Page 73 of Wish You Were Mine

“I’m walking away now,” I told him, my tongue tripping over the words. “You should do the same.”

I started to back away. People had emerged from Taste of Destiny, and I had to hope their presence would defuse the situation.

“Fuck you.”

He charged at me. He was so big, it was impossible to avoid him, so I pivoted so my shoulder was the only thing he struck as he rocketed past me. He turned around and rushed me again. I was tempted to try to trip him, but if he hit the pavement, he might be injured.

If you don’t do anything, you might get injured.

“Whoa,” a familiar voice exclaimed.

Liam.

James spun toward him. “You,” he sneered. “You’re probably in on it too.”

He lunged at Liam, but Keith and Trev, two of Eugene’s friends, grabbed him by the shoulders and restrained him.

“Calm down,” Keith said.

James tried to jerk free of their hold. “Let me go. These assholes are the reason Tia left me.”

“You did that all by yourself,” I told him coolly.Even if I was having second thoughts about the role I’d played in this drama, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

Sirens shrieked down the block and lights flashed as a pair of police cruisers turned onto the street and parked nearby.

“Who called the cops?” James demanded, his expression beginning to pale.

Fuck, this was such a mess.

34

SUMMER

My phone rang as I was checking my calendar of appointments for the morning. I glanced down at the screen. It was Eden.

I raised the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Summer, get out onto the street right now,” she hissed.

I frowned. “Why?”

“Just do it. Trust me.” She hung up.

Bemused, I strode out of our shared office, past Beverley, waving off her curiosity about where I was going to in such a hurry, and crossed the parking lot, which fronted onto Centennial Street.

As soon as I did, my jaw dropped. Blue and red lights were flashing from a pair of police cars parked about a block away, and a cluster of people were gathered outside Taste of Destiny. I ran down the street, grateful for my sensible work shoes.

When I reached them, I realized why Eden had called. Standing in the center of the group were Liam and Asher. Blood was streaming down Asher’s face, and he was carrying himself stiffly, as if hurt somewhere else too.

My stomach dropped, and I raced across the remaining distance between us. I whipped off my scrub top, grateful for my tank top underneath, balled it up, and offered it to him. He took the top without question and used it to staunch the flow of blood.

“Are you okay?” I asked, scanning him for other injuries. The skin beneath his eyes was beginning to take on a purple tinge. He might have a pair of black eyes later today.

“What the hell is going on here?” Nate demanded.

He and Mehrtens, his most trusted officer, had gotten out of their car and positioned themselves between Asher and another man, who was red-faced and cursing up a storm.

I jolted, caught off guard. It hadn’t occurred to me to look for whoever had done this to him. I’d been too focused on helping. It was lucky someone had, because the guy was straining to get free and have another go.

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