Page 115 of Chasing the Wild
“Get away from her,” I shout, trying to reach for the girl who I don’t know, but suddenly feel intensely protective over. I’m sobering up real quick. Fuck knows what they just gave her, and right now, I’m feeling more helpless than ever.
No matter how much I shout and try to struggle against the man holding me, the music is so loud it drowns me out. He blocks me with his body, subtly covering my mouth with a hand that stinks of nicotine, and propels me in the direction of theexit. One that will lead us away from the bar, leaving the crowd, disappearing into the night air.
“We’re just gonna have a quiet drink together outside, girlie. So play nicely now. No need to cause a scene.”
“Screw you. Let go of me.” My words are muffled, silenced against his palm. I do my best to thrash and make it obvious to someone—anyone—that I don’t want this. I’m not agreeing to this man’s demands, or him grabbing me, or the way he’s forcing me to leave this bar with him.
The exit comes closer.
It feels like I’m invisible.
Can no one see what’s going on here?
This is how easily it can happen, isn’t it? Lost in an expanse of people. Right out in the open. Then, when morning arrives, it’s all blamed on the girl whoasked for it.
Just as my stomach flops in a sickening roll of helplessness, it’s as if the wall of bodies part all around us. The girl who I’d been trying to get to is shoved in my direction, and a tussle breaks out. Gruff voices argue loudly above the music.
A giant palm clamps down on the shoulder of whoever had their hands on me, and one of his arms is twisted up behind his back.
“Let’s fucking go, Pierson.”
As my brain tries to connect the dots of what is unfolding, I see the flash of metal cuffs and hear the crackle of a radio clipped at the man’s belt. It’s all over before I know it, as they’re both led away, and the immediate crowd has stopped what they’re doing to watch what looks like a sting arrest go down right in the midst of this crush of partygoers.
Even though the music is still blasting, obviously there’s chaos happening over the other side of the bar with whatever just transpired. I can’t see past the heads of the crowdsurrounding us, but right now, I’ve got a girl beside me who has potentially been roofied, and I don’t even know her name.
Spinning in place, I try to look for Mindy—Mandy—fuck, whoever the girl’s friend was, and can’t see her anywhere. In fact, no one we were here with before seems to be in sight. And the girl, the one who just drank something laced with who knows what, has disappeared.
Oh god. What the fuck is even going on right now?
Heavy palms land on my shoulders, and I jerk with fright, heart lurching into my throat.
As I spin around, all of that worry dissolves into nothingness. I’m met with a set of familiar hazel eyes I want to dive into, bathe in, drown in, and never need to come up for air as long as I live.
Colt towers over me with an expression I can’t decipher, and when he bends his head to speak right at my ear, my core clenches at the gritty edge to his voice.
“Bathroom. Right fucking now.”
Chapter 32
The lock clicks on the door and Layla stands before me, hands tucked behind her lower back leaning against the wood, hitting me with the biggest green eyes.
She looks like a fucking goddess.
I’m going out of my mind. This is the moment, right here, when I’ve officially lost it.
We’re locked in this tiny bathroom together and I don’t know how long it’s going to be before Kayce or his pregnant girlfriend comes looking for where we’ve both gone, but I couldn’t breathe without getting Layla alone.
Seeing what just went down, watching those assholes dare get close to her again, that’s when it all clicked for me.
I can’t fix what my grandfather did, no matter how often I’ve tried to right the wrongs of the past. These two men are intent on being just as predatory and abusive to others. Hayes didn’t need more than a second to realize what they were doing, right out in the open because they’ve grown cocky and consider themselves bulletproof. This time, they were their own downfall, and I certainly wasn’t about to stop him from making that arrest.
Not this time. Not when it comes to my girl.
“You ok?” I close the short distance between us, needing to touch her. Needing to check that she’s alright.
She nods, her hands fly up to fist the front of my shirt, and I drop my head into her neck.
“So much better now.” She hums, arching, giving me greater access to that sensitive spot right above her wildly fluttering pulse.
