Page 16 of Hellbent
The first shot of whiskey turned into a second. A third. I’ve lost count. But the fire in my veins doesn’t burn anymore—it glows.
We grin at each other like idiots, moving with the music, bodies brushing, feet barely keeping rhythm, and I don’t care. For the first time in years, I feel untethered, like I might actually be allowed to be happy.
A room of my own, cash in my pocket, a job.
Jake. Damian. Wyatt. Ryder.
I got out.
Fuck, I’m lucky.
Jake catches my eye and gestures to the bar.Drink?
I nod, breathless.Yes. More.Keep this feeling going.
He disappears into the crowd, and I keep moving, laughing to myself—until someone presses up behind me.
Unfamiliar hands. Thick, rough palms running down my arms, settling at my waist.
I freeze.
Billy’s girl.
The men at the clubhouse never touched me. Not unless they wanted to get their teeth knocked out. Not unless Billy said they could.
But Billy isn’t here.
And I’m not his girl anymore.
I turn, fast and sharp, to face the man touching me.
Bald head. Thick beard. Too-close smile.
I don’t know him. And I don’t fucking want to.
He leans in, breath reeking of beer. “How you doin’ tonight, sexy?”
His fingers trail up my sides, intimate and comfortable, like we’re already lovers. I go cold. For one second, my body forgets it belongs to me.
Then something sharp and furious cuts through me.
No.
I place palms on his chest and shove him. Hard.
He stumbles back, surprised. “The fuck?”
“Don’t touch me,” I bite out. My voice is steady, loud enough to be heard by the people around us. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you don’t touch me. Ever.”
His smile drops. His eyes narrow. That shift from fake-friendly to something uglier.
“The hell did you just say to me?”
I square my shoulders, heart hammering. “I said—”
And then Damian is there, suddenly and surprisingly violent, his fist flying through the air and colliding with the guy’s jaw.
The crack is sickening. The bald guy staggers back, gripping his face, his expression morphing into something feral.
