I perk up when I hear him muttering a sort of goodbye. It hits me that I answered his phone and spoke with her without him knowing. I’d be pretty upset if he just went to answer my phone out of the blue. But I have nothing to hide, and neither should he. So what’s the point? I know I’m in the wrong, but I am ready to defend myself…until he glances over his shoulder, lips firm, and finger motioning for me to come to him. Fudge that. I’d rather run from him.
“Ah, ah, ah.” He clicks his tongue before I am wheeled around into his chest, his hand circled around my wrist. “What were you doing answering my phone?” His black eyes narrow, and I gulp back the intensity balled in my throat. His gaze is threatening, demanding.
“I thought it was an ex-gang member,” I mumble in all honesty.
“So why answer?” he questions, his voice soft as he lets go.
I shrug and play with my charms.
“Liv…” he sighs.
“I wanted to tell him to leave you alone, that you were done.” I lift my eyes and can’t help but give him a skeptical look. “Didn’t expect to hear a girl’s voice, though. Red’s voice.” He exhales roughly and looks away, annoyed. “Who is she?”
“A friend,” he finally grits out.
“Didn’t know that,” I say, hating how jealous I sound. He’s just never mentioned her or any “friend” before.
His lips curve into an irritating smirk. “Are you jealous?”
“Of course not! I just didn’t know you had any girl friends,” I snap and grind my teeth at how smug he looks.
“Do you mind?” He puckers his lips in a mocking way, poking me in the stomach. I swat his hands away, and he descends into a booming laughter that sparks heat under my skin, traveling to my cheeks.
Oh, he wants to play? Okay. I can play too.
“Would you mind if I had any boy friends?” I ask with a sweet rise to my voice.
He stops laughing and looks dead serious. “The only boy-friend you will ever have is me.”
“Then what is Matthew?”
“A blip in the universe.”
“Grey,” I whine, angry at myself for the laugh that falls out of my mouth. “You can’t say that about him.” Even though he can be really mean, I weirdly find it funny. What is wrong with me? I think I’ve gotten a little bit too used to how spiteful he can be.
“Why not? It’s the truth.” He shrugs. I twist my face up at him, and he laughs and ruffles my hair.
“What did Red call you for, anyway?” I push his hands away. I love how we’re naked and just casually talking without a care in the world. To be fair, we are in our own house. Apartment…you know what I mean.
“Not that I have to tell you.” He narrows his eyes at me, and I roll my eyes. He smirks. “But she needs my help down at the bar.”
“She works at a bar?” Is it bad to say it sounded like she does? I can just imagine her intimidating a scary biker guy with a single word.
“Yes, and apparently she could use my expertise in bartending and guarding or some shit,” he says, not sounding so sure.
“And you need to go there right now?” I just wanted for us to take a shower then relax. Plus it’s four p.m. Who could possibly be at the bar at this time?
“Yeah.” He pauses. “Why? Jealous?” He rubs himself on me, and I make a face.
“Stop…that.” I push against his chest, but he just pulls me in and wraps his arms around my waist. He tips my chin up, head back. “And no. I am not jealous because…” I trail off. Because, what? I didn’t think this far into the sentence. I am losing it because of this man.
“Because…” he prods, rubbing my bottom lip with his thumbs.
I bite the tips, but he just tugs at the lip. I smile softly. “Because I am coming with you. Not because I feel threatened or jealous in any way, but because I could use a…Coke. At a bar. On a Monday evening. At four o’clock. With my fighter boyfriend and his rude friend, because I love him. Like, a lot,” I rant on and on, but he finally breaks into laughter and steals my words with a long kiss.
“You should just shut up,” he mumbles, pulling slightly away, lips hovering and hot.
“Only for a can of Coke.” I hold up a finger, and he nips at it. I giggle and squeal in surprise as he picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. I thread my fingers through his hair and feel my body shiver like ice has been flung on me as he grabs my butt. “Don’t grope me,” I mumble with a small smile.
“You weren’t saying that before.” He slaps me, and I shriek like a damn banshee.
“Oh, you want to play dirty? Okay!” I wriggle out of his arms and lean over his shoulder.
“What are you—Liv! Olivia!” he screams over my wicked laughter as I grab at his butt out of revenge. Oh my, what are we? This is weird, isn’t it? This is not normal. We are not a normal couple. But honestly, who cares? I love this man more than the world’s concept of normal. Plus, he has a really great butt. Sue me!
***
“Finally, you’re here! Did you get lost in traffic or something, you dumb fuck?” an overly attractive blonde girl shouts from behind the greasy mahogany counter. The bar is low-lit and filled with people. Chatter travels among the crowd, and a song plays on low volume.
“Oh…” I whisper, feeling a little intimidated by her appearance. Rugged and bold.
She is really pretty. Golden hair shines under the dim light. Ripped, tight, red and black t-shirt. A lip ring gleams under the light. Red, a voice in the back of my head screams. She has to be the rude girl over the phone.
“Be happy I’m here at all.” Grey nods at her with a smirk.
She just returns the smirk.
I clear my voice, breaking up the smirk-fest between the two. “I-I’m Olivia.” I wave at her awkwardly. She shifts her piercing blue eyes toward me, and a smile slowly spreads on her face. “I’m guessing you’re Red?”
“Got that right.” She nods and gestures for us to come to the bar. We walk over, and I sit on the stool while Grey gets behind it. “This guy hasn’t been able to shut the fuck up about you. Olivia this, Olivia that.”
“Oh, really?” I look at Grey, but he rolls his eyes and nudges Red. She doesn’t take any of his crap and nudges him right back, making him jump to the side. He laughs. “I hope all good?”
She shrugs as she comes back from quickly refilling a customer’s drink. “More or less. He was just whining like a little bitch.”
“Shut the fuck up,” he snaps at her and leans toward me. “No whining, just praising.”
“Sure, if moaning about her leaving you behind is praising,” Red scoffs.
Wait, what?
“You thought I was leaving you behind? How? Grey?”
“Can we not talk about this now?” he grumbles, absentmindedly cleaning out a glass.
I open my mouth to say a defiant no, but he shoots me a look. Instead, I nod and look over to Red. “So what college do you attend?” I change the subject and see Grey attend to a customer, glancing at me briefly. I choose to ignore it. He thought I was leaving him behind? When?
“How do you know I go to college?” She sounds offended and looks pissed.
“Oh, um, I—I don’t…” I sputter, cheeks bursting with embarrassment. I didn’t mean to assume she’s going to college. I mean, she looks to be around our age, so it just made sense in my mind.
“I was fucking with you.” She looks at me through her lashes, and I grab my chest. She chuckles evilly; Grey shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “I go to John Hopkins University.”
“That’s in Maryland. Why are you here?” I ask her. Why come so far just to work in a small bar, in downtown Pittsburgh? Unless the money is extremely good, there’s no point, and it’s a waste of time driving back and forth.
“I get paid well. It’s an easy job. Come during the weekends,” she explains.
“But it’s Monday…” I point out.
Her smirk glows with mischief under the fluorescent lights. “Whoever said I was a good stud
ent?”
I laugh. “Oh.”
“You laugh when she skips class but didn’t when I did,” Grey huffs out, annoyed.
“Because you were my boyfriend. Of course I wanted you to go to class.”
“We were never really official until late November.” He points a finger at me with a smug wink.
“Oh, just get me my Coke.” I smack his hand away and stick my tongue out at him. Red laughs like I’ve amused her, like I’ve tickled her. Though something tells me she’d knock me out cold if I ever got near her with the intention of getting a laugh out of her.
“You’re cute,” she says, and I flush as she places a cold Coke can in front of me.
“Taken,” Grey growls.
“Damn it, and here I was mentally planning how I’d steal her away from you.” Red pouts while pouring liquor into a glass and sliding it toward a bearded man without even looking. Wow, she is really good at her job.
I’m beginning to really like Red. She’s actually kind of sweet to me, really. To Grey? Oh, she’s an asshole. But a sort of sweet asshole. They just click in a non-romantic way. And she’s pretty cool overall. Was I ever scared of her? I mean, I still sort of am. But I am a bit more relaxed knowing she isn’t some bimbo going after Grey, like one horrible girl I know and punched. Twice. Oh, fine times…at least I don’t have to see her any—
“Sex on the Beach, please,” a familiar, whiny voice says to my right.
I slowly turn on my stool and come face to face with the Wicked Witch herself. “Diana?”
Her crimson red lips curl into a nasty snarl. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Not looking for your drama. Look, let’s just leave everything in the past, okay? I don’t want any problems this time around.” I seriously do not want to punch her again or get dragged into anymore drama. I’m more into school and the program and Grey. That’s it. I do not have the time, strength, or tolerance for this girl in front of me.
“Damn, so I guess I won’t be welcomed with open arms,” a male voice drawls behind me.
I turn around and gasp. “Sam?” Where the heck did he come from? I kind of understand Diana being here since she’s probably prowling for fresh meat to sink her sharp teeth into, but him? This is just ridiculous.
I look over to Grey for assistance for what to do, but I am shocked by what I find. He’s glaring at Sam like he stole his car. Teeth grinding, fists at his sides, and face flushed red. The air is thick with tension I don’t understand. I begin to ask what’s wrong with him when a scream erupts and chaos ensues in the entire bar.
In an instant, Grey is leaping over the bar, pinning Sam to the ground with his large hand over his throat.
Chapter Thirty-One
Grey
Rage blinds me. It crawls through my spine and settles in my balled fists. The moment I see that fucker, I lose my mind. Completely. I jump over the bar and slam him against the floor. I throttle my fist into his mouth, cheek, jaw, everywhere I can get my fucking hands on him. Blood sprays across my lips and covers the floor as I punch faster than I ever have before. I can hear Liv screaming behind me and tugging at my shirt. Screams and cheering erupts around her, nearly drowning out her out-of-character sweet voice.
Why am I beating this fucker up?
The answer’s simple: he got my girl shot.
That Night should have never been a fucking thing to happen, ever. Dean had no idea where the tournament was being held, as did many people. Only the top percent of Miami knew. People who had money shitting out of their shiny white asses. Not grimy assholes with huge guns and a reputation of fucking up anything they set their eyes on. Sam was always around, so he could have easily persuaded a whore who slept with the rich fucks who came to the “show” and relayed the info to Dean.
It’s his fault that Liv’s going through all the shit she is now. She did not deserve what happened to her or what’s happening now because of it. She is the sweetest most fucking radiant person on this fucked-up planet. I would have taken all the bullets shot off That Night if it meant she would be unharmed. Even if it meant that I would leave her and the world behind, at least she would have been okay. All I care about is her safety, and I couldn’t even protect her one night.
My anger from not being able to save my girl from pain and trauma hardens the punches. With each punch, I feel a fire in my stomach grow higher and higher until I am sure steam is billowing out of my ears like crazy.
Before my fist can collide with his busted lip, I am dragged off of him. I stumble back into the stools roughly, pinned against the counter by two brolic men wearing baseball caps. They’re saying something to try and calm me down. I block them out, and the deafening screaming, and Red shouting at me, hitting my arm over and over. I block it all out and attempt to wriggle out of the guy’s arms. The fucker is unconscious and looks like a fucking mess. Good. The fucker deserves to look like shit and so much worse. I want to mess him up even more!
“Let go of me! I said to let the fuck go of me!” I shout and kick and push against their muscular arms.
“Stop! Grey, please, stop!” Liv’s voice drags me out of my daze.
Finally, I look over at her and feel my heart drop at how scared she looks. Her pink lips are trembling like she’s freezing and her too-big eyes are blue with tears. I push past the guys like they weigh nothing and run over to her.
“What the hell was that? Why did you do that?” Her screams are barely heard over the people that have lost their mind.
Red is on top of the bar, screaming for people to shut the fuck up or get out. Many are fleeing as several fights have broken out. It’s a weird fucking thing that, if a fight breaks out in a bar, others will ignite just because people feel high off adrenaline and want in on the action. Fucking idiots. They have no idea why I did what I just did. I have the most reason. They just want to get any anger out of their systems. Dumb-asses.
Liv is hitting my chest now, trying to get my attention. I can’t focus on her, though. Red and blue lights flash rapidly outside, so bright it nearly blinds me. An ambulance is here and cops. Fuck. I grab her wrist and bypass two paramedics, keeping my eyes low. I drag her outside, but she stops as I am rounding the hood to put her in the car.
“Stop dragging me around and tell me what the hell just happened!” she screams, catching a police officer’s attention. I send him a small smile, and he looks on before entering the rowdy bar. Red is so going to fucking kill me. I’ll explain what went down later.
“Sam got you shot, okay?” I tell her in a low voice, careful not to raise any suspicion and get thrown in jail. Again.
She looks shocked and searches for words. “W-what? How? He shot me?”
“No, not directly, but he practically dug that bullet in your lung.” She instinctively wraps her arms around herself. “Sorry.”
“How did he have anything to do with it?” she asks.
“The location of the tournament was secret. Only a few important people knew about it and the boxer’s fans and shit. No one else in the gang could have known, because the town was fucking terrified of Dean and his members. Sam was like his own personal rat that would go around, do his dirty work, and get info when it proved hard to get. So he had to be the one to tell Dean where the fight was. There’s no one else that could have.”
“You’re just assuming it was him. What if someone else found out?” she inquires doubtfully.
“The guy’s a professional fucking informant. He could have easily screwed some wife and found out about it.” I throw my hands around wildly and grind my teeth. I’m getting heated with each second that passes, where I am not drilling my fucking fist in the asshole’s face. “He is the reason for everything that happened.”
“We don’t know that, Grey…” she says softly, tears dotting her lower eyelashes.
“I know he is the reason you got hurt and you’re hurting now.” I step toward her and twist so I am sitting on the hood of the car. I pull her between my legs, arms wrap
ped around her. Her small hands find their way in my hair. My heart tugs as she sniffles and sobs a little. “Your chest is hurting right now because of him. You’re experiencing That Night, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”
She nods like she’s afraid and begins to tremble. My heart shatters into a billion pieces and scatters into the chilly late October air.
I pull her back and swipe away the tears from her red cheeks. Her breath hitches as I hold up her shaking hands. “Blood?” I ask knowingly, brushing my fingers against her knuckles.
She stares into my eyes before nodding frantically. “Everywhere.”
“I will fucking kill him,” I tell her, gripping her hands.
“No. Let’s just go home, please?” She gently cups my cheeks, then rips them from my face, terrified. She thinks she got blood on me. I sigh because of how fucking broken she is and take off my jacket. She looks confused before I “wipe” it off my face and begin doing the same with her hands.
“Better?” I ask.
She looks into my eyes and nods. “Better.”
Looking into her mesmerizing blue eyes and trembling lips, I vow to make that fucker pay for what he did. If he hadn’t been the rat bitch he is, none of this would have happened. I will take care of him later. I promise to never let any pain come upon my girl here on out. Even if it means killing a fucker. I promise this to her in silence, with a long kiss on her hair, as I watch him get wheeled into the ambulance.
***
It’s ten o’clock before Liv finally falls asleep. After what happened in the bar, things were tense and she was having a hallucination fit. I had to soothe her with a bath, a movie, and a pile of blankets bunched up around her small body. Only then was she able to fall asleep.
It’s my fault that she was having such a hard time. I brought up That Night, something we both promised to stop doing. But the fucker popped up out of nowhere, and I lost it. I couldn’t help it. But now I will never bring it up again.
I want to give her what she deserves—peace.
Grey: New Beginnings (Spectrum Series Book 5) Page 20