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I wove through the concertgoers, my eyes scanning for a sober-looking guy with a kind face. Suddenly, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. A cold shiver washed through me.
He’s here. I can feel him watching.It was time to make my move.
To my right was a tall guy with a beard, wearing a plaid shirt. He looked about my age. Cute. Wide shoulders.
“Hey there. I’m Masie.”
He wiggled his brows. “I’m Rick. You always this friendly, Masie?”
I shrugged. “Nope. But I amsuperdrunk, so I guess it just makes me extra friendly tonight.”Reject me. Break my heart. Come on. Do it.
“Can I buy you a water? You look like you could use some hydration. Wouldn’t want you to miss the final band. Earth, Wind, and Banjo is amazing.”
Dangit! A polite one.Where were the rude guys with standards when you needed them?
I sighed and looked around at the crowd. I saw mostly happy people tapping their feet and having fun. This banjo scene wasn’t going to work at all. Much too fun-loving.
“Uh, I’ll be right back,” I lied. “Going to hit the little girls’ room.” I walked away with a slight stagger.
I entered the restroom, berating myself the entire time I stood in line.What am I doing?My plan sucked, and it was time to call it a night. I’d have to find some other way to make it look like I was having a ridiculous self-pity moment so Monty could swoop in and offer a heroic shoulder to cry on.Or run away.
I finished my business and was exiting the restroom when someone slammed into me. I went stumbling back, bouncing off the person behind me and landing on my hands and knees.
“What the fuck?” a female said behind me. Suddenly, someone was grabbing me by the hair, and a fist plowed into my face. Another person kicked me in the ribs, the pain knocking the wind out of me.
I managed to stagger to my feet and face my attackers. Four women were glaring at me, all of them tall and heavyset with the sort of scowls one gets from living a hard life.
I guessed I was wrong about the banjo crowd.
“Getchur ass outta here, bitch, before we rip off your legs,” said the brunette in the middle.
“Take her money first, Berdie,” said the other. “That dumb bitch spilled my beer.” The woman’s shirt was soaked down the front.
Berdie stomped forward, going for my pockets. A crowd had already gathered around us, and someone was yelling for the bouncers.
I pushed her hand away, and she swung, landing a punch on my jaw. My head whipped to one side on impact.
Mothersucker, that hurt.Red dotted my vision as images of being attacked by Ronnie flooded my mind. I would never be a victim like that again.
I lunged at the woman, cranking back my arm and punching her on the side of her head. She dropped to the concrete floor, and I leaped on top, pummeling her. As irrational as it was, in my mind, I saw myself fighting Ronnie that night at the bar after he’d touched me. I should’ve let him have it right then and there. If I had, maybe he would’ve ended up in the hospital instead of me. Maybe Deedee would still be alive. Why hadn’t I fought back harder? Why?
Her arms went up defensively, and then her friends joined in to defend her.
I elbowed one in the stomach, sending her off, but another had my hair again. I twisted my body to swing at her, landing a clean punch.
The woman below me on the floor managed to gain leverage and pushed me off, launching me sideways.
Before I knew it, the four women were on me. People around us started pulling them away, only getting tangled in the fight themselves.
The sound of a loudclap!echoed through the air, and the crowd around me froze.
“Very amusing.” Montgomery Stark stood at the edge of the onlookers, applauding. He wore blue jeans, some kind of vintage brown boots, and a black button-down shirt that showed off his large biceps. With his long dark hair loose around his shoulders, his pale eyes glowed under the venue’s low lights. He definitely stuck out like a sore thumb in this crowd, like a fine museum piece surrounded by the colorful finds of a flea market. “You really are ruthless, Masie.”
Panting and pumped full of adrenaline, I snapped out of my rage. My head swiveled toward the frozen faces and glassy eyes surrounding us. What had he done to them?
He added, “I will still have to kill anyone who touched you.”
“What? No!”
