Page 30 of Lead Me On
Mac lunged right at her, his hand closing around her upper arm in an iron grip. The music still roared. Chase couldn’t hear what they shouted, but they were definitely arguing as Mac swung Jane around to face him. Her leather-clad dance partner backed away, hands held high in appeasement.
For a few brief seconds the alarm that had been twisting tight in his neck started to relax. Jane didn’t look frightened. She didn’t even look surprised. And Chase suddenly realized why she wouldn’t be. As Big Mac MacKenzie tugged Jane away from the dance floor, it registered in Chase’s brain thatMacwas the one who’d pulled Jane into the parking lot the night before. She was his girlfriend maybe. Big Mac’s crazy, sleeping-around, drama-loving girlfriend. Probably they both got off on it.
Unbelievable. Chase’s brain was tumbling.
But as he watched, Jane snapped her arm free of Mac’s grip, shaking her head. The big man’s eyes narrowed with fury as a flush crept up his face. As he swung back toward Jane, Mac’s hands tightened into massive fists. His lips twisted into a snarl.
Adrenaline jumped into Chase’s veins with the force of a tidal wave. He surged forward, hoping to reach Jane before those fists landed on her. He wasn’t going to make it. He was still twenty feet away.
But instead of hitting her, Mac wrapped his arms around her body and simply picked her up and carried her toward the door. Toward Chase. Her feet kicked wildly, stiletto heels landing on the man’s shins like a rapid-fire gun.
Chase finally reached them, and dug his fingers into Mac’s elbow. “Get your fucking hands off her, man.”
“Excuse me?” Mac shouted.
“I’m not going to stand here and watch you abuse a woman. Get your hands off hernow.”
“Chase!” Jane gasped. She gave up her fight and hung limply in the man’s grip.
Mac growled, “Mind your own business,” and tried to shove past him toward the door. But Chase tightened his hold, and Mac finally let Jane’s feet drop to the floor.
“I told you to mind your own business.”
Chase kept his weight on the balls of his feet and his arms loose at his sides. He hadn’t been in a fistfight in a couple of years, and Mac was one big bastard. But as long as he didn’t land a surprise roundhouse punch, Chase would do okay. He just had to be ready. “And I told you to leave the woman alone. If you wanna knock somebody around, try it on me.”
“Chase,” Jane panted, reaching a hand out to flatten it on his chest. “Don’t. It’s okay.”
Mac growled, “Get back,” putting his hand against Jane’s shoulder as if he’d push her, and Chase lost it.
He knocked the man’s hand away and grabbed a handful of his shirt to yank him off balance. The large fist that flew at him was easy enough to spot, anyway, and Chase almost dodged it in time. No broken nose, but his ear exploded in pain before he managed to get in a good jab to Mac’s gut. The crowd shouted approval.
“Stop!” Jane screamed. “Stop!”
Chase shoved Mac away and got his fists up high enough to block another punch. Jesus, Mac was fast for a big guy.
They circled each other as the crowd formed a dense ring around them. “Back up, Jane,” Chase muttered.
“No. Stop it. Please, Chase… He’s not going to hurt me. I swear.” Suddenly she was sliding in between them, blocking their fight with her own body.
Chase dropped his hands and backed up.
“Take it outside!” someone roared from the bar.
“Yes,” Jane urged. “Let’s go outside. Please.” She stepped closer and nudged him toward the door. Chase moved, but he kept his eyes on Mac, just in case. His ear was still throbbing Tom-and-Jerry style, as if it were four times its normal size and pulsing like a siren. He kept moving outside until he was a good fifteen feet from the doorway.
Jane followed him through the front door and walked out onto the gravel to wait, arms crossed and lip caught between her teeth. Her arms pushed her breasts higher, showing them off.
Chase dragged his gaze away, though it cost him a few drops of sweat to manage it. He eyed Big Mac for a moment before looking back to Jane’s barely there outfit. “What the hell’s going on here, Jane?”
Her arms tightened around her body. “Nothing.”
“Nothing.” He let his eyes slide down. “So this is just how you like to party?”
Her cheeks flamed and she dropped her arms. “No.”
“You like guys who treat you this way? Put their hands on you?”
“No!”
