on the ground bleeding, maybe worse.
“Hmm, I’m not so sure about that,” Ralen said. “I reckon she was probably going for the crowbar when that guy found her. So she always planned to enter the fight.”
She shot him a look. How had he guessed, and why did he have to say it?
