Page 111 of Under an Endless Moon

His enormous body convulsed with stormy indignation.

But the guy behind Haddie only grinned. “You got an issue, Hudson?”

Otto flew forward, and he ripped Haddie out of his hold and hauled her back. “Yeah, I got a fuckin’ issue, Gideon, you fuckin’ piece of shit. That’s my seventeen-year-old sister.”

A commotion broke out behind them, and Raven squeezed her eyes closed when a clatter of boots rushed in.

River was at the helm, and she saw the disappointment lash across his face when he saw her standing there.

Kane, Theo, and Cash came skidding to a stop on either side of him. “Fuck,” Kane spat as he took in the scene.

Shame bit across her flesh, and she didn’t resist when River grabbed her and pulled her against his chest, shielding her face like he couldn’t stand for her to witness what went on inside these walls.

“What the hell are you doin’ here, Raven?” he muttered to the top of her head. Anger buzzed across his flesh, though he was hugging her tight like he was making sure she was safe and whole.

Otto hauled Haddie behind him and jabbed a finger into the face of the guy Haddie had been dancing with. “Stay the fuck away from her.”

He took one step back and whirled toward the guy who’d been groping at Raven. “Same goes for you, Dusty.”

He pointed between them. Raven recognized the names. Two actual brothers who River had complained about being dangerous.

Trouble.

“Stay the fuck away from both of them if either of you motherfuckers want to remain standing. Do you understand what I’m tellin’ you?”

“Fuck you, Hudson,” the guy named Gideon cracked, lifting his chin in a show of dominance. “That pussy was willing and more than wet.”

Otto had him by the throat and pinned against the bar top before anyone could make sense of the movement.

“Otto,” Haddie cried, and Theo looped an arm around her waist to keep her from running to him.

“I’ll end you if you even look at her again, and I’ll do it gladly,” Otto hissed as he angled over him. “You got me?”

Dusty and the other guy who’d been with Gideon edged forward, and Cash stepped in front of them, craning his head in a silent warning.

No one else moved. They all watched, agitation billowing through them as they waited to see what would happen next.

Otto finally shoved Gideon hard, and he turned on his heel and stormed back across to the rest of them. All the guys turned at the same time, making a circle around Raven and Haddie as they hurried them out of the bar, ignoring the jeers and laughter that suddenly went up once everyone realized there wasn’t going to be a fight.

They all stumbled out onto the sidewalk, and Raven dragged heaving breaths into her lungs once they were out in the cool night air. Trying to calm the frantic flogging of her heart.

They kept ushering them down the sidewalk, looking over their shoulders as they steered them farther away from the bar and down the street. When the sound of the music was only a dull drone behind them, Otto whirled, fury on his face.

“What the fuck did you two think you were doing?”

Shame swept through Raven, and Haddie shifted on her feet, though she tried to shrug it off like it was no big deal. “We just wanted to have a little fun. See where you guys hang out at night.”

Otto’s laugh was hollow as he tilted his head toward the sky and scrubbed his hands over his face before he whipped his attention back to her. Venom coated his words as he threw them her direction. “You wanted to have a little fun? Those guys are fuckin’ dangerous, Haddie. Fuckin’ dangerous. They could have?—”

He clipped off with a shout of fury, spinning around and ripping at his hair like he was envisioning exactly what could have happened.

Raven’s guts twisted in horror, just then realizing how reckless their actions had actually been.

A tear slipped down Haddie’s eye, and she swept it away. “I’m sorry. I just…”

“Don’tjustme. Just fuckin’ listen to me for once. Please. You stay away from here. Stay away from all of them.”

She scoffed as her brow pinched. “So, it’s fine for you all to be here, having a great time, but not for the rest of us?”

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