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The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I could feel the tension behind me. Seth’s gaze hardened, and Braden turned around to face who I assumed was Finn.
“You could still fight, Emerson,” Finn goaded. “I’m sure I have some fighters who’d love to get a piece of you.”
Heart racing, I grabbed Braden’s arm before he could take a step toward Finn. “Braden, no.”
Braden kept his lethal stare on Finn. “Why not you? Or do you not know how to fight? You obviously don’t if you have to hire men to do it for you.”
Seth moved in between them just as Nikolai watched on in utter fascination. I glanced over at the bartender making my drink and noticed something slip from his hand when he slid the piece of lime on the rim. It was quick, but I knew he had put something in my drink.
“What did you just do?” I ordered.
The bartender’s head snapped up, and he reached for the glass, but I beat him to it, snatching it away. I stepped away from the bar, putting as much space between me and the guy as possible. By now, the whole room had gone silent. Braden and Seth stared at me and then down at the drink in my hands.
“What happened?” Braden demanded.
I nodded at the bartender. “He put something in my drink. I saw him do it.”
With sweat beading on his forehead, the bartender snarled at me. “You’re such a lying cunt.” Braden stormed off behind the bar and grabbed the guy’s neck, slamming his face so hard on the bar counter that his nose broke and blood poured down the guy’s face.
“You sorry sack of shit!” Braden thundered. “If you didn’t do anything to her drink, you’ll have no problems drinking it.”
Seth reached for my glass and held it up to the light, studying the liquid to see if he saw anything. Whatever the bartender had put in it had dissolved quickly.
“Emerson’s right, Devon,” Seth agreed. “If you don’t speak up, we’ll just force it down your throat.”
Braden tightened his grip on Devon’s neck, jerking it so far back I was surprised it didn’t break. “Answer him!” he shouted. “Or I swear to God I’ll snap your neck right here and now.”
Finn came to my side as I watched on in horror. Then, with the drink in Seth’s hand, he walked around to the other side of the bar to join Braden. “You have two seconds, Devon. Tell me what you put in Reagan’s drink. One …”
Devon closed his lips tightly, his body defiant. Seth glanced over at me and motioned for Benny to join him and Braden. Seth didn’t even have to count to two; Devon wasn’t giving in. Benny took his place on the other side of Devon and grabbed his face with such force as he pried his mouth open. Braden used his strength to hold Devon still as Seth poured the entire gin and tonic down Devon’s throat. Devon tried to spit it out, but Braden held his head back while Benny forced his mouth closed.
The drink went down, and Braden slammed Devon’s head on the counter again, stepping out of the way when Devon fell to the floor. Devon pushed his fingers into his mouth to gag and threw up everywhere.
Finn grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back. “You don’t need to see that.”
Everything happened so fast. It was chaos as people ran to see what was going on. Eyes burning like fire, Braden stormed through the crowd of people toward Finn and me. I knew what he would do before he even reared his arm back. He punched Finn so hard that the impact echoed over the screams in the room.
Finn’s arms gave way, and Braden jerked me toward him. “The cocksucker’s fucking dead, Reagan. It was poison,” he seethed.
“I want to see,” I demanded, jerking away from him. I leaned over the bar counter, and there on the floor was Devon, his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling with foam coming out of his mouth.
Seth pulled me away. “We have to get you and Braden out of here. It’s not safe.”
His words sounded like gibberish in my ears. If I hadn’t seen what Devon did, I’d be dead. Seth stepped in front of me, his hazel eyes wild. “Reagan, snap out of it. We have to go.”
I focused on Braden just in time to see Finn punch him, his head snapping to the side. Braden was about to go on the counterattack when Seth jerked him back, and Finn’s men did the same to him, both men struggling against their restraints.
Jumping in front of Braden, I cupped his cheeks in an effort to calm him down a little. “Hey, hey, hey, that’s enough. We have to go.Now.”
Seth pushed Braden toward the exit and I took his hand, leading him as fast and far away from Finn as possible. Once in the parking garage, Braden and I hopped in Seth’s backseat, and he sped away. All I could hear was the thundering pulse in my ears. It felt like it was climbing up my throat, choking me. Braden was so angry that I could feel the intenseness of it surrounding me.
“Why would Devon poison me?” I asked Seth.
He sighed. “He wouldn’t have done it on his own. Someone wanted him to.”
There was only one person I could think of who’d want me out of the way. “Annika,” I said. “If she wants Braden, she has to get me out of the way.”
Seth glanced back at Braden and me. “It’s a high possibility, but now you have even bigger problems. Finn isn’t going to let this go.”
