Page 13 of The Only Reason (The Trident Trilogy 2)

“I totally had him,” Millie says to Chase, rubbing her elbow.

“I know, sweetie. You were really impressive.” He puts his arm around her. “Let me see your elbow. Did you hurt it?”

Charlie puts his hands on her shoulders and looks at her intensely, like he’s instructing a boxer on what to do in the next round. “Millie. When your victim leans over to grab his balls, instead of striking his shoulder, try putting a hard elbow right into his ear. It’s a softer target for you, and it hurts your attacker like hell. Plus if you’re lucky, the guy might lose his hearing.”

Millie nods and gives him a fist bump. “Good tip, Charlie. My dad never taught me that.”

Charlie nods thoughtfully. “Yeah. He was probably a more principled fighter than I am.”

Chase laughs and shakes his head. “You obviously never met Mack.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Millie’s attacker trying to walk around me to get to her. I grab him and quickly wrap his arm behind him. I turn him to face his friends as I spread my fingers across his throat.

“All right,” I say loudly to the group. “We’ve got two choices here. First choice: I’m one small move away from breaking his arm with my right hand. That’s the most efficient choice—very quick, very easy. Or second choice: I’m two moves away from breaking his neck with my left hand. This choice is a little more complicated for me, but I’m more than willing to put in the extra effort if that’s what you choose.”

The drunks are suddenly quiet. A few of them look back at Chase and Charlie—probably trying to guess if they’re going to join in if the group tries to overpower me. They look away pretty quickly, so I’m guessing they think the answer is yes.

“Or I’ll add in a third choice just for you,” I say as I pull up slightly on the guy’s arm, causing him to wince. “I’ll let him go—unharmed—if all of you leave the bar right now. Pay what you owe, leave generous tips for the bartender, and be on your way. This option expires in twenty seconds.”

The group looks at me in stunned silence. Charlie walks up to stand next to me. “Mase. Did you say twenty seconds or twenty minutes? Because I’m not really getting a sense of urgency here.”

“I said seconds, Charlie. And we’re down to ten now.” I pull up on the guy’s arm again for emphasis.

Suddenly, there’s a flurry of credit cards and cash flying at the bartender. I let the guy go and push him over to his friends.

“I need a dirty martini and a double whiskey when you have a second,” I say to the bartender. “And let me know if they don’t leave you at least twenty percent.”

Millie’s looking at me when I turn around.

“I know. I know. I’m in trouble again for protecting you,” I say as I sit down and pull her onto my lap.

She puts her arm around my neck and whispers into my ear. “You’re not in trouble right now, but I’m definitely going to have to discipline you when we get home tonight.”

“Promise?” I say as I spread my hand over her butt and give it an ample squeeze.

As I start to kiss her, Charlie leans down inches from our faces and says loudly, “All. The. Time. Everywhere.”

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