Page 56 of Utah

“I’m quitting my job, Utah. I feel guilty enough that I’m leaving them short-staffed. I don’t need you lurking in the background.”

“I don’t lurk.” She tilted her head and frowned. “Okay, maybe sometimes I lurk.” I paused for a moment, then waved my hand in the air right before I shut my door. “Fine. Go.”

Her response was to lean over and kiss my cheek before hopping out of the truck. My eyes were glued to her ass the entire time she walked across the parking lot, and I missed her as soon as she disappeared inside. But after today, she’d be all mine. I didn’t have to worry about whether she was being harassed at her job or if some guy had gotten the wrong impression about her attention toward him simply because she was trying to get a bigger tip.

Flipping through the radio stations distracted me for a bit, but when I glanced at the clock on my dashboard, I realized Ria had been inside for nearly twenty minutes. “What is taking her so long?” I mumbled. I wanted to rush in there to make sure she was okay, but I stopped myself, giving her another five minutes before I made a move.

Eight minutes later, I opened the door to the bar andsearched for her. She must’ve been somewhere in the back because I couldn’t see her.

It was ten minutes to three in the afternoon, so it wasn’t that busy. There were four guys sitting several seats away from one another at the bar. All had a beer in front of them. Two were on their phones: one stared straight ahead while the other watched the television nestled over the center of the bar.

I sat in the corner, impatiently waiting for Ria to come out from wherever she was. Maybe she was in the back office with her boss. Or perhaps she was in the bathroom. I sent her a text letting her know I was inside, but she didn’t respond. I was two seconds from going to search for her when she finally appeared at the end of the hallway. I rose from the barstool and took a step toward her. She didn’t see me yet, which was evident when she turned back to face someone. Will, the guy I was only too happy she wouldn’t be working with anymore, appeared. They were close to a hundred feet from me, and because their voices weren’t raised, I couldn’t hear their conversation. The last thing I wanted to do was piss Ria off with another one of my jealous tirades about this guy, so for as hard as it was to do, I remained in place, allowing them to have this final interaction.

But then she straightened her posture and took a step away from him. The alarm bell in my head went off, and I advanced toward them. Neither of them saw me approach, but when I was close enough, I finally heard them speaking.

“Did you really tell Molly you’re quitting?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Because of what happened between us? I already apologized for that.”

“I know you did. And no, I’m not quitting entirely because you kissed me. This just isn’t the job for me right now.”

Ria barely got the last of her words out before I swung around her and gripped Will by his shirt. Her scream barely registered asmy heart thundered against my rib cage. My vision tunneled, and the blood thickened in my veins.He kissed her?A blind rage took over as my fist connected with his face. I released him, and he fell to the ground. But I wasn’t done with him yet. His eyes widened when I leaned over him, pulled him inches from the floor, and landed another blow to his face. Blood gushed from his nose and mouth, coating my knuckles as I continued to hit him.

Someone tugged on my shoulder, but I kept pummeling Will, my rage pouring out of me stronger with each attack. I was so consumed with punishing this guy for kissing Ria, I had no idea if she was still close by.

Suddenly, I was yanked backward and slammed against the wall. Three guys struggled to keep me in place, but all I focused on was that bastard lying in the hallway. He wasn’t moving. I didn’t even think he was conscious. Not that I cared. He deserved everything I gave him.

“Oh my God!” Ria’s former boss, Molly, rushed toward Will. “Someone call an ambulance.”

“Is he breathing?” someone behind me shouted.

The older man who’d been staring off into space at the bar kneeled beside Will and pressed his fingers to his pulse point. “Barely.”

Moments after I attacked Will, I snapped out of my haze and focused on the scene in front of me. Two of the three men who restrained me continued to hold me against the wall. Molly, the guy who checked for a pulse, and another dark-haired woman surrounded Will. And when I finally caught sight of Ria huddled against the opposite wall, she was shaking. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she looked at me, her eyes wider than I’d ever seen them. I wanted to go to her, to see if she was okay, which she clearly wasn’t, but I stood frozen in place. Yes, I was still being restrained, but I could’ve gotten away from them if I wanted to.

I had no idea how much time had passed before I heard sirens. Moments later, two paramedics rushed toward Will.

“Is this the guy?” a man asked.

“Yeah, this is him. He just went nuts,” one of the men restraining me answered before releasing me and taking a step back. The other guy followed.

A uniformed officer stepped into my line of vision. He was thin, a couple inches shorter than me, with light brown hair. Oddly enough, he reminded me of the man I just beat up.

His partner, a shorter, heavier, blond man, hovered on my right. I was caged between them.

“Turn around, sir.”

Because I didn’t immediately comply with his order, I was spun around and slammed face-first into the wall. My arms were yanked behind me, and the cold metal bit into my wrists as the restraints locked together. I was led out of the bar and put into the back of a cruiser.

Consumed by regret, I didn’t look back to see if Ria was outside. I had no idea how I’d apologize for what I’d done or how to make it up to her, but I was sure I had hours of solitude to figure it out.

32

“Hel—”

“Utah got arrested,” I blurted as soon as my brother answered his phone. “He just went crazy. I’ve never seen that blank look in his eyes before.”

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