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“Or what, baby? You’re going to stop me?”
“She won’t, but I will,” the second asshole says as he breaks the grip on my arm and swings his fist, connecting squarely on the first guy’s jaw.
His head snaps back. “The fuck?!” he yells, his nostrils flaring, and his chest heaving.
Charging forward, he knocks the guy to the floor, and starts punching him in the face. The sound of knuckles meeting bone and flesh sends chills down my spine, and I start to back away, my eyes wide.
“Hey! Hey!” Alex yells as he comes out from behind the bar. Pulling them apart, he pushes the first asshole back, and two guys come out of nowhere to hold him back from charging forward again.
Backing up, I sit back down at our table, my legs no longer able to support me.
What’s happening? I don’t even know these people, and they started fighting because of me. Over me?
I stare blankly at the table in front of me.
I don’t know how much time passes, or how many swirls of the wood I’ve circled with my eyes, but my drunken haze is broken through by Ally’s voice.
“Hey! Ashley!” Looking up, I blink a few times, and focus in on her concerned eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Sure.” I nod, but I don’t really know.
“I called Jake and told him what happened. He’ll be here soon to pick us up.”
“Great,” I say, my voice sounding dead to my ears.
I think she says something back to me, but my eyes are on the door of the bar that just opened, and Ryan walks in with a deputy in tow, his presence bringing me a comfort I’m not ready to analyze.
Scanning the room, his eyes land on the scene to my right, but then dart around until they meet mine. Even from this distance, I can see him searching my face to see if I’m okay. I’m clearly not.
His jaw tightens, and he tears his eyes away, making his way over to Alex and the two assholes.
“Can we go?” I ask, my eyes following every step Ryan takes, admiring his powerful presence.
“I don’t know. Maybe he needs a statement from you or something,” Ally says.
“I don’t care. I just need to leave.”
“Okay, yeah, sure. Let’s go.”
Standing, we all put our jackets back on, and I keep my head down as we weave our way through the crowd and outside into the cold night. But I don’t feel it. I don’t feel anything, really.
“He’ll be here in a few minutes.”
Remaining quiet, I lean against the wall and close my eyes. Taking a deep breath, the cold air makes it feel like a thousand tiny needles are pricking my lungs, but it does nothing to break my trance.
How did my life become such a shit show?
When the door next to me swings open, I open my eyes and see the deputy that came here with Ryan walking one of the guys out. He pushes him towards his cruiser, and shoves him in the back–handcuffed.
Next, Ryan emerges with the other, and walks him over to his SUV, putting him in the back too. Spotting Ally and Courtney huddled together, his eyes scan the shadows of the building until he finds me. Slamming the door to his SUV shut, he walks towards me, his long legs eating up the distance in a matter of seconds.
I try and look away from him, but his eyes hold mine captive until he’s standing right in front of me.
“Ashley, are you okay?” he asks, and I nod. “Tell me what happened.” His eyes are hard and angry, but full of something else, too.
Swallowing, I try and get my dry throat to work, but I can’t. No words will form.
I’m saved by the rumble of a truck pulling into the parking lot that makes Ryan stiffen, turning towards the source. But when he sees it’s Jake, he relaxes and turns back to me. “Go with Jake. I’ll talk to you later.”
