Page 7 of That Emerald Vow

He keeps laughing.

“Shut up! Anyway, it became a bloody mess because—”

“Because he pissed you off?”

“Yeah. But I got the last laugh.” I smile at the memory.

Adrian rolls his eyes before looking around. “Shouldn’t the ladies be back by now?”

I turn to look towards the bathroom. “Yeah, it’s not crowded enough yet for there to be a long line. Let’s go check on them,” I suggest.

He nods in agreement as he gets up, but both our demeanors turn deadly, concern sobering me up as I sit up straight.

“Bitch. You broke my nose.” The sound comes from the bathroom hallway, making us quicken our pace.

The sight we find immediately makes me fall in love with both of these women.

They look lethal in fighting stances while two men stand in front ofthem, holding their bleeding noses in the hallway.

Adrian and I are able to sneak up behind them since they are facing away from us, our arms folded across our chests with neutral expressions on our face. It doesn’t seem like they need any help, but they are definitely not in this alone.

“Um, is everything okay here?” Adrian growls.

The two men turn to look at us, thinking we will understand their dilemma.

“These bitches gotta be taught a lesson,” the one with the long hair says as he tries to come closer to our girls.Our?I’ll have to evaluate that thought later.

Adrian and I are completely in sync after years of working together, each putting an arm up on one of the guys, stopping them from moving any closer to the ladies.

I can’t help but growl as every fiber of my being fills with fury at anyone trying to harm Charlie and Lily, albeit unsuccessfully. “If you want to make sure that the broken noses don’t have broken jaws to match, I would back the fuck off now.” My other hand is already clenched in a perfect fist, itching to make contact.

The men, if you can call them that, look at each other and then up towards both of us—who are clearly a foot or more taller than them. Charlie and Lily are smirking at us with admiration.

Just as they make their way to leave, one of them mutters, “These bitches aren’t worth it.”

Adrian puts his arm out again, blocking his exit. “Apologize,” he demands as darkness washes over him. I’ve only seen that come out during our missions.

They both scoff at him.

“Apologize now. I’m not as nice as my friend over here,” he barks at them. Nice is not something I would identify as right now, but I’ll lethim be the hero in front of Lily. My eyes go to both of the ladies, and they have this deep look of excitement in their eyes, which confuses me.Are they adrenaline junkies? Something else?

“N—”

Adrian has him pinned to the wall before he can finish, a switchblade in his hand aimed at his crotch. “Do you see where my hand is? If you don’t want your dick to be your chaser tonight, you will apologize. No one disrespects those I care about.No one.”

Definitely something else.Lily looks like she’s about to bust at the seams with how she’s gazing up at Adrian.

The shit talker’s mouth drops open, unable to form words. The other one looks like he wants to crawl into himself—terrified.

“So what will it be?” I ask before nodding towards Adrian. “He won’t wait much longer.”Neither will I.

They both immediately say, “Sorry, ladies.”

Adrian lets him go, and they both quickly pass through the small space left by our bodies. Charlie’s and Lily’s shoulders seem to ease once the assholes run away.

I don’t even realize I’m walking towards Charlie until the sweet smell of peaches infiltrates my nostrils.Mmm.“I would ask if you guys are okay, but it looks like you didn’t really need our help at all. I’m impressed.” I offer my arm to her.

She smiles up at me as she loops her arm through mine. Something deep inside me flutters, and a cool rush cascades over my body. “Yeah. Lils and I took self-defense classes during undergrad. A college campus wasn’t always the safest place to be,” Charlie informs us.

---