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“Did ya kill it?” Evie takes it from my hand and stares at it with wide, excited eyes.
“With my bare hands.” I shrug like it ain’t a big deal, but I can tell that her and her Momma are impressed by the look on their faces. “I kept it to remind me to always be on my guard. You wanna trade?”
“Thank you, mister.” She smiles at it proudly as she takes it from my hand.
“No. Thank you, Evie Lauren Parker.” I ruffle her hair before heading off the plane. The rehearsal dinner will have started by now. The nerves of what I’m about to do build up with all my anger as I make my way through arrivals and jump in a cab. I give the driver the address that Garrett messaged me from his and Maisie’s invitation and twisting my new lucky charm on my wrist, I hope it fuckin’ works.
“You look worried,” Daniel whispers as he pulls out my chair for me to take a seat at the top table in between our parents.
“Just overwhelmed.” I look at all the people sitting in front of us, most of whom I hardly know, and suddenly I feel very sick.
“Crazy, right? Your mom should be an event organizer.” He kisses my cheek and I sip my champagne when his father takes to his feet ready to make a speech.
I feel like a fraud as I listen to him welcome me to their family, telling everyone in the room how lucky his son is to have me become his wife. Daniel squeezes my hand under the table as he listens with a proud smile on his face, and when he cracks another joke and the laughter from our guests fade, I swear I’m goin’ crazy when I hear Cole’s voice call across the room.
“Red!” His low throaty growl comes from the back. I look in the same direction and see him standing between two of the huge marble pillars, and I wonder if my eyes are playing tricks on me too.
He looks out of place among everyone else who has adorned the black-tie dress code that was on the invitation. Instead, he’s wearing dirty jeans, cowboy boots, and the black shirt that clings to his muscles and is really comfortable to sleep in.
“What’s he doing here?” Daniel stands up as Cole starts marching toward our table. His eyes are murderous and focused on Daniel, and I realize my mind isn’t making this up. Cole Carson is here in LA, all flesh and red-hot blood in front of me.
“Cole?” I whisper his name and hear the whole room gasp when he grabs Daniel by his collar and pulls him across the table, tossing him on the floor and pressing his boot into his throat.
“You're real lucky you got a room full of witnesses stoppin’ me from killin’ ya,” he growls at him under his breath.
“What is this? Someone call the police.” His father rushes around the front of the table to try and aid his son, and more gasps come from the room when two men wearing Dirty Soul leather cuts storm out from the kitchen and pick Daniel up from the floor by his arms. The Native American guy, with long dark hair has no expression on his face as he hands off Daniel’s father, during his attempt to stop them.
“I’d hold off on making that call if I were you,” Cole warns him, nodding his head at the two Souls who immediately drag Daniel back to the kitchen with them. Daniel’s father, Jerry, follows them, ranting all the way while Daniel’s Mom watches on, frozen to her seat in horror.
“What’s going on?” My father stands up, looking furious.
“Good question.” I stare at Cole and shake my head in disbelief.
He’s looking at me in a way I’ve never seen before, all the anger and tension have gone from his eyes, and there’s a softness to them I recognize from when he’d make love to me.
“I can’t let you marry that son of a bitch.” He leaps over the table like he’s jumpin’ a cattle stall and puts himself in front of me.
“Excuse me, but you can’t just walk in here and… where are they taking him?” My father steps in front of me protectively,and Cole pays him no attention as he shoves him back out the way so he can focus on me with those deep, dark eyes that never fail to make me go weak.
“Cole, now’s not the time,” I protest, trying my best not to cry. How dare he do this? This man has played with my emotions too many times.
“You can’t marry him, Red,” Cole whispers as he shakes his head and when he reaches out for my hand, I pull back.
“You can’t do this here,” I whisper back at him. I’m too scared to even imagine how my mom must be reacting to this, let alone look at her.
“It was him. Daniel. He arranged everything that happened to you,” he explains, and suddenly my legs feel like they’re gonna buckle.
“No.” I don’t know what kind of shit he thinks he’s pulling but this has gone too far.
“Yes, Savannah, he represented the kid while he was in town, that's how they met. I got all the evidence to prove it. You can’t marry him, Savannah,” he repeats.
“Daniel wouldn’t… He loves me.”
“A man does crazy shit when he’s in love. You're about to see that for yourself.” He smiles at me before hopping up on to the table and leaving dirty boot prints all over the pristine white cloth. The whispered voices in the room fall completely silent when he clears his throat like he’s going to say something, and I stare up at him and wonder what the hell’s comin’ next.
“I ain’t one for making speeches, but there’s something I came a long way to say.”
“Cole, get down right now.” I tug at his jeans when I feel my cheeks heat and my heart start thudding in my chest.
