I nodded. “I’ll be out there in a minute.” Once she left, I dried my eyes and looked in the mirror. I can do this. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door, determined to find Blake and try again. I wasn’t going to give up.

A man stepped in my path and I ran into him. His hands came down on my shoulders, and I wriggled out of them in disgust when I smelled his liquor-reeking breath. He was tall and a little chubby in the midsection, with sandy brown hair and tattoos all up his arms.

“Hello, beautiful,” he said with a crooked smile.

“Sorry, just in a hurry to get back to my friends.”

“No worries. I thought I’d see if you were okay. I noticed you got upset back there with that assfucker.” He took a step forward and I had no choice but to step back. His hazel eyes stared at me as if I was prey; I didn’t like it.

“Yeah, well, he pissed me off. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to find him so I can rip him a new one.”

“Why don’t I help you? I think it could be kind of fun.” At first, I thought he was Tyla’s friend, Sebastian, but there was no way she’d be involved with such a scumbag.

“No, thanks. I can handle my own battles.” I tried to slide past him, but he side-stepped me. “So help me, if you don’t let me by, I’ll spray you with my pepper spray and kick you in the balls. Your choice.” I was ready for a fight. Blake had pissed me off so much, I was floating on adrenaline and needed a way to release my anger. Unfortunately, I didn’t have pepper spray. It was actually just hair spray. It’d burn like a bitch though.

He burst out laughing. “Feisty. I love it. You wanna show me how wild you can get? Just ten minutes with me and you’ll never want to fuck anyone else.”

I reached into my purse and grabbed the spray. “And ten minutes with me will make you unable to fuck anyone ever again.” The second he took another step toward me, I jerked out my spray and let him have it. Shouting in pain, he covered his face, making the path from my foot to his crotch a clear shot. He fell to his knees when I kicked him squarely in the balls.

“You fucking cunt!” he growled, cupping his groin. He rolled back and forth on the ground, moaning in agony.

As I stepped over him, I said, “Maybe next time, you’ll make the right decision.”

Blake ran up to me, then saw the guy on the floor. “What the fuck is going on?”

The room started to spin. Blake grabbed my arm to steady me. “Dumbass over there wouldn’t let me by. He went on and on about fucking me, and some other stupid shit. I told him if he didn’t get out of my way, he’d pay the consequence. He didn’t listen.”

Eyes blazing, he pulled me out of the darkened corner and back to the bar where Tyla sat. When she saw us, she gasped and got to her feet. “What’s going on?”

Blake pushed me into a seat. “Keep her out of the way.”

“Damn, he’s pissed,” the guy beside Tyla said. He had sparkling blue eyes and whitish blond hair.

Tyla put a hand on his shoulder. “Anna, this is Sebastian. We were wondering where you ran off to.”

Before I could reply, all hell broke loose. Blake disappeared to the back and came out, dragging the guy across the floor by his neck.

Wide-eyed, Tyla sat back down. “Oh shit. Did Trent do something to you?”

“He said he wanted to fuck me and then I kicked him in the balls. I thought I handled it just fine.” Everyone stood back and watched as Blake kicked the front door open and pushed Trent outside. “What is he going to do?” I asked, knowing very well what was about to happen.

Sebastian finished his drink and stood. “He’s going to fuck him up. Around here, you don’t mess with another man’s girl.” He started for the door, pushing his way through the crowd.

“Where are you going?” Tyla shouted.

“To keep Evans from killing that worthless bastard.”

Everyone rushed outside, but I didn’t know if I wanted to see. Blake’s eyes had gotten so dark they almost looked inhuman. He was a dangerous man, a man who had killed people before. I was afraid to know what all he’d be capable of.

Blake

Singleton wiped the blood from his lip and laughed. “How does it feel to know I touched your girl? Serves you right for messing with mine.”

His hands on her was all I could fucking see in my mind. I poked my finger as hard as I could against his chest. “Touch her again and see what I do.” Turning on my heel, I walked away. I’d dragged him outside to kick his ass, but he wasn’t even worth it. I was about to walk inside the bar when he stopped me with his chuckle.

“That bitch would’ve loved it,” he chided. “I can just imagine, lifting that little dress of hers and fucking her raw. I think I’ll go for it next time, she doesn’t know how good she could have it.”

Everything inside me snapped. I wanted to be the bigger man and walk away, but I couldn’t. Instead, I tackled him to the ground, pounding my fists into his face. Blood spurt out of his nose, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to pay, to get it through his fucking head he was never going to touch her again.

“Evans, stop!” a voice yelled. Three pairs of hands pried me away. Tyla’s friend, Sebastian, let me go. “What the fuck? Are you trying to kill him?”

“No, but he’s going to wish I did.” Mitch, Liam, and Michael all kept a hold of my arms while Singleton laid on the ground, whimpering. I backed away willingly, allowing Trent’s friends to check on him.

“He’s okay,” Jacob shouted, helping Trent to his feet. He was one of Trent’s friends and the same size as me, but he didn’t dare intervene. It was because everyone knew Singleton was a fucking douche. Jacob helped Trent into the car and they sped away. As soon as they were gone, it was like nothing ever happened. Everyone went back into the bar, except my friends.

“At least you took it outside,” Mitch laughed.

The other guys laughed too, but it was no joking matter. I hated guys like Singleton. He was lucky I didn’t kill him. He needed to be taught a lesson.

Making my way inside, I barreled into the bathroom to wash up. Hadley didn’t need to see me all messed up. I hissed as the soap burned my busted skin, but I scrubbed my hands clean anyway. Closing my eyes, I splashed the cold water onto my face and leaned against the sink. My adrenaline was too high. All I could hear was the pounding of my pulse in my ear; until the door opened that was, and then I heard her voice.

“Are you okay?” I didn’t have to see her face to know she was pissed.

I glanced up at her reflection in the mirror, her arms were crossed, lips set in a firm line. “I’m fine. You ready to go?”

“Past ready.” Turning on her heel, she tore the door open and stalked out.

When I followed her out, Tyla stood just outside and patted my arm apologetically. “Good luck.”

I watched Hadley march to the front door. “Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”

We walked in silence to the truck, but I knew the lashing was about to commence. And sure enough, as soon as we were on the road back, she started full force.

“Was kicking his ass necessary? I had already handled the situation.”

“He was hoping you’d fuck him, Hadley. He targeted you on purpose.”

“Who cares? I wouldn’t let his dick get near my worst enemy. I was perfectly fine.”

“How do you know?” I shouted, turning a serious glare her way. “What if he pushed you into the bathroom and raped you? Do you think you would’ve been fine then? He said he would try you again. I had to make sure he wouldn’t.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. The rest of the ride home was silent, but it at least looked like she understood my reasoning, maybe. She was a female, so probably not, but I hoped for the best.