Just as I’m about to reach up and pull her down, her ankle turns in her wedges and she comes tumbling down.
I’m right there to catch her, and with a sudden “oomph” she’s cradled against me and looking up into my eyes.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” she says, with glassy eyes and the strong scent of tequila on her breath.
“Thanks, man, I can take her from here,” some skinny guy wearing a CrossFit shirt says as he reaches for Gemma.
“What you can do is back the fuck up.” I narrow my eyes at him and he pauses. “She’s mine.”
“Not according to my bar tab.” The little shit must be blind because I’m almost twice his size.
“This is Ronnie. He let me try tequila,” Gemma slurs and I roll my eyes. “It’s pretty gross but it’s less gross with limes. I had two whole shots.”
“Well, Ronnie is about to get his teeth knocked out.” I see his eyebrows pull together like he’s calculating if Gemma is worth the fight. She is, but he wouldn’t make it out alive.
“Whatever,” he finally tosses out when he decides he can’t take me. He turns to walk away but even over the noise of the place I can hear him. “Bitch can’t handle her liquor anyway.”
I’ve got Gemma on her feet and behind me in a flash as I grab Ronnie by the scruff of his neck and slam his face down into the bar. There’s a loud crack and the crowd backs up a little as he slides down in a crumpled heap on the floor. The bartenders rush over and the bouncers close in on us to see what’s happening.
I take my wallet out and throw some cash on the counter as everyone starts shouting. “Don’t worry, we’re out of here,” I say, grabbing Gemma and throwing her over my shoulder fireman-style.
“I don’t think the world should be upside down right now, but tequila knows best,” Gemma says mostly to herself when I get to the door.
I glance over to her car and realize I can’t leave it at this shit hole overnight and not have it broken into. I recognize one of the bouncers because I did some work on his BMW last year.
“Caleb, can you hold on to these for me?” I fish Gemma’s keys out of her pocket and toss them to him.
“Yeah, someone coming to get it?” I nod and he tucks the keys away. “I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”
“Thanks, man.”
I put Gemma in the truck and her eyes are barely open and she flops over onto the console. I send a quick text to Mitch letting him know where Gemma’s car is, and he says he and Roxy will take care of it.
I get in the driver’s seat and the sound of me closing my door has Gemma perking up.
“Hey, who the hell are you?” She squints her already half closed eyes at me and points a finger in my face. “I’m not supposed to ride with strangers. That’s the rules.” She drags out the last word as she wobbles in her seat.
“Just tell me when you need to puke.” I know it’s going to happen at some point, I’d just rather it be after we get out of the truck.
“You know tequila gets a bad rap. It’s pretty great.”
“I’m guessing this is your first time,” I say and fight a smile.
“I’ve going to have a lot of firsts tonight.”
My smile drops as I stare over at her.
“Ronnie was nice to me. He would have worked.”
“Worked for what?” My jaw is clenched so tight I feel it pop.
“Bow-chicka-bow-wow,” she sing-songs, and I want to punch my fist through the windshield.
“No” is all I can manage to get past the lump in my throat.
“No? You’re not my father, Bronx.” She says my name like it tastes bad and I fucking hate it.
“I know that, but do you think that guy was who he would have wanted for you?” I grip the steering wheel tighter and try to control my anger. She’s had too much to drink and she doesn’t know what she’s saying.
“I know that if I don’t get out of this damn town I’ll never find out. Because apparently everyone here has been warned to stay away from me. Care to explain that?” When I don’t answer she lets out a humorless laugh. “Oh, that’s right, we don’t tell Gemma shit. Just keep ignoring her and being an asshole and making sure she doesn’t have fun.”
“Is that what you were doing tonight? Was that fun for you, Gemma? Because if so, I don’t know you at all.”
She’s silent as I make the turn to her dad’s garage and her apartment above it.
I sigh because I know deep down she’s right. I’ve made sure everyone has stayed away from her but I didn’t think about the consequences of it. She lost so much when her dad passed; we all did. I just know she’s the one thing in the world that is good and I wanted to protect that for him, and selfishly for myself.