Page 39 of Beautifully Reckless

I chuckle. “Okay, I’ll stop, as long as you promise not to forget that everyone here tonight cares about you.”

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes, giving me a glimpse at her playful side. “I guess you should go back to the Western now?”

I scoff, even as I gesture to the rooftop door. “Nope. Where you go, I go.”

“But I’m staying here with my friends.”

I nod. “Then I am too.”

“Ringo. I don’t think that’s a good idea. The guys… Well, I’m sorry to be blunt, but I don’t think they like you.”

Throwing my head back, I laugh as we start for the door.

“Angel, I don’t particularly care whether your teeny bopper friends fucking like me. All I care about is your safety. I’m not taking my eyes off you for a fucking second.”

“What about if I have to pee?” she asks, and I smirk down as I pull open the door.

“Like I said, where you go, I go.”

“Like fuck!”

The words barely register before a fist slams into my face.

8

There’s so much blood. And that’s not even the scary part.

It’s Ringo. How his eyes darkened so much that I could no longer tell that they were brown anymore. Instead, they were nearly black as his muscles bunched, stalking after Marcus like he was going to rip him apart.

“Keep him the fuck away from me, Peter, or I’ll fucking kill him!” Ringo’s voice booms as we step inside Ayden’s dad’s apartment.

If it wasn’t for Griffin and Devon stepping in as they loomed in the passage near the lift, watching everything unfold, I’m almost positive my childhood friend would be dead right now.

“Just try it!” Marcus snarls, straining against Ayden and Garrett as they hold him back. “I’m not scared of you!”

“Is it bad that this is turning me on?” Rhys’ voice cuts through the chaos like a party grenade, all heads snapping in herdirection, locking onto her with glares. “Okay. I guess it is.” She shrugs, completely unbothered.

I’d laugh if I wasn’t terrified someone was about to get murdered in front of me.

“Let’s all just calm down.” Ayden’s mum, Andrea, steps into the middle of the room, lifting both hands in a calming gesture.

“Agreed.” Lexi’s voice carries over the tension. “All this dick swinging can’t be good for Abbey’s stress levels. Or the baby.”

As if her words are laced with magic, the energy shifts, and the guys in the room start to relax, nodding as the reality of the situation sinks in.

I take that as my cue.

“Marcus, what the hell?”

His brown gaze shoots to me, worry etching lines into his forehead.

“He’s controlling you, Abs. I saw the way you responded to him up on the roof. You’re being manipulated.”

“Oh please,” Ringo scoffs, holding a wad of tissues to his nose.

I have to admit, I’m surprised Marcus punched him, and with such force.

Ringo isn’t a small man. He’s tall and built like a weapon, packed with muscles I didn’t even know could exist on the human body.

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