Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
The music goes off. I see Sara and Rebecca off to the side, Sara with her arm around our friend. Tears stream down my cheeks as Jason stands back up.
“Look what you’ve caused,” Eton growls. “Are you happy? Did you get the attention you wanted?”
I don’t answer him because I’m watching Maddox.
Jason swings at him again. This time, Maddox steps outside the punch and drills him in the face. Jason’s head snaps back.
So much for being big.
The bar is silent, the patrons making a wide circle around the booth. The smell of adrenaline is unmistakable as Jason tries to rush Maddox.
They end up on the ground, and I lose track of what’s happening. Punches are thrown in the skirmish until Maddox manages to mount him. I’ve seen him do this a thousand times in wrestling, but I’ve never seen him like this.
Banks grabs my hand and pulls me out of the booth. He inspects me quickly.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I nod.
He turns to go back to Maddox but spots the side of my face. His eyes run cold.
“What’s this?” he asks, his voice rising.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Help Mad.”
“What is this, Ash?” He rips his gaze from mine. It lands on Eton. “You hit her?”
Eton chooses violence. “What’s it to you?”
I move toward Sara. My heart breaks for this situation—for the blood on Maddox’s lip as he stands. For the fury on Banks’s face. For the sound of sirens outside.
But I’m also angry. So fucking angry. At Eton. How did it come to this?
Tears pour down my cheeks.
“You motherfucker.” Banks has his fists in Eton’s shirt and is dragging him out of the booth before I realize what’s happening. “You like to hit people? Hit me. Come on, motherfucker. Hit me.”
Banks’s eyes are wild—dark, brooding. Angry. “Throw, prick.”
Maddox stands behind his brother while Jason is on the floor behind him.
“What?” Maddox asks, glancing at me quickly. “What’s happening?”
“Should’ve hit me.” Banks grins at Eton before nodding at him. “He hit Ash.”
Eton doesn’t even see the first punch coming. He doesn’t have time to react to it. Not that it would’ve done him any good.
Maddox is on top of Eton, rocking him in the face with punch after punch. “You fucking piece of shit,” Maddox seethes. “How does this feel? You like this?”
“Mad! Enough! Hey!” Banks grabs his shoulders and pulls his brother away.
Banks stands between Maddox and Eton, who is lying half on the booth, half on the floor. Maddox glares at Eton as he struggles to catch his breath.
“You ever talk to her again, I will rip your throat out with my bare hands,” Maddox says, pointing at Eton. “I swear it. I—”
“Enough, man,” Banks says, blocking Maddox’s line of sight. “Let’s not verbalize all of our plans in case we have to use them.”
Banks grins, but Maddox doesn’t flinch.
“Where’s Ash?” Maddox turns, springing to life, and finds me by the wall. Before he can move, an officer barrels in and grabs him, leading him away. No!
It’s a chaotic mess as the police come through the door and attempt to sort out what happened.
“I need to tell them my side,” I say. “That Eton hit me.”
“He did what?” Sara shrieks. “I’m gonna get mine in—”
“Stop,” I say, tugging the back of her shirt and pulling her into me. “He got enough.”
Maddox and Banks are taken to the end of the bar with Skylar Schultz, an officer we went to school with. Eton and Jason, once he wakes up, are taken to the opposite side of the room.
Maddox’s eyes find mine through the crowd, just like they always do. He lifts a brow, a silent question asking if I’m okay. I nod. His eyes close briefly, and then he looks at me again. He presses his lips together and dips his head subtly. Then returns his attention to Skylar.
I want to go to him. I want to thank him for being there for me, for defending me.
“Ma’am,” an officer I don’t recognize says. “We’re going to need a statement from you.”
I nod, watching Eton and Jason get taken out in handcuffs.
“Want me to come with you?” Becca asks.
“I’m okay.” I think.
The next half hour or so is a blur of conversations, paperwork, and medics.
Do I want to press charges? Yes.
Did I see who hit whom first? Yes.
Did I know the man who Maddox attacked? Yes.
I’m drying my eyes with a piece of paper towel that the bartender, Brittni, gave me when Skylar comes over.
“Hey,” he says.
“What’s going on? Can we leave?” I ask, leaning on Rebecca’s shoulder.
He winces. “I have to take them in.”
“What?” I stand straight, my heart dropping. “No.”
“I have to, Ashley. It’s protocol. They’ll have a bond, and they can call someone when that gets set.” He pats my shoulder. “Go home. Get some rest. They’ll be out soon.”