Page 96 of I Want You
When I looked back where they were headed, to the back corner of the restaurant, the guys from earlier were gone.
I saw Wes move first, Luke following behind as they sprinted down the dark hallway. I hopped out of my seat, weaving through the crowd to follow them. Another scream sounded.
It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the back hallway. Luke was crouched on the ground, Daisy crumpled up on the floor in front of him. The swinging door to the kitchen pendulated rapidly. Wes was gone.
I rushed to Daisy’s side, falling to my knees next to her.
“What happened? Daisy? Are you alright?”
She pushed to her elbows, trying to sit up. Luke held her arm, steadying her, until she was fully seated. I rubbed my hands along her shaking arms and turned to Luke with a questioning gaze.
His head swiveled to the door and back to Daisy.
“I’ve got her. Go,” I told him. I didn’t know exactlywhat happened, but the only reason Wes would be gone was because he was chasing after someone.
The kitchen door crashed into the wall just as Luke was getting to his feet. Wes held a guy by neck, his other hand holding the guy’s arms behind his back.
A crowd was forming behind us. I looked over and saw Reid trying to keep the audience back.
Wes pushed the guy into the wall, handing him off to Luke. With one hand on the guy’s arms, he pulled the black mask off his face.
My stomach dropped. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see the same guy who had been borderline harassing me.
“Tyler?” Daisy asked.
“Tyler Cress, you are under arrest for assault. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.”
“Backup is on the way,” Reid shouted. “Should be here in three minutes.”
Luke locked eyes with me, a silent apology at how this night was ending warring in his gaze. I nodded softly, keeping Daisy pulled close to me.
He hauled Tyler through the throng of people, Wes leading a path to the front. As soon as they were gone, a group of girls ran toward us. I recognized one of them as the girl who came to get Daisy when she was at our table earlier. Her friends gathered around her.
“Do you want me to stay with you?” I asked her softly.
“No. I’m fine. I just… I wasn’t expecting that.” She looked down the hallway and into the bar and restaurant, her eyes following the path that Luke and Wes had taken Tyler down just a minute ago.
“Daisy! What the hell happened?” one of her friends asked. I was interested in hearing that answer too.
“Can we talk about it tomorrow? I just want to go home now,” Daisy said.
The girls bundled around her in support, ready to take her out of there.
“Are any of you okay to drive?” I asked.
The girl dressed as a 1940s woman’s baseball player lifted her wrist for me to see the purple band around it.
“Designated driver. I’m not twenty-one yet.”
I wasn’t naive enough to think that she hadn’t had a drop of alcohol despite being underage, but she seemed perfectly sober.
“Daisy, call me if you need anything, okay?” I squeezed her tightly before releasing her back to her friends.
“Thanks, Scarlett. And tell Luke and Wes, as well.”
I sent a text to Luke, letting him know that I was heading home. In the chaos and urgency, he had left with his car keys, but Reid agreed to give me a lift.
My thoughts circled around poor Daisy. About the audacity of the guy. Not only to attack someone, period… but to assault her in a crowded bar with people all around. That behavior spoke to a level of entitlement and brazenness that would only lead to disaster.
