Page 20 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
He pointed the toothpick at me. “Don’t fucking tell me where I’d be better off. I’m getting sick and tired of your shit. Now get me the damn coffee before I tell everyone in this diner that you’re a lying thief and a whore just like your momma.”
He’d said it loud enough to be overheard.
I glanced over at the booths. A few people were watching, and if Ainsley’s satisfied smile was any indication, they’d most likely heard Wade’s words.
I didn’t even look at Ridge. I couldn’t.
I went and got Wade’s damn coffee and plunked it down in front of him. Amber, one of the servers, stopped next to me to watch. She had no reason to be there except to see whose coffee I’d spit in.
When she saw that it was for Wade, she gave me a thumbs-up and a sly wink that was too obvious before she sauntered away.
Wade narrowed his eyes on me. “What’d you do to my coffee?”
“Just poured it and served it.” I turned to go. He grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm behind my back until I cried out. “Let go of me,” I gritted out.
With a sneer, he yanked me toward him and I slammed into the table, knocking over the coffee. Scalding hot liquid splattered my Chucks and burned a trail down my thigh. Unbidden tears sprang to my eyes from the unexpected pain.
Dammit. That hurt.
“Don’t you fucking mess with me. What did you do to my coffee?” he growled. I tried to pull out of his grasp, but his fingers tightened, biting into my skin.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Ridge roared.
Wade released me, and I stumbled back, rubbing my sore wrist just as Ridge ripped Wade out of his seat and shoved him hard, knocking Wade into the table behind him. Dishes crashed to the floor, and a woman screamed as Ridge’s fist collided with Wade’s face.
“That was a warning,” Ridge growled. “Touch her again, and I’ll beat the shit out of you, asshole.”
“Fuck you!” Wade spat in Ridge’s face and lunged at him.
That was all it took. The fight was on.
Ridge knocked Wade to the ground and pinned him down. I heard a girl scream. Ainsley, maybe. But I couldn’t say for sure because Ridge was beating the shit out of Wade, who was kicking and clawing. They wrestled on the floor, throwing punches, and Wade was trying to hold his own but failing. He was no match for Ridge.
Finally, Ridge’s teammates jumped in to help. They pulled Wade and Ridge apart just as red, white, and blue lights flashed outside the diner window.
Oh shit. The cops.
Ridge got to his feet, swaying, and wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his arm, his eyes darting to the window.
Wade peeled himself off the floor and made a dash for the back.
“Ridge, come on,” I urged. I latched onto his arm and tried to drag him to the kitchen, but he refused to budge. I started to panic. I couldn’t let him take the fall. The cops were right outside the door, and he needed to go. “Come with me. You can go out the back door.”
“You can hide in my office,” Hank said, looking around the diner with accusing eyes as if to say,What jackass called the cops on our star receiver?
“Fuck that.” Ridge crossed his arms over his chest with a stubborn set to his jaw. “I’m not running, and I’m not hiding.
I looked around for Wade. The weasel had taken off. Typical.
Just before the cops walked into the diner, Ridge handed something to Walker, who shook his head and stuffed it in his pocket before I could see what it was. Weed? Pills?
They handcuffed Ridge and put him in the back seat of a police car. My stomach sank as I watched from the window until the taillights got swallowed up in the darkness.
What would happen to Ridge? I knew it wasn’t his first brush with the law, so this could be bad for him.
Ridge’s teammates threw some money on the table and filed out without saying a word. But I could feel their silent accusation.
“This is all your fault,” Ainsley hissed on her way out the door.
