“Stop! You’re going to hurt someone, Bri. Just stop and we can talk.”
Snorting, she freezes and locks eyes with me. The girl who worked here, the same one I spent a single night with, doesn’t even look human. She looks like something has possessed her body and taken over. “You don’t get to decide to discard me. I know you’ve been following that little baker’s tart around!”
Fear slithers through my body. She’s been following Mila? Orwatching me enough that she knows I’ve been spending time with her?
“Don’t you fucking dare go near her,” I warn. I will end her if she harms a single hair on Mila’s head.
“You don’t control me, Kash!”
Lunging forward, I stretch my arm to grab the bat. She’s mid swing again, and it catches me in the side.Fuck, that hurts.Ignoring the pain, I yank it from her hands. “Enough!” I roar.
Looking behind her, I see the blue and red flashing lights. Finally. “It’s over, Bri. You need help.”
“Fuck you, Kash,” she spits.
“In here!” I shout, tossing the bat to the side. We have cameras in the shop, and I’ll be turning over the footage, but even I know how it’ll look if the cops come in and I’m holding a bat.
Bri seizes that opportunity to lunge at me, and I try to hold her off without hurting her. As pissed as I am, I would never forgive myself if I hurt her.
The police rush into the lobby as she’s screaming and clawing at me. Her scratches are no doubt drawing blood. If it wasn’t for her shouting that she hates me and wants me to die, they’d probably think I was the one attacking her.
When they finally pull her off me and cuff her, I’m relieved to see Cassie is one of the officers. Thank fuck. She knows what I’ve dealt with.
“You good, Kash?” She looks over at me. Her eyes take in the shop briefly before she turns her gaze on me. “I thought you said your shop was nice,” she quips.
Shaking my head, I shoot her a look. “It used to be.” God, this is going to take so much to fix. As I take in the destruction of our shop, an officer reads Bri her rights, ignoring the way she yells.
How am I going to explain this to the guys? We’ll have to close up the shop. I can’t even imagine how much it’s all going to cost to fix. We have insurance, but who knows if it covers pissed-off one-night stands?
Cassie comes closer to assess me and shakes her head. “You know we’re going to need a statement, right?”
Sighing, I nod. “Yeah. You want to come with me while I grab the footage? We have cameras, and well, there’s a show out back you’ll probably want to see too.”
“It’ll be okay, Kash. She’ll be put away for a while.”
Sighing, I feel like the world’s dumbest bastard when I tell her, “She needs help, Cas. If I have a say, can I request counseling or an inpatient place instead of jail? Bri might act mean and tough, but she’s not.”
Heading toward the office, she falls into step next to me. “I can’t make any promises, Kash, but we can talk to the DA.”
Grabbing a hold of my side, I wince. Taking in the destruction around the shop again, I remember Seth was outside with me.Where the hell did he and Rhett go?
As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one getting fucked by the universe. Cora and Atlas were thrown yet another curveball that our entire family unit felt the blow of. Cora may be Atlas’ girl, but she’s like our little sister.
Atlas hasn’t left her side at the hospital, and it’s for the best. He had the genius idea to move into her place, freeing up his. I offered to take over the lease. Bri was over one time, but now there’s a black cloud hanging over my apartment. I’m sad to not be neighbors with Cassie anymore, but his place is a bit bigger with a second bedroom, and of course, Bri has no idea where it is. We’re going to be closed forat least a month or so, and I’ve been in and out of the police station talking with Cassie and the DA.
It took a while, and some arguing with the guys, but I finally convinced them to agree to an inpatient facility for her over jail. The DA thought I was stupid, and yeah, maybe I am, but I think Bri just needs help, and she won’t get it in jail. Not properly anyway.
I just hope we can all get back to normal. I miss my girl.
Chapter Fourteen
Mila
“Joelle, I’ll be back later. I really need to fix this damn sink. You good until Mara gets back?”
“Yep.” She nods, her ponytail bobbing. “I’m good. Just hope you don’t break it.”
Laughing, I head up the stairs to my apartment. Cora’s been home now for a while, and Atlas is taking care of her. They got engaged at Christmas, and while it’s not my place to judge, a part of me worries for her. The other part is secretly happy for her. My best friend came through hell and now has the love and devotion that so many people can only hope to experience. They had a misunderstanding at Thanksgiving, and then she was attacked. I’m glad it’s all over.
