Page 87 of A New Era

“Sorry,” one says, and the other, “Sorry, lady.”

“I don’t even need to ask her if she accepts. That was the shittiest apologies I’ve ever fucking heard.”

“We are sorry, Mr. Hayward.”

Jamie Boy looks at me and tells me, “I’m sorry this happened. Do what you have to.”

I look at Holly. I heard how she rebuffed Ben but when it comes down to it, she might change her mind. She nods once and it’s on.

For the next six minutes, I beat the shit out of them, my knuckles split, their blood covering me, until I’m fucked.

The barman slides another bottle of beer to me and passes over a towel. I clean myself up listening to them groaning in pain.

“You good?”

“I am now. Fucking assholes.” I drain my beer. “Look, I have no brothers here, and my old lady to consider. Let’s get tonight over with so I can get home.”

“I understand. We’ll take you back to the hotel, you get sorted and then we’ll leave.”

Me and Holly take the back seat while Jamie Boy sits up front and Ben takes the wheel.

“You okay?” I ask her quietly.

“I’m good. Though you’re bleeding again,” she says looking at my knuckles.

I promised her, “They’ll heal.”

It turns out, we were only ten minutes away from the hotel before stopping at the pub.

“Goodnight, Holly. Again, I’m sorry your day ended on a blowout,” Jamie Boy says to her.

“It’s okay. Thank you for coming when you did.”

I take her up to the suite and wish I wasn’t leaving her so soon.

“You sure you’re okay?”

She’s never seen me lose my shit before and I’m not believing she’s totally fine about what went down tonight.

“Would you believe me if I said seeing you kick the shit out of those guys turned me on?”

For a minute I’m speechless, though my dick instantly believes her. Not that I have the time to deal with him now.

“Keep that in mind till I get back.”

I clean my knuckles and quickly change. By the time I’m ready to leave, she’s sprawled on the bed.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay here on your own?”

She said this morning she was looking forward to taking a bath in the huge tub once we got back but after a day of walking around London and then the clusterfuck at the pub, she has no energy left.

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to check in with Rayna and then take a long, hot bath. Then I’m going to crash. I’m more concerned with the fact that trouble can literally find you anywhere in the world. Please be careful out there.”

“I will be. Nothing will happen to me.”

“Good, 'cause you don’t have the club here, you don’t know the area and you’ve already nearly gotten into a fight.”

Rolling my eyes, I assure her, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

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