Ringing.
I was finally able to break through the cycle, consciously realizing the ringing was coming from my own cell phone somewhere around me. “Alright, I get it.” My voice cracked out as I peeled my eyes open.
In no way was I ready to wake up, but my arm obeyed, slidingout from under me to pat the floor blindly. I struggled for a few seconds before my fingers finally brushed up against my phone. It was vibrating hard against the wood floor, the generic ringtone magnified from the confined space underneath the couch.
I grabbed it, nearly dropping it in the process. Squinting against the glare of the screen, my eyes watered, and I had to turn my head away to blink rapidly. I fumbled to swipe the answer button but missed. Swearing under my breath, I opened my eyes fully and tried again.
There was a silent pause that quickly ended, and about half a second later, it started again.
“Jesus.” I dragged a hand down my face, trying to wake up enough to function. I hit accept this time, barely managing to get the phone to my ear before my grip started to loosen again. “Hello?”
There was a pause, then loud music filled my ear. “Silas!”
Kyrin.
I answered him as I closed my eyes again. “What do you want?”
“We have a problem,” he said, loud enough that I had to pull the phone away from my ear, “and you need to come solve it.Now.”
Keeping it at a distance, I used my other hand to rub my eyes.“What happened?”
His response was a click, and then my screen filled with a live feed from his bar. Trying to adjust my eyes as fast as I could, alight moved across the screen as the picture settled on a booth. A familiar shade of brown hair moved across my vision, and my eyes narrowed on the face it belonged to—a face that had no reason to be there. Kyrin's voice carried through the speaker, even though I couldn’t see him. “Emberhappened.”
I was instantly pissed when I saw my girl wedged between two men, laughing loudly with her head tipped back. What really did me in though, was the leather zip-up skirt that hugged every inch of her like it was spray-painted on. Her top, made of the same material, clung just as tightly and leftnothingto the imagination.
“Kyrin,” I said flatly, suddenly very awake. “What the fuck am I looking at.”
“She’s drunk,” he said quickly. “Likedrunk, drunk, Si.”
One of the men next to her leaned in, his mouth brushing the skin on her neck. Her reaction was inviting, but too sluggish. It was clear to anyone with eyes that she waswaypast her limit.
My anger had become palpable as it pulsed under my skin. “Get her out of there. Now.” I growled.
“I tried that already,” he replied, his tone suddenly short. “She can barely stand. andit doesn't help thatshe has no idea who I am. She thinks I’m just some dude trying to steal her fun.”
I watched as the man on her right slid his hand to her waist. I don’t remember starting to yell, but my throat suddenly burned, and Kyrin was shouting my name through the phone as I grabbed my mask off the wall and headed downstairs. Throwing the keys at the bartender, I called out to him. “Yourun everything until I’m back,” I barked, already moving out the door.
Bringing my eyes back down to my brother, my voice dropped low. “Dowhateveryou have to do to get her out of that situation. If you allow any of them to touch her more than they already have, I will kill them in front of everyone.” With that, I shoved my phone into my pocket.
The evening air hit me like a slap as I tore across the lot. One second, I heard my tires burning, and then everything blurred. When I finally slammed to a stop, Kyrin was already outside waiting for me. I closed my car door and listened as he began explaining everything. Turns out Ember had shown up already close to drunk and her mind set on making trouble. She had given quite a hassle to the bartender and most men that approached her.
I heard her before I could see her—the sound, a feral scream, followed by banging. Approaching the door it was coming from, I looked over at my brother. “You locked her in asupply closet?”
“Look,” he explained, his hands raised in the air. “I was able to convince her friend that she left with some guy. She was fine with it, but then a couple of men showed up and started asking questions. Apparently, they were her roommates. It was the only way to keep her contained until you got here.”
His words replayed in my mind as I stared at the wooden door.She lived with other men?Knox failed to mention that.
The door handle jiggled before a barrage of bangs followed.Kyrin listened for a moment and then continued, “I’ll handle them and give you time to get her home.”
Pulling my mask from my back pocket, I put it on as the familiar weight settled over my face. When I opened the door, she must’ve recognized me because she began to fight harder. In those first few moments, it took everything I had to hold her without hurting her. After a few minutes of her constant struggle, it was clear I’d have to restrain her to get her into the car. Just as I started to think about the best way to move her, Kyrin reappeared at my side. We both just stood there, watching her flail around like a wounded animal.
I moved my eyes to him and immediately knew he had followed my thought process. Blowing out a small breath, he nodded. “I guess I’ll go get the side exit ready.”
While he was gone, I managed to stifle her movements with one arm before shimmying out of my jacket. Deciding to throw her over my shoulder for the second time, I used the jacket as a wrap to cover her bottom half. “Knock it off Ember, or someone is going to see up your skirt.”
“So what if they d-do?” she hiccupped, her words slow and slurred. “As long as it's not you, you big stupid i-idiot.”
“Yeah,I’mthe idiot.” I replied, adjusting her weight on my shoulder.
