“He’s new to the area, been coming the last two months or so. The other women have been eye-fucking him, but his eyes have only been on her. You know Kas, though. She’s blind to any actual male attention. I blame you and her brother.” He grimaced. “I don’t know the guy well, but he gives me bad vibes, man. Especially the way he always looks at her.”
“Don’t worry about him, AJ. Next time he’s in here, call me. I’ll straighten him out.” Whether Kassa came back to Cali with me or not, I would make sure that this Brandon fucker knew to keep his distance from my little caterpillar.
“Don’t kill him, boy.”
A grin titled my lips. “I’ll do my best.” I jumped off the treadmill. “I’m gonna hit the shower. Want to get a drink or something before I head home?”
AJ glanced at his watch then around the gym. The place was steadily busy, but he had four of his staff working. “I guess this place won’t go bankrupt if I leave for half an hour.”
Twenty minutes later, we both pulled our vehicles into The Tavern’s parking lot. I had sold the Jeep Alicia had given me when I had graduated and bought another vehicle in California, so I had taken Kassa’s to the gym. The Tavern held fond memories for me. It was one of the bars where Tainted Knights had played a steady gig. Every other Friday night, we would play there and the place would practically overflow with people trying to get in to see us. The last time I had been inside was over a year ago, but as soon as I walked through the door, it felt like no time had gone by.
We walked over to the bar and ordered a beer each. The bartender was new to me, but that wasn’t anything unusual. The manager went through new bartenders every other month because people hated the prick and usually walked out on him without notice.
“How are the boys?” AJ asked after we had both swallowed half of our beers.
“Kale and Sin have been working their asses off, but as soon as we sign our record deal, I bet they walk out on their bosses.” I stood with my back against the bar and lifted the beer to my lips, taking another pull as I glanced around the place.
It was still fairly early in the evening, but the place was pretty steady. At least sixty other people were sitting at tables and booths around the room. The Tavern served pub food for dinner, so they got crowded at meal times.
“Sin still moody as fuck?”
“When has he ever been anything but?” I laughed with AJ. “But there isn’t anyone else I would want to have my back, man.”
“Yeah, I’d rather he have my back than want to stick a knife in it.” AJ was people-watching with me, scanning the room a few times before his gaze landed on a couple in the back corner.
Sensing him stiffening, I followed his gaze. All I saw was some guy in a booth. His face was tight as he leaned in closer to his date and said something to her that had his eyes turning cold. I couldn’t see the chick except for the top of her head, but something inside me became instantly aware of her. That blond hair was familiar to me.
As I watched, the guy lifted his hand and touched the girl’s face. She jerked her head back, but the look on the guy’s face became menacing and predatory. I knew that look, had woken up in the middle of the night gasping for air from the nightmares of memories that look had induced. How many times had I seen my father look at my mother like that? How many times had she cried and begged him to stop beating her when he got that look in his eyes?
The guy in the back caught the chick’s hand as she started to stand, and even from where I was standing, I could see that he didn’t have a gentle hold on it. The chick tried to tug out of his grip, but the guy didn’t let go.
“Stop,” I thought I heard her demand with a quiver of fear in her tone, but I wasn’t sure with all the other voices in the room.
A red haze fell over my eyes, because I didn’t need to hear her voice or see her face to know who that girl was now.
“There’s that Brandon dude,” AJ muttered, but I was already moving toward them.
I was across the bar and had the fucker by the throat before I even realized what I was doing. I pulled him to his feet, and the guy’s eyes widened in shock and fear as I slammed his back against the wall. Every other voice in the bar stopped, all eyes now on me, but my eyes were on the chick, taking in her outfit, which caused my rage to boil another ten degrees hotter.
What the ever-loving fuck was Kassa wearing? Where the hell had she bought that sexy top, and why had Alicia allowed her to buy it in the first damn place?
“Gray!” she cried, jumping to her feet and tugging on the arm that was pinning her date to the wall by his throat. “Stop it!”
“Are you hurt?” I growled, taking her hand in my free one and examining her wrist.
There were red marks from his fingers where he had touched her, which drove me closer to the edge of insanity. Someone had put his hands on my little caterpillar. Those red marks would leave bruises.
“I’m fine,” she said, trying to assure me, but when I touched one of the bright-red spots, she flinched. “Gray, don’t do this,” she pleaded. “I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”
The guy was clawing at my hand, wheezing as he tried to suck in oxygen I refused to allow him. I lifted her hand and touched it to my lips before turning my eyes on the guy who had dared to touch what was mine.
“You touch her again—fuck, you even look at her again—and I will break your neck. Hear me?”
His eyes were about to bug out of his head, but he nodded frantically. After squeezing his throat one more time to emphasize my threat, I released him. He fell on his ass at my feet, sucking in one rough gasp of air after another. He looked pathetic there, but my gaze went back to Kassa, who was anxious beside me, her hand held gently in my own.
“Let’s go,” I commanded. I was still shaking with rage and knew that, if I didn’t get away from the guy soon, I was going to do more than just threaten him. I wanted to pummel his face, give him a few bruises of his own so that, when he looked in the mirror, he would remember what happened when he hurt something precious.
Kassa didn’t argue or pull her hand from mine, even though I was holding on to it gently enough that she could have pulled away any time she wanted. AJ was where I had left him at the bar, still sipping his beer as he watched us. The place was still quiet, but I barely noticed it or felt their eyes as we walked away from the man on the floor.