Page 3 of Hell on Wheels

When I get out on the dance floor, I let the frustrations of the night fall away. The pounding bass consumes me, and I close my eyes as my body moves with the rhythm. Mina is gone and Reb’s right—she had become someone I didn’t recognize. It’s betterthat she leaves now before her thirst for fame corrupts the entire team. Or worse, she does something really stupid to get likes, and it ruins our reputation in the league.

A pair of hands grab my waist and I whirl around, eyes open and fists up. “Fuck off.”

“Whoa, whoa! No need to put up your dukes, Wheels.”

My body wilts as I give Archer a withering look. “I almost knocked your block off, dude.”

Reb’s best friend gives me his patented charming grin, holding his hands up in surrender. “I come in peace. You looked lonely out here by yourself.”

Uh-huh. I might be the only girl in fifty square miles Archie hasn’t bounced across a mattress with, and I know it drives him batty.

“Archie, women do not require the company of men to complete them. I was perfectly fine dancing without a partner.” That makes his lush lips draw into a pout and I give in, laughing. “Fine, fine. You can dance with me. At least it’ll keep the real creeps away.”

Archer’s face lights up and he plants his hands on my hips, dragging me closer. “Wheels, you just made my night! I was sure I’d strike out completely.”

My arms wind around his neck, and I smirk. “When have youeverleft the bar alone, Archie? Sell that bridge to someone else.”

“Ah, but I’ve never left with you, and it breaks my heart.” He makes a forlorn face, and I reach up to yank his hair in response. Yelping, he wrinkles his nose. “Hell, Wheels, that hurt.”

“Dance with me, you fool, or I’m tossing you out of the boat,” I reply.

Archie laughs, moving along with the new song. His hands grip my hip bones firmly, and when he tugs me up against him, I remember why I rarely let him get this close. Reb’s friend is tall, lean, and stacked with compact muscles—like most of the big cat shifters I’ve met. He dances with the lithe grace of his lion, and his baby blue eyes sparkle down at me as I try to pretend the sway of our bodies isn’t affecting me.

“You know, it really is a shame you always cut me off at the knees. We seem to be a perfect match; you’re just the right height.”

My eyes narrow and I yank his hair again, moving to pull away from him. I’ll be damned if I’m going to join the ranks of Archie’s legion of fan girls because I’m having a shit day and I’m a little buzzed. “Archer Levi Glaser. Don’t woo me like your puck bunnies. I won’t fall for your lines.”

“What the hell, man?”

Archie doesn’t have time to answer me before he’s yanked away by atrashedRebel. He beams at my sloshed stepbrother, holding his hand up for a high five. Reb just snarls at him and I roll my eyes. Men are ridiculous on a daily basis, but rarely as much as when they drink. It’s like all the testosterone in their bodies floods their tiny brain cells and makes them even dumber than usual.

“Reb, we’re dancing. Go back to your morose bottle sucking and leave Archie alone,” I say as I poke him in the shoulder. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Dude, don’t pull your shit on my little sister!”

Oh, now he’s done it. I’ll be damned if he gets to decide what or who I do.

“You have exactly twenty seconds to back the fuck off before I show you how little I am not. And for the last fucking time,stop calling me little sister!” I elbow Rebel in the ribs hard, hoping he gets the message. Archie will not be my stress relief tonight, but if he were, it wouldn’t be any of Reb’s business.

The hunky jock in question clears his throat, his eyes dancing with mischief. “I love watching you two clueless idiots fight. It’s even better that it’s over me this time.”

We turn to glare at him simultaneously, and he preens a little, posing with a handsome grin. Reb is the first to break, socking Archie in the gut with a growl of irritation. I shrug and watch, content to let someone else do the heavy lifting. Groaning, the lion shifter rubs his abs and goes back to pouting.

“Stop being such a fucking attention whore, Arch,” Rebel grouses as he looks around. “You’d think your mother didn’t hug you enough or something.”

Or ours didn’t hug me at all, but that’s neither here nor there.

“Don’t talk bad about my mama, Rebel Kelly. She’ll hide us both.”

That’s true. Archie is from a huge shifter cat clan, and his mother has multiple mates—all different cats. She’s a lioness and hell if she doesn’t run her pride rock like the Queen of Sheba. His dads donotwear the pants in that family. Rebel and I spent a lot of time with them when our adoptive parents traveled for work and they’re the closest thing to a proper family I’ve ever experienced.

“No one wants that, Archie. We’ll behave.” I hold my hand up like some kind of scout—I think—and give him a solemn expression.

“Ooh, Wheels. Ilikewhen you’re compliant. Tell me you’ll be a good girl again.”

“Cool it, asshole,” Reb growls.

I turn to set him straight on my boundariesagainwhen my hair gets yanked, and I’m pulled backwards into the crowd behind us. Screaming as my scalp burns, I swing my arms, blindly trying to hitsomething. A high pitch cackle cuts through the music and my entire body fills with a fiery rage—I know that sound. I know who’s trying to abduct me in the middle of a crowded club.

---