Page 81 of Brutal Game

Dave turned to me. His face was a mess, blood everywhere. “I’m not,” he tried to say. “I knew this would happen. My own fault.”

“You. Don’t. Talk. To. Her. Or the next punch will take out your teeth.” Jack’s growl set off some sick, Pavlovian response in me, because my thighs clenched.

“Alex!” I yelled. “Fight!”

Alex pushed up from his stool and made his way over to us. The wrestler grimaced when he saw Dave’s face.

“Feldman, you’re done. Get the hell out of here.”

Jack shook his head. “Or what?”

“Or I call the police.”

“You know the police won’t do shit to me. Still, I’ll leave. Party’s getting stale.” He patted his wet t-shirt, then glanced down at his hand. “Oh right, I’m taking this phone with me. It’smine.”

The stress on the word mine was obvious.

“Jack, I need my phone!” I told him.

He shook his head. “I think this is my phone.”

And then he was walking through the bar, nodding to his friends. They rose. So did the pretty brunette, wearing Jack’s hat like I’d thought. She glared at me, before following Jack out the door. He pulled her toward him, and I watched, rage filling me with fire, heart in my throat, as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

I looked away. I didn’t need to see that. Instead I focused on Dave, locating a clean towel and pressing it to his face.

“I’m not going to press charges,” he tried to tell me, but it was hard to understand him with the broken nose. “Wouldn’t do anything, anyway. Jack’s teflon. Even if the police wouldn’t cover it up for him, his brothers would make sure nothing happened to him.” He scoffed. “And Coach would be right there with them.”

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?” I asked.

“Nah, Matt will take me,” he said, gesturing at one of the guys who’d come in with Jack, and was the only one still in the bar. “See you around, Aviva.”

With that, he waved and walked out of the bar. He was shockingly blasé for someone who’d just been punched in the face, but I guess hewasa hockey player. Even if goalies usually weren’t the ones in fights, it didn’t mean he hadn’t seen a skirmish or two. Asher had certainly seen his fair share.

I took a deep breath.

“Tovah?”

She appeared next to me. “Are you okay?”

“I need to?—”

“Take five. Of course. Take a break, I’ve got it.”

I looked at the packed bar. “You sure?”

She waved me off. “You need it. Alex can help me.”

Alex was already rolling up his sleeves as he headed behind the bar.

“Go,” he told me.

I needed air, and the hallway wouldn’t do it. Instead, I went out the back door to the alley. The chill October air was the relief I needed. I hadn’t realized how overheated I was until this moment.

Leaning against the door, I inhaled, rubbing my hands over my face. My face felt sticky. When I pulled my hands away, I noticed dark drops on my thumb.

Great. I’d gotten some of Dave’s blood on me. It felt metaphorically apt, since I felt partially responsible for him getting punched. I’d really thought that Jack flaunting another woman in front of my face meant he was done with me, for good. I was an idiot. Of course he wasn’t going to let go of me that easily. I was his target, nothing more. He wasn’t going to let me live my own damn life.

And I needed my phone back. Which would require tracking him down.

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