AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Victory, I thought, half-hysterical as Liam looked around, his face a combination of shock and horror as he watched me. His grip tightened on my arm. “What are you doing?” he asked again.
Bending my knees, I swapped into my best version of the YMCA, sending even more club-goers scattering as my limbs flailed around us. This time laughter did bubble up and out of my chest.
“Okay, you are done. Let’s go.” A pair of strong arms hefted me up and over a rock hard shoulder. Then I saw nothing but a black shirt and the delightful pair of butt cheeks that signaled that Liam had thrown me over his shoulder. I planted my hands and lifted up. I could barely see the bright lights of the exit sign.
Thank the Lord, we were leaving. I let my body go limp again, careful to not let my hands wander any farther south than the small of his back. I heard a series of thumps that appeared to be doors being thrown open as we passed through a gray-lit kitchen area and out into the blessedly cool evening air. With an unceremonious grunt, Liam hefted me back over his shoulder, the world a blur of brick and starry sky as he plopped me down on my heels once more.
“Thank you,” I said, smoothing my skirt and gathering as much dignity as I had left. And honestly, I was feeling less than optimistic that I could handle another verbal bout at this point in the night.
Liam glared at me. Smoke would’ve curled from those nostrils if given the chance. Distantly I heard another man’s voice—Ian, I thought—say something as footsteps announced he was going to get the car.
“What the hell was that? Are you insane?”
“I don't think you get it. I will do whatever it takes to keep you out of trouble, Liam. Even if that means looking a little stupid on a dance floor,” I said. I would do whatever it took to keep this job was what I meant, and he knew it. His eyes narrowed further.
“So you’d rather act like a complete idiot in front of all my friends, in the middle of my club, than talk to me like a civil human being? My dad made a mistake hiring you, clearly. You’re a joke.”
I laughed, the sound harsh. “Those people are not your friends, Liam. They are witnesses, waiting with bated breath for the next time you fuck something up.” My fingers shook as I pressed my clutch against my belly. “At least your father wants to see you get better. At least he’s trying, instead of acting like a giant baby and hiding out at a club when he could be doing something better for his family.”
I turned to storm off, white-hot fury flooding my bloodstream as I did. Stupid tears filled my eyes. I wasn’t very good at making big declarations and walking away, but I couldn’t stand to have Liam growl at me a moment longer.
My legs were wobbly, my high heels painful, but dammit, I wasn’t staying around a moment longer. I set my eyes on the line of ride-share cars lining the alleyway fifty feet away and ignored everything else.
That is, until my legs flew out from underneath me and that pavement came flying up to meet me. One moment I was striding away, trying to keep my shit together. The next I was tipping precariously toward the uneven curb. My hands squabbled into the air, looking for anything to hold on to, to stop gravity’s inevitable drag to the pavement.
There was nothing.
And the next thing I knew, I was scraping along the ground, the loose gravel–lined pavement digging painfully into my legs as my ankle sent sharp shooting pain up my calf.
