Page 74 of Meant for You

“Everything okay?”

Riff’s fingers tightened around his phone. “Not even close.”

“Your brother?” I guessed. Grifter’s older brother was also a member of the MC and as far as I could tell a total screwup. Riff spent a lot of time cleaning up after the fucker.

He clenched his fist. “Gonna kill the motherfucker this time.”

“You need anything?”

He shook his head. “I’ve gotta take care of this myself.”

After that, Riff sat there and brooded.

But I didn’t have time to worry about him. All my attention was on Eves dancing and trying to keep my seat every time a guy went anywhere near her.

The way Grifter was looking out onto the floor again, he was right there with me. I mean, I was trying. I really was. I knew I was over-the-top possessive. Insanely protective. But trying to rein that shit in, controlling it to the best of my ability, did not stop it. It was still there, roaring inside me.

So when a group of assholes joined the three of them, trying to muscle in, to get them to dance, Riff and I were out of our seats and striding over like we’d communicated telepathically.

I could see Everly shaking her head, trying to be polite. Trix and Lila were both ignoring them, or trying to. One of them curled his fingers around Trix’s arm and she yanked it free as the others moved in on Eves and Lila.

Not cool. Not fucking cool at all.

Riff and I had a hold of them and yanked the fuckers back as soon as we reached them. My fist was curled tight, with the urge to smash the asshole in my grip in the face pumping through me. All the girls had said no, but they’d ignored them. These pricks deserved a busted nose for that alone.

“You think it’s okay to touch a woman when she clearly isn’t interested? When she hasn’t given you permission to do that shit?” I bit out.

Eves moved in. “Let’s just walk away, okay? We were having a good time. Let’s not let them spoil it.”

I breathed in and out, forcing oxygen into my lungs, fighting for control. It was hard, but I nodded, shaking my head at Riff, who looked more than happy to get into it with these guys as well.

I released the prick whose shirt I was fisting, and he smirked at me. It took all my strength to turn away, which was when he sucker punched me in the kidney.

I spun around as Riff hammered the guy in the face with a right hook, and then the guy’s asshole friends jumped in.

“Get back,” I yelled at Eves and waded in.

Riff was way outnumbered. I’d only gotten in a few hits when I noticed a couple of other Ramblers heading over. Grifter was fighting off two guys, and one tackled him to the ground, holding him while the other started to wail on him.

Shit, I couldn’t get there to help him…

Lila appeared out of nowhere and slammed a chair over the back of one of them, dropping the guy.

Christ.

Trix was brandishing a fucking bottle, and I watched as Everly kicked the guy Lila had felled in the nuts. Other people had joined the fight, and the place was a fucking mess.

The guy I was fighting came at me, and I sidestepped, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and threw him across the floor, then rushed over to Eves. She looked ready to take another shot at the partially unconscious guy on the floor’s nuts, when I lifted her fireman-style, grabbed Trix by the wrist, and headed for the door as Grifter snatched up Lila and followed me out.

The night air hit me as we walked out. It was still hot, like the blood pumping through my veins.

“What the fuck?” I said as I put Everly on her feet. “You don’t get in the middle of a fight like that.” I dragged my hand over my cropped hair. “You could have been hurt, for fuck’s sake.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “Those assholes deserved it. And it’s not like I haven’t been around fights before. I know how to handle myself. Christ, Dane, you could’ve gotten in trouble.” Her eyes were flashing fire. “What if the cops were called? I just…I wanted them to stop.”

Fourteen-year-old Everly was suddenly standing in front of me, fear shadowing her eyes, and it sliced me in two.

We’d had an intense fear of the police when we were kids, that someone would call them to one of Wayne and Sonya’s parties, that Child Protective Services would get involved, and we’d be taken away and separated.