Luckily for me, he had been drinking enough that the power in his punch was dulled down quite a bit, regardless, my vision swam and between the fear and pain—the battle with my stomach was instantly lost. I lurched forward and spewed every ounce of Long Island Ice Tea I had consumed tonight, along with my dinner, all over that stupid cowboy.
Shock held him still and even though he was covered in my vomit, Zac, coming from behind, grabs a hold of him and started pulling him through the room. I lost sight of them when Nate stepped in front of me and gently tipped my head up. He gives me a quick look, his face stone-cold serious. An expression rarely seen on his carefree face. Seeing this version of Nate jumpstarts the reality of just how serious this situation could have become.
“Come on, Megan, let’s go get you cleaned up before the cops get here. ”
“Cops?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah, babe. You’re going to have to give them a few minutes. No way is that douchebag going to get away with trying to force his hand with you. ”
“What?”
“Megan, are you okay? Jesus Nate, give her your shirt or something. ” Dani rushes around her brother and I feel her messing with my dress. When I look down I almost throw up again. The whole top of my dress is torn and hanging by my hips. “Your back is red. Did he touch your back?”
I shake my head to tell her it was just when the chain snapped but no words come out. I’m too mortified that my dress malfunction had me exposed during my struggle.
“I saw him pull against the top of her dress. When the back ripped I think it snapped against her,” Nate snaps, his tone hard. He’s holding on to his anger by a thread.
“What?” she questions.
They stop talking and I feel fabric being pulled over my head.
“Megan, he was taking you to the exit. ”
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I blanch at Nate’s words and his eyes widen as I bend forward and lose the rest of my stomach across his shoes.
Between Nate, Zac and Dani, they have me cleaned up and sitting on the couch in the owner’s office. Dani hasn’t let go of my hand since she sat down next to me. Zac has been off and on the phone since we got in here, standing over in the far corner I can’t hear his words, but given that he keeps looking at Dani I think it’s safe to bet there will be a very unhappy husband on his way.
I look around the room and try to take my mind off the officer’s voice as he questions Nate. It’s a nice, clean office, but my skin is still crawling thinking about what could have happened if that man had gotten me out the back door.
I feel dirty.
Not to mention my head is pounding.
“Are you sure she doesn’t need EMS to take a look at her?” The officer asks Nate for the tenth time.
I shake my head and hold even tighter to Dani’s hand. Nate looks over and gives me a small smile.
“She says no and I’m not about to give her more stress than she needs by forcing it. We’ll make sure she’s okay. ”
I glance up and smile weakly at Nate. He gives me a small nod before looking back at the officer. They continue to talk for a few minutes and I zone out. It’s been a long time since I felt that helpless rush of fear like I did earlier. The memories that his touch had brought forth are still sticking to my skin. As I think about his hands against my arms, my breathing starts to come rapidly and I feel Dani squeeze my hand.
“It’s okay, Megs. It’s okay. ”
I’m not sure who she is reassuring, me or her but I can’t form words to respond.
“Where the fuck is my wife?”
I look up at Dani when I hear Cohen’s voice thick with rage coming from the hallway. She gives me a small smile and waves at Nate to sit down. I watch as she climbs off the couch and walks over to the office door. When she throws it open Cohen comes rushing through and doesn’t stop as his body plows right into Dani. She wraps her arms around him and holds tight as he picks her right off the floor and keeps walking into the room. His head dips into her neck and I can hear him mumbling to her. I tear my eyes away from the intimacy of their connection and turn my head back to the door.
Or I would have looked at the door had there not been a pair of thick thighs covered in dark pants blocking my view. I follow the path of the perfectly pressed material, over the belt—carefully skimming over the gun held at the owner of those thighs and hips—up the trail of buttons on his uniform shirt, until I get to the lightly tan skin on his neck. When I continue my journey I’m met with the dark brown, angry and deeply concerned eyes of Liam Beckett.
He turns his head—his eyes never leaving mine—and says something to Nate. I hear them talk, but I understand not one word out of their mouths. Shock holding me stupid at the sight of Liam. Until the other officer we had been dealing with sticks his ass into their conversation. I lose Liam’s eyes when his head snaps over to where the officer is standing.
“Excuse me?”
“Real lucky we got him, Lee. This guy has got a hell of a lot of people looking for him. Nasty guy. Usually he uses drugs to get his women, but he grabbed her right off the floor. Pretty sure he would have—”
Liam’s growl shuts him up, “I would stop talking now, McKnight. Remember where you are when you start speaking freely. ” He looks back down at me, his dark eyes going from every inch of my face before he takes me in sitting there wearing Nate’s huge shirt. “Are you hurt?”
I go to speak, but again no words come out.
“Where the fuck is that bitch? She fucking wanted it. Was all over my dick. ” I hear coming from the hallway and look up right in time to see the jerk from earlier push off two cops standing inside the office and lunge forward, toward me.
Liam moves, stepping in front of me. Mr. Cowboy doesn’t make it far, but his words come flying back and that panic from earlier rushes back to the surface.
“Shit, Megan!”
I hear Dani, but my fear is all-consuming and before I can beat it back, my vision starts to blacken and I sway on the couch.
“SHIT, MEGAN!”
I whip my head around and watch as all the color drains from her face. I bark at my partner, Daniels, and don’t even wait to make sure they have the douchebag secured. I dip, push one arm under Megan’s legs and one behind her back, pulling her into my arms and turning to walk toward the door in the back corner of the office. We’ve been called to this club enough that we’re familiar with the layout of the place. Nate jumps and follows my lead, opening the door to the large bathroom.
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“Shut the door,” I tell him and wait to hear the click of the door.
“Okay, it’s shut,” Nate says.
I turn toward him and give him a look that would cause most men to piss themselves. Nate just holds his hands up.
“Well, fucking excuse me. It’s been a long night. You could have said shut the door behind you. And maybe said please,” he adds as an afterthought.
“Get. The fuck. Out. ” I snarl in a deadly serious voice.
Once again, Nate tosses his hands up, the white shirt he had under the one Megan’s wearing, stretching against his broad shoulders.
I don’t turn my gaze from the door until long after Nate had pulled it closed, this time with him on the other side of it. I can feel my breathing coming rapidly and despite the fact that I know I need to calm down before I take care of Megan, I can’t seem to ease the fear that I have had since I got the call from Zac. When her small hand reaches up and presses lightly against my chest, I take a deep breath, and let the calm of her touch seep through my skin. Even through my vest, I can feel her touch like a branding burn to my skin.
Turning I look deep into her eyes, careful to keep my anxiety from being seen. She looks up at me, her brown eyes assessing and roaming over my face. I can tell she’s trying to place my emotions and it’s not something I want to add to her plate. She doesn’t need my shit to add to what she must be feeli
ng after almost being taken by a known rapist.
“You okay, Megs?”
“It’s Megan,” she mumbles.
I close my eyes and drop my head until my forehead is resting against hers. “You’re okay,” I breathe out in a rush, my body relaxing instantly.
Her body jerks in my arms, but I don’t move. When I open my eyes and meet her gaze, her gasp tells me that I’m doing a shit job at hiding my feelings right now.
“Not a call I like getting, darlin'. Scared me to my core. ”
She pushes at my chest with my words and I wait a beat before dropping her slowly to her feet. I don’t move my body away from hers; instead I wrap my arms around her and pull her as close as I can get her with my belt in the way. She struggles, not against my hold, but with where to put her arms. Finally settling with just letting them hang at her sides. I hate that she won’t take some strength from me. Dipping my head, I press my mouth against her neck, smiling when I feel her shudder. I don’t speak, but when I take a deep breath, pushing the air out in a rush, she shivers again in my hold.
“You’ve been avoiding me, Megs. I don’t like it. ”
“It’s Megan. ”
I laugh softly, “Yeah, baby. ”
I don’t speak again, just continue to hold her while she shifts awkwardly. Finally with no other option, her arms come up from hanging limply at her sides and wrap loosely around me. My belt digs into her abdomen and I curse the fucking thing for keeping us apart. We don’t speak and it takes a few seconds before she pushes against my hold, giving her the space she needs to drop her arms back down to her sides.
I take another deep breath and allow her to fully pull away. Her arms instantly shoot up and wrap around herself in a protective stance that makes my relief from just seconds before vanish instantly.
“This ends now,” I state.
“What does?”
“The games, baby. No more avoiding me. ”
I bend, pressing my lips against hers, but don’t move to deepen the kiss. When I back away, I move my hand and lightly caress the marks that asshole left against her pale skin. They aren’t going to bruise, but they’re fresh enough that I can still see the impression of his fucking thumb and just that mark alone has me wanting to charge through the club to put a bullet through his skull.
“He touched you. ”
“I’m okay, Liam. ”
Dipping my head, I move until my eyes are level with hers.
“Not yet, but you will be,” I tell her.
I give her another kiss, this time I linger, letting her feel what I wish I could say without spooking her further. When I pull back, I study her eyes before turning and walking to the door. I give her another glance over my shoulder, her eyes wide and her body soft, no longer holding herself in a protective move. With a wink, I turn the knob and walk through the door.
“MOLLY, BABY?” I CALL DOWN the hall toward her room, sighing when I don’t get a response. “Molly?”
“Yeah!” she screams, running around the corner and crashing into me with a giggle. I wince when her arms reach up and touch the soreness on my arms. Luckily she misses it and with a bounce jumps back to smile up at me.
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“What have you been doing in there, baby?” I ask and run my hand through her soft blonde curls.
“Playing,” she says with a smile.
“Playing what?”
“G. I Joes. Mr. Reid told me all the tough guys are Joes. He said so. He wouldn’t play with my Barbie’s, only with the Joes. ”
I laugh at the thought of big bad Axel Reid playing with anything close to dolls. “Did he, now?”
“Yup! I gotta go!” She turns and runs back to her room before I can even form another word, let alone ask her if she wants pizza for dinner. It’s our Sunday night ritual to have a pizza and a movie date, but after her sleepover with the Reid’s, I’m sure she’s going to be ready to crash early.
After the night I had last night—the one I still feel with every move I make—I’m just too tired to think about cooking. Dani and Cohen dropped me off in the wee hours this morning after we finished up at the club. I waved off their concern and they left worried, but I needed to be alone. The first thing I did was take the hottest shower that I could stand. Then after a few pain pills, I crashed and the only thoughts that had filtered through my mind were ones of Liam.
I walk back to the kitchen and allow a smile to form when I think about this morning when I went to pick up Molly, despite her whines to stay with Mr. Reid.
I wasn’t the only one that thought it was hilarious that my five-year-old daughter had wrapped him around her small finger. Izzy couldn’t stop laughing. She answered the door with a small giggle and told me to follow her. When I found Molly running a brush through Axel’s hair, I joined Izzy in her laughter. Apparently, my daughter had been giving him a make-over for a good hour before I got there. When he turned, red lips and pink blush were all over his face, and he gave me a wink.
“If you think that’s funny, wait until you see Nate,” Izzy laughed in a hushed whisper.
“Where’s Owen?” I question, looking past my smiling daughter.
“Oh, Dani and Cohen were back before the sun was even up to pick him up. I’m shocked they lasted as long as they did,” Izzy says with a smile.
“I didn’t even have the door all the way open before Cohen was pushing his way in and snatching my boy back,” Axel adds on a grumble from the floor.
“This way,” Molly sings before putting each of her tiny hands on both of Axel’s cheeks and turning his head back toward her. “Do this,” she demands and smacks her lips together. “It’s not big enough,” she mumbles and I laugh when she picks up the lipstick tube.
“Baby, I’m not so sure Mr. Reid will think that is his color. ”
My face reddens when I think about the burden she’s been on them. Molly has always been a child that loves easily and loves big, but usually she’s shy around men. She had just turned two when Jack passed away and it’s always been just the occasional babysitter until Dani’s parents started keeping her. Of course, she knows and loves Cohen and Chance, but even that took her months to warm up to them. It shouldn’t be a shock that she instantly connected to Dani’s father, the older she gets the more curious she has become, and she has recently been asking more and more about Jack. My heart squeezes when I think about all the things she’s missed out on.
“Of course it is, right Molly-wolly?” Axel booms. His voice literally vibrates through the room.
“Get ready for it,” Izzy strangely says and I turn to look at her only to have my confusion intensify when she just smirks.
“Where, oh where, is the Princess of Pretty? Oh, Princess! I’m in the need of your magic for I have lost my way! There’s no time to waste! The ball is in minutes, no seconds!”
My jaw drops. Eyes widen. And I have to work to keep the hilarity of this moment from bubbling out.
If I thought Axel boomed earlier I was wrong. Because skipping—skipping on his toes—comes Dani’s older brother, Nate Reid, his voice vibrating through their large living room. All six-foot-something of his muscular frame with a sheet wrapped around his hips as a makeshift dress, and tank top flipped up and folded between his huge pecs to make some sort of weird bra. His make-up is even heavier than his father’s, his green eyes even brighter with the amount of shadow my daughter has painted, in what I can only guess is her best impression of raccoon eyes. His lips look like he was stung by hundreds of bees, the red circle of lipstick going from mid chin to the bottom of his nose. But it’s his hair that makes me lose the fight to keep the laughter in. He has what has to be twenty ponytails pulling his shoulder length hair up in a million different directions.
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He skips toward me, stops and my laughter gets to a level of insanity when he gives me a crooked grin and curtsies before spinning on his feet and falling dramatica
lly onto the floor next to Molly—who is smiling a crooked grin of her own at him.
“Princess, please stop trying to make that ugly troll pretty and tell me where I go to get to the ball! I have to meet the prince before midnight!” Nate takes one thick hand and throws it over his forehead in a dramatic fashion that would give the best actors a run for their money.
“Troll!” Axel yells and kicks out his foot to jab his son in the hip. “I’ll show you a troll!”
I watch in fascination as the two very manly men wrestle on the floor, not for one second caring that they’re both dressed for a day of drag.
I’m shaken from my thoughts of the morning madness when the doorbell rings. My brow furrows and I switch gears from the kitchen to go answer the door. The only people that would be coming over would be Dani, Cohen, Chance or maybe Nate—after last night he’s called a few times to make sure I’m okay. Given that I just got off the phone with Dani, I’m sure it isn’t her. Chance would call first and since I know he’s going through some personal stuff after the issues Dani had before Owen was born, I know it isn’t him. Chance only comes over when he needs someone to talk to, and lately he hasn’t been happy when I push for him to go see someone over the depression he’s fallen into.
I pull the door open and stop dead.
Liam.
“Miss me, Megs?”
My jaw drops when he shoulders his way into my house and I turn to snap at him when I catch a whiff of pizza.
“What—”
My words die when he leans down and gives me a hasty kiss.
“Pizza. ”
That’s all he says. He holds up the five boxes of pizza in his hands and turns to walk through the house. He knows where the kitchen is; he came with Dani, Cohen and the rest of the crew when Molly had her fifth birthday party a few months ago. He didn’t say much, but I felt his eyes on me every second that he was there.
“You can’t be here,” I snap.
He looks over from where he’s putting the pizzas down on the counter and rolls his eyes. “Baby, I’ve been inside you. ”
He did not just say that.
“You did not just say that, Liam Beckett. ” My face heats, but not with embarrassment, oh no, he’s got me about as angry as I’ve ever been.
“It’s the truth,” he says raising one dark brow in a manner that makes me think he’s just daring me to give him a fight.