Page 68 of 1 Last Shot

Kane shrugs. "I don't know. I've never seen anyone mess up."

It only takes us a few minutes to get to the front of the line, but in those minutes, my nervousness starts to grow. New York isn't exactly known as being a calm, sweet city, but the places I've spent time in and the people I've been around were never this outwardly brazen. I absolutely love Philly, but the bluntness is taking some getting used to.

"What can I get ya, sweetheart?" the sweaty Italian man behind the counter asks. Kane nods at me to order what I want.

"Uh…" Nerves tighten my throat, and I have to force the words out. "Um, can I get—wait, what was the first question again? Cheese type? Um—"

"Jesus, lady, get it together," comes a slurred voice from beside me. I glance over to see a drunk guy swaying in line behind us. "It doesn't take a college degree to order a fucking cheesesteak."

"Watch it," Kane bites out. Gone is the twinkle of happiness that's been on his face since he picked me up. In its place are flashes of irritation.

"Then tell her to hurry the fuck up," the guy snaps. "There's literally a sign telling her how to order. How dumb do you have to be to fuck this up?"

I turn back to the Pat's employee to place our order and try to dissolve the tension. "I'll just order a cheesesteak with onions and whiz—"

"Why don't you back the fuck up and go back to the sewer you just crawled out of," Kane snarls, stepping into the guy's face and staring him down. I see his hands squeeze into fists and I know he's seconds away from throwing the first punch.

“Kane, it's okay. Let's just—”

"Get out of my face," the guy barks. Then I watch in horror as he shoves Kane away from him.

Kane looks almost…relieved.

Relieved that he's now justified in pushing back? Or does fighting by itself relieve something in him?

My blood turns to ice at the realization that that's exactly what's about to happen. I've seen Kane in a physical altercation, both in the cage and on the street, and heenjoysit. He'll take any excuse to engage in it.

Sure enough, I watch in horror as Kane grabs the guy's shirt with two hands and pulls him up on his toes, ignoring the employee's outraged shouts. He's inches from the guy's face, staring down at him with hatred I hoped I would never see again. He opens his mouth to say something, to express his fury verbally before showing it physically—

But then he meets my eyes.

And he stops.

Slowly, miraculously, he sets the guy down and loosens his grip on his shirt. His jaw clenches with his barely restrained anger.

But thankfully, itisrestrained. Even if he does shove the man away from himself, never taking his eyes off me.

"Get the fuck out of here," he says to the drunk. "Before I change my mind."

The guy doesn't need to be told twice. He does it with a glare, but he turns around and marches across the street to Geno's for his cheesesteak.

Kane pulls a wad of cash from his pocket and gives the guy behind the counter more than he needs to. "Sorry," he says stiffly.

The employee gives the cash a skeptical glance, but ultimately, he takes it and jerks his head toward the end of the counter to pick up the order.

Kane and I are both silent as we grab the cheesesteak and take a seat at the outside tables. I want to say something, to break the tension and get back to the fun time we were having before everything happened, but I'm not sure how to do that.

Kane somehow figures it out before I do. As he starts to unroll the paper-wrapped sandwich in his hand, he shoots me a hesitant glance and says, "I noticed you ordered onions on this one. Was that on purpose, or is that your way of saying you don't want me to kiss you for the rest of the day?"

A surprised laugh bursts out of me. I'm so relieved at his effort to salvage our time together that I stand up from where I'm sitting across from Kane and lean over the table to show him my appreciation. Still laughing, I press a grateful kiss to his lips, not even a little bit embarrassed about the way I take my time and tease him into a deep, sexy kiss. By the time I pull away, I can't help feeling a little smug about the fact that he's sucking in rapid breaths and looking like he's two seconds away from demanding another one.

"Such a pretty little tease," he murmurs, his gaze darting down to my kiss-swollen lips.

I bite down on my lip to hide my smile as I take my seat again. "So which one should I try first? Which one's your favorite?"

"Uh-uh," he says, shaking his head. "I want an unbiased opinion from you. Try them both, and then I'll tell you my favorite."

I have to work hard not to smile at Kane's fiercely focused expression as I bite into first one, then both sandwiches. I take my time making my decision, if for no other reason than to hold on to Kane's attention.

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