Chapter 13
thirteen
. . .
Hugh
I’d had my eyes on Lila all night. Following her every move like a goddamn stalker. I didn’t like seeing Kline hang all over her.
This wasn’t about me being protective. This was about me wanting her in a way I knew I shouldn’t.
So here I was, hanging out at a bar that I didn’t feel like being at, drinking far too much, with a woman who was working my last nerve.
“Hughey!” she shrieked and tugged on my arm for the millionth time tonight.
She was hot, no doubt about it. I just wasn’t interested.
And the fact that she kept rubbing her gigantic tits against my back was irritating the fuck out of me because I had to keep turning around to put some space between us, which meant my eyes weren’t on Lila.
I’d always been able to find Lila in a room full of people, but I needed to stop seeking her out.
But I couldn’t stop looking.
So, I was going to get my drink on and try to forget about all this shit.
“Hughey! Why aren’t you listening to me?” She tugged at my arm again, knocking the shot I’d just clinked with Brax right out of my hand, who fell over laughing because he thought everything was hilarious.
Including the fact that he’d helped Lila sell her car.
Not fucking funny.
But I had a solution for that. I just had to figure out how to pull it off.
“Jesus, Clara. Stop grabbing at my arm, and stop shrieking in my ear,” I hissed, raising my hand to ask the bartender for some napkins.
Roddy was laughing his ass off from a table away. He and I had known each other for a few years, and I was hoping he could help me with Lila’s car situation.
“It’s Karmy, not Clara,” the woman grumped, and then leaned down and licked the tequila off my hand.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. She was not reading the room. I was obviously not interested.
“Dude.” I looked at Brax after the bartender handed me some napkins, and I wiped the booze along with Karmy’s saliva off of my hand. “You need to help me out here.”
“Oh, like a threesome?” she asked, looking between us.
Jaqueline, her friend, was giggling as she basically wrapped herself around Brax. “Or a foursome.”
“That’s a hard no.” My tone was harsher than I meant it to be, and I stepped away from Karmy. “There are a dozen dudes in this bar that would take you up on that offer. I’m just not one of them.”
She pouted, her pufferfish lips looking odd when she tried to move them. “But you’re the one I want. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Everyone wants me.”
“It’s not personal. He’s just got his eyes on someone else.” Brax opened his arms for Karmy to walk into them.
My gaze moved to the restroom door where Lila and Del had gone a few minutes ago, but I’d gotten distracted by the shitshow currently invading my space. She wasn’t back at her table yet, but maybe there was a line for the restroom.
Just as I was stepping back to look down the hallway, I heard shouting coming from that side of the bar. I was moving before I even knew why.
I charged past several tables and toward the hallway where the restrooms were. A guy had Lila trapped against the back wall, his arms caging her in as her legs struggled to kick him away. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew it was her.
Del was shouting and punching him in the back.
And I saw red.
“Let her go!” Del shouted, and she continued to swing at him.
He was a big guy.
But I was bigger.
And it wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t. I was going to fucking ruin him.
I picked Del up and set her down a few feet away and wrapped my arm around the dude’s neck and yanked him back before pinning him to the wall and pressing my elbow against his throat.
“You like to fucking hurt women?”
His eyes were wild, and he tried to swing, but I pressed harder against his throat, and he started gasping. I glanced over to see Lila’s eyes wet with emotion, mixed with fear, as Del wrapped an arm around her.
“You okay?” I shouted, and the bastard took that moment to push me backward.
“She’s at a fucking bar; that’s what you get. Don’t come here if you don’t want to get laid.”
What the fuck?
My arm rolled back before I could even think straight. I landed the first hit to his face, and I was fairly certain I broke his nose with one shot. He swung at me, but his drunk ass couldn’t hit me if he tried. I slammed him against the wall, and my hand came over his throat.
I wanted to fucking kill him.
“Hugh!” Brax was grabbing at my arm and trying to pull me off.
“Let him go, Bear.” Lila’s voice pierced through all the noise. She was completely calm, and her tone remained even. “Please take me home.”
I let him go, and he dropped to the floor, coughing and gasping like a little bitch.
A man who violates women is not a man I can feel any empathy for.
“Weren’t you told not to come back here, asshole?” Roddy said, as he clapped me on the back. “Dugger, get him the fuck out of here. And make sure he knows he isn’t welcome back.”
I moved toward Lila, wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head. “Are you all right?”
She didn’t move, and when I pulled back to look at her, she nodded. “I really want to leave.”
A few people had gathered around, including Lila’s friends and Kline, whose eyes were panicked as he hurried over to check on her. Most of the patrons hadn’t even noticed the fight, as this bar was known for this shit.
I didn’t have my fucking car, and I was far too intoxicated to drive even if I did. Karmy was clawing at my back, and Brax pulled her off as I glanced over at Roddy.
I didn’t have to say a word. The dude nodded.
“I’ve got you. Let’s go,” he said. I knew Roddy didn’t drink, but I’d only ever seen him on a motorcycle, so I wasn’t sure how he was getting us home.
“I’m out,” I said to Brax, and I reached for Lila’s hand as she said a quick goodbye to her friends, who were too drunk to completely comprehend what had just happened. Del looked visibly shaken as she kissed Lila’s cheek, and we headed for the door.
Roddy paused at the bar, and the owner tossed him his keys.
I pushed Lila in front of me, my hand still holding hers, but I needed my eyes on her as we made our way outside to the parking lot.
He pointed at the red truck parked out front, and I held the door open as she climbed inside.
I moved her onto my lap and pulled the seat belt across both of us, which made Roddy laugh as he started the engine.
“Damn, dude. I didn’t know she was your girl.” Roddy chuckled.
I didn’t say anything in response, and neither did Lila, who had yet to say much of anything.
Because she was my girl, wasn’t she? Maybe I couldn’t have her, but she was mine.
“I realized she was Tate’s daughter when she first walked in, so thankfully, I didn’t make a move. I wouldn’t want those fists on me.” He chuckled as he headed toward my house. He’d picked up my truck a few times from my place when it wasn’t working and had it towed to his shop.
“That dude wasn’t making a move. He was forcing himself on her.” My arms were wrapped around her so tightly, I looked down to make sure I wasn’t hurting her. Her hand came over mine when my gaze locked with hers.
“Yeah. He’s a bad guy. I didn’t see him come in. The slimy fucker. He’s been hauled into jail a few times for complaints about being too aggressive with women, and we had him banned from the place.”
“Fuck,” I hissed when he pulled down my street. “I should have beat his face in some more.”
Lila’s fingers were gently moving along my knuckles that I hadn’t even noticed were bloody before now. Soothing and calming me the best she could.
I was still raging over what had just happened.
Seeing her struggle like that.
Seeing her eyes full of fear when I finally got him off her.
It did something to me.
“I think you did enough damage to his face. There was a shit ton of blood, and I’m fairly certain you broke his nose and jaw. Killing him wouldn’t help your girl; it would hurt you. You stopped at the right time.” He pulled into the driveway and glanced over at Lila.
“You all right, darlin’?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just happy to be home.”
Home.
I wish this was her home.
That was the booze talking.
Lila’s home was in Chicago.
I unbuckled us and pushed the door open, lifting her out of the truck before turning and fist-bumping Roddy. “Thank you, man. I owe you. Come get dinner at Reynolds’ this week on me.”
“Damn straight, brother. Those are the best ribs I’ve ever had. Count on it.”
I pushed out of the truck and waved as he backed away. I took her hand and typed the code into the garage keypad and led her inside.
As soon as I closed the door, her body started quaking.
The tears fell then.
I scooped her up into my arms and carried her toward my bedroom, and I set her down on my bed as I moved to the bathroom and started the tub.
I knew it would comfort her.
I didn’t care if it was wrong to have her here. Right now, this was where she needed to be.
This was where I needed her to be.
I came back to the bedroom where she was swiping at her eyes. I bent down in front of her and placed my large hands on each side of her face. “Are you hurt?”
“No. He just scared me. I tried to kick. I tried to push him away, but he just kept pressing against me. He forced his mouth on mine, and I bit him as hard as I could,” she said.
Her words were coming fast, and I heard the fear there.
“Del tried to help me, but we couldn’t move him. He was too big.”
I leaned forward and kissed her forehead and her cheeks and her nose. I pulled back just a few inches from her face. “I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner. I saw you go to the bathroom, and I was just coming to look for you when I heard Del shouting. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Her gaze searched mine. “Don’t do that. You got there just in time. This isn’t on you.”