Page 18 of Inseverable (Carolina Beach)

“Trin!”

Trinity’s friend, the blonde, tries to haul her back. Good, get her out of the way. It’s just me and him now. But here the crowd is too dense and this guy plays for keeps, he drags Trinity back before her friend gets her too far and squeezes her ass, all the while looking at me.

I barely catch the punch Trinity nails him with because I’m already flying over the bar and grabbing him by the throat, hauling him away from her. With a turn of my hips, I slam him to the floor.

Something hard cracks against the base of my skull. I shake off the pain and nail the frat boy who hit me with the beer bottle across the jaw. It’s then all hell breaks loose. Everyone’s fighting, and I mean everyone.

Fists are flying as me and Clayton go blow for blow. I’m punching him with all my weight, steering him toward the front doors.

The crowd moves with me, beating the piss out of those limp dicks. I keep swinging, keep connecting, and forcing Clayton outside and into the lot. My last punch connects with his head; he stumbles back and lands on his ass beside a sedan.

I turn around, knowing he’s not getting up, and scan the lot for Trinity. Her blonde friend is being hauled off the redhead who was hitting on me by another lifeguard. The lifeguard’s lip is split, and his shirt’s ripped, but he’s laughing his ass off as he pulls Trin’s friend against him.

“Calm down, tiger,” he tells her.

Mr. Perrington?the old man who takes his little blue pill with a shot of Captain Morgan?is waving his cane at another frat boy. I’m guessing the frat boy’s not intimidated by crazy Grandpa, but the lifeguards flanking the old timer are a different story.

I push my way around them, wondering where the hell Trin is and what trouble she’s gotten herself into. I start yelling for her, but her name gets stuck in my throat when I see?oh,hellno?heranchoredto some guy’s back, her little fist punching him for all she’s worth. I barrel toward her, ducking out of the way of another flinging fist.

This guy gunning for me is so wasted, he can barely keep his feet. I snatch him by the collar and fling him onto the beach. He rolls onto his stomach, lifting his sand-covered face, his eyes widening when he sees me stalking forward. I don’t think I take more than four steps before he takes off. But I don’t care about him.

As quick as I can, I’m back to Trin, ripping her off the guy who’s seconds from throwing her off and hurting her. She fights me, not realizing I’m the one who has her. She’s wriggling so badly, I barely manage to kick the guy across the knees when he lunges at us.

He crashes to the ground. But like his friends, he’s had enough. He stumbles to his feet and backs away. Slowly at first, and then faster when he sees a few more locals closing in.

By this point, Trin is spitting mad, screaming and flinging her limbs like the lunatic she is. Me, I’m laughing. Hard. So hard, I can’t catch enough air to tell her it’s me. Apparently, she doesn’t find this situation funny, nor does she like to be laughed at. She lifts her elbow and pegs me hard in the gut.

I fall back onto the sand-pebbled lot, taking her with me. She pushes off my chest with her hands, her face red and furious until she realizes I’m the one lying under her.

“Callahan?” she asks.

“Fuck,” I respond.

She scrambles to her feet and offers me a hand. Cute. But I’ll be damned if I let this little thing haul me off my ass. I rise slowly, broken pieces of shell falling off my back as I stand.

I fix my scowl on her as the crowd thins. “What in thehellwere you thinking taking on a man twice your size?shit, taking on any man at all?”

Everyone seems to be rushing to the edge of the lot that hugs the main road. But Trin and me only have eyes for each other?well, y’all know what I mean.

She frowns. “He was going to hurt you.”

“What?”

She hooks a thumb behind her. “He picked up one of those outside stools and was going to hit you with it. I had to save you.”

“You had to save me,” I repeat slowly.

She rams her fists on her hips and juts out her chin, all insulted-like. “Well, yeah. You’re welcome by the way.”

I don’t remind her that I was the one saving her ass. Or that I had to do it twice. I don’t even point out that she nailed me in the solar plexus as a reward. Instead, I let her have her moment.

“Thanks,” I mutter.

She grins. The gleam in that smile and in those eyes taking her from pretty, straight into beautiful . . . even though I don’t want it to. Damn, with all that dark hair, her toned body, and spray of freckles set in all the right places along her sweet face, why the hell is she wasting her time on me? This girl must be beating men off with a club.

In a way, I can’t blame that frat boy for seeking her company. He was an asshole, and for sure out of his league. But as a man, even one as fucked up as me, I can see why he’d want her.

Even while I think these thoughts, and even though it pisses me off that I do, I maintain my scowl. But there she is, grinning up at me like we’re having a friendly conversation. She steps forward and before I know it she’s stroking my beard again.

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