Page 34 of Barbed Wire Hearts

“You’re welcome. . . I guess,” I murmur, not really knowing what to do. I’m about to turn and find Naomi when a hand comes from nowhere and slides up my thigh to grope my ass. “Hey!” I grunt, turning to find a man I don’t know grinning lewdly at me. “What the fuck?”

“I saw you dancing out there,” he says. “How about dancin’ with a real man instead of that cripple?”

He’s dressed in jeans and a button down with the sleeves cut off. He’s far less clean cut than the men I’m used to, and he reeks of whiskey despite it still being relatively early in the night. He has his hair cut in a mullet and sports a mustache an eighties pornstar would be proud of, but his comment about Levi bothers me the most. What the fuck does he mean by “cripple”?

“No, thank you,” I growl, pissed that he still continues to try and touch me. “And don’t fucking touch women without their consent, asshole.”

“Come on,” he grunts. “Don’t be a frigid bitch.” He reaches for me again, this time grabbing a handful of tit.

“Get the fuck away from me!” I growl, kicking at him. “You fucking piece of?—”

I never get to finish my sentence. I’d been seconds away from kicking him in the balls. I have no sympathy for dudes like this. They always slink around clubs, overstepping boundaries and not taking no for an answer. Apparently, it doesn’t matter if that club is in the country or not. Skeevy dudes are everywhere.

But before I can do anything else, a fist comes out of nowhere and slams into the douchebag’s nose. He goes reeling back, slamming into a few other dancers who shout and move out of the way. Only when I blink down at his suddenly bleeding nose do I look over at the source of the fist.

Levi stands with a dark look on his face, his eyes narrowed and angry. “She said to leave her the fuck alone,” he heaves, his shoulders tense.

The man is either too drunk to realize the situation or he’s an idiot, because he scowls and stands up. “Nobody asked for your opinion, ranch cripple. Just because you got your buddy’s money behind you doesn’t mean you get to claim bitches, too.” He gets to his feet and faces off against Levi.

I blink in surprise. I thought everyone liked the Steele Mountain ranch.

“She said don’t touch her,” Levi repeats. “So go on before you do something you’re gonna regret.”

Everyone is watching now. They’re backing away from us, giving us space, and I glance around nervously. Where the fuck is Wiley and Dakota?

I rest my hand on his bicep. “Come on, Levi. He’s not worth it,” I try, thinking maybe I can keep this from turning into a full-on bar fight.

Levi glances down at me, and that’s when the other asshole decides to attack. He throws himself at Levi, tackling him to the ground. The movement shoves me backward and I trip, falling to my tailbone and smacking my head against the railing.

“Ow!” I grunt, pressing a hand to my head with a wince. But I don’t have long to focus on my own pain. The asshole gets a good hit across Levi’s chin before Levi throws him off.

“You okay?” he asks as he rolls to his feet. I don’t miss the wince of pain from him and the slow way he gets his leg beneath him. I’d noticed his limp before but hadn’t realized he may have some sort of injury to watch out for.

“I’m fine,” I rasp, but before he can get up, the asshole comes rushing back. “Levi, watch out!”

Levi turns just in time to block the guy’s fist before bopping him in the nose again. The crunch is satisfying even as I realize someone is calling through the crowd to knock it off.

“You fucking cripple!” the man shouts as he holds his nose. “That bull shoulda finished you off!”

Levi freezes and goes preternaturally still. “What did you just say?”

The man spits blood at Levi’s feet. “Your daddy didn’t beat you up enough and that bull didn’t get you through the heart like I’d have preferred. All three of you bastards belong in the ground with your daddies,” he grunts.

He dives for Levi, but Levi doesn’t move, not at first. Things move in slow motion, and I shout at Levi as the man comes flying closer. My scream seems to get him out of his stupor. He dives to the left and slams his shoulder into the man’s face, sending him sprawling across the floor. And then he turns into a man I’ve never seen before.

He slams his fist into the man’s face, once, twice, three times, and I gasp and cover my mouth as he starts hitting everywhere else. Blood sprays across the wood floor and the man stops moving, no longer fighting back, but Levi doesn’t stop. He continues to hit, his face pinched with hatred, his body pinning the man down. No one steps forward. No one tries to stop Levi, as if they’re afraid to.

Wiley and Dakota appear then, both of them dragging Levi back by his arms and away, shouting at him to stop, that the man is down. Red and blue lights flash outside the front door, dancing around the bar, and there’s an audible groan from everyone. I hadn’t even realized the lights came on at some point. I stare at everything with surprise, the blood on the floor around the man, the look of fear in many faces, the others from Steele Mountain rushing forward.

Levi shrugs them off and snarls, “I’m fine! Check on Kate. She hit her head.”

Wiley glances over at me worriedly, but Dakota shoves Levi toward him. “You take Levi outside for a walk,” Dakota instructs. “I’ll take care of Kate.”

Wiley nods and leads Levi outside toward the flashing lights before Dakota comes over and kneels before me. “You good? Where are you hurt?”

“I just hit my head when that guy divebombed Levi,” I murmur. I press my fingers to the sore spot and wince.

Dakota reaches up and gingerly presses the same spot, careful not to press too hard when I wince again. “Oh, yeah, that’s gonna be a goose egg for sure. Can you stand?”

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