Page 6 of Fighting a Riot

“Look at her, asshole! If you found her asleep on a VIP room floor wearing a goddamned tiara, wouldn’t you think she’s a fuckin’ princess?”

I put a hand on Yak’s forearm, since he still held the ice to my head. “It’s okay, Yak. I’m all right. It was just an accident.”

His eyes widened. “It was uncalled for is what it was.”

A nervous chuckle bubbled out of me. “If you say so.”

Chapter 2

Dumb Luck

Yak

What the hell was happening to him? His brothers were turning on him, accusing him of shit he’d never do and questioning his every move. That alone was enough to make him crave a fistfight, and he hated fighting his brothers.

Then there was Nora. It felt like this slip of a woman had turned him inside out. He wanted to pummel the asshole who dumped her last night, then he wanted to eradicate the fuckin’ cancer from her sweet, sexy body.

Sexy?

He shouldn’t think of her that way. He couldn’t think of her like that.

Sure, he’d called Nora his girl downstairs earlier, but it was a force of habit. If he had someone to take care of, they were his. His dancers, his employees, his brothers. He always took care of what belonged to him.

While Nora had showered, he’d gone down to the common room for a quick snack before trying to sleep. Liar and his woman Andrea were at the bar, eating breakfast.

“Who’d you take up to your room?” Liar had asked.

“This woman who needs help. Her fiancé kicked her out and broke shit off with her last night –during her bachelorette party.”

“You’re kidding!” Andrea said.

He shook his head. “Offered for her to sleep here. Just hope when she’s up that she’s got somewhere to stay.”

“Our neighbor has a room for rent,” Andrea said.

“No,” he snapped. The idea of Nora renting a room from that chain-smoking bastard pissed him off.

Liar sat straighter on his barstool. “Brother, if she needs a place, he doesn’t charge that much—”

Yak speared Liar with his eyes. “Is he still a chain-smoker?”

Neither of them spoke, but Andrea’s grimace said it all.

Yak shook his head. “No.”

“He isn’t that bad,” Andrea said.

“I’ve seen him. It is that bad. No, my girl isn’t staying with that asshole.”

“Your girl?” Liar asked.

He pointed a finger at him. “I didn’t say it like that. She’s got health issues and that smoker’s house isn’t the place for her.”

He never thought Liar would rub those words in his face.

Hell, he never thought Turk would haul off and try to hit him either.

Right now, though, he needed to get Nora out of there and let her get on with her life.

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