Page 3 of Beyond the Hate

Chloe winks at Nova. “I’m not a child.” She kicks off her shoes before jumping onto the table.

“Maybe we should add she’s not allowed to waste alcohol,” Maya mutters as she rushes to save our beers before Chloe knocks them off of our table.

“Don’t you worry. I don’t abuse alcohol. Are we timing this?”

Sophia jiggles her phone. “Got it.”

“Don’t use your phone,” Nova says. “We’ll need it to contact your brother, Weston, when Chloe’s detained.”

Chloe snorts. “Weston’s not the only cop on this island. My husband’s one, too. I’m not getting arrested.”

Maya sighs. “She truly believes she won’t get arrested because Lucas is a police officer.”

For good reason. Lucas would never allow her to be arrested. Even if she deserves it. Which she often does in my opinion.

“Ten, nine, eight,” Sophia counts down.

Others in the bar notice Chloe on the table and Sophia counting down and join in. They have no idea what’s happening but smugglers are troublemakers down to their bones. If they notice shenanigans, they won’t snitch. They’ll sooner join in. And let chaos reign.

“Five, four,three, two, one. GO!”

Chloe jumps to the next table and people scramble to remove their drinks before they fall. “Bar.” She motions in the direction of the bar and people hurry out of her way.

The mermaid stops singing and the music changes toBad Boys.Chloe throws her hands up in the air and sings along. I cringe. There’s a reason no one besides Maya ever sang karaoke.

The bartender climbs onto the bar. She crosses her arms and glares at Chloe. Uh oh. Sloane’s pissed.

I cough to hide my grin. I knew there was no way Sloane wouldn’t stop Chloe. The bartender has had her eye on us since we showed up at the bar. And she wasn’t subtle about it either. Nope. She tapped her eyes and shouted, “I’m watching you!” across the bar.

Chloe skids to a halt on the table in front of Sloane.

“It’s as if you want me to ban you from my bar,” Sloane says.

“You ban us from the barFive Fathomswon’t supply you beer anymore.”

“You willing to take the risk?” Sloane challenges.

The door bangs open and Lucas and Weston stride inside. They must be on duty since they’re in uniform. Chloe’s husband, Lucas, takes in the scene and drops his chin to his chest with a sigh.

Weston slaps him on the back. “You owe me twenty bucks.”

Three men rush into the bar behind Lucas and Weston. Maya, Nova, and Sophia hurry across the bar to their partners – Caleb, Hudson, and Flynn. And I’m left behind.

I’m always left behind. The sole woman in the group who doesn’t have a man. And never will. Been there. Done that. Have the scars on my heart to prove it.

Chapter 2

Eli – a billionaire who’d rather be on an island with his shit stirring brothers than in a board room with his shit stirring colleagues

Eli

“Are you listening to me?”

I draw a hand down my face. “Can you repeat the last part?”

Jeremy barks out a laugh. “Dude, I have never seen you this distracted. Not even when you came back to college from Thanksgiving break with a case of poison ivy. You sat for your finals with a cold compress on your forehead.”

“Don’t remind me.” Having five younger brothers who are the definition of shit stirrers is a damn trial.

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