Page 74 of One Reckless Moment

Micah Shaw was gorgeous with ebony black hair and high cheekbones. Everything about her—from her nose piercings to her arm sleeve tattoos—screamed don’t fuck with me. What I was not prepared to see was my dark queen of a best friend dolled up in all pink with a bouncy, curly ponytail and pink glossy lipstick.

She looked both friendlier and more intimidating than normal. It was like a superpower.

“I’ve taken so many photos of her tonight. She’s going to hate it,” Taylor said from across the table.

I glanced back over at Micah and saw her face drop as a guy approached her. Micah could hold her own and was in a long-term relationship, but I still felt like I should step in to help her—or maybe stop her from breaking the poor guy’s nose. I rose from my seat and slowly moved to the bar.

“Everything okay over here?” I asked as I approached my friend.

“Yeah, I was just telling Kyle here that if he tries to touch me he’ll lose a few fingers.” Micah smiled sweetly. Her tone was dripping in venom in the type of way a poisonous plant would draw you in with their beauty before they killed you.

I winced. “I’d believe her, dude, her boyfriend is special forces and he’s taught her a thing or two.”

The guy’s eyes went wide as he started backing away.

“Yeah, I’m very good with a knife. You don’t need your balls to live, right?” Micah flipped her hair over her shoulder and winked at him.

He shuffled away like he was on fire. She turned back to me and nudged my shoulder.

“Thanks, babe.”

“Anytime.” I giggled.

Micah leaned over the bar and ordered another round before we made our way back over to the table. We placed our drinks down when a group of girls on the dance floor caught my attention. They were all staring at me and whispering to each other. By the third time they pointed, I let the irritation take over.

I casually shifted to face them and placed my hands on my hips.

“Do you have a problem?” I shouted at them.

“Nope,” one of the girls said with confidence, as the others continued murmuring.

I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore them.

“We just were curious…” I heard behind my back. “How does it feel pinning down the slut of the town?”

“Now that you’re married, does that mean we don’t get to play with him anymore?”

I took a deep breath—I refused to let these petty girls bully me into a response.

One of the girls burst into laughter. “I can’t believe she is the one Cash finally broke his no-relationship rule for. He’ll be done with her soon enough.”

“Honestly, we dodged a bullet. He’s a loser with no real future anyway. He deserved what his parents did to him.”

That was the last straw. I whirled around and marched up to the dumb bitch who kept running her mouth. I slapped the drink right out of her hand, letting it splash on her face before the glass shattered on the floor.

“Say it again to my face, bitch,” I spat.

“How fucking dare you!” she shouted as she looked down at her stained top.

“How dare you!” I shouted back. “That’s my fucking husband you’re talking about. You want to insult me? Whatever. But you will not let his name escape your lips again.”

“What are you going to do about it?” She shoved my shoulder.

“Bitch—” I lunged forward just as a strong, familiar, arm wrapped around my waist.

“Let her go, Pip,” Cash whispered into my ear.

Goose bumps erupted down my neck at the sound of his voice.