Thalia’s laughing, joking around with Logan by the bar. He might’ve been into her at first, but his stance now tells me all I need to know—she’s no longer on his radar. They grab their drinks, and Logan walks back toward us, but Thalia’s still at the bar, eyeing a man on her right.
We’re fifteen yards apart, but the change in her posture is plain to see. She balls her hands at her sides, back straight and chin raised. When the guy moves away, she blocks his path, shoving him back with both hands.
“What the hell?” Nico mouths.
We’re on the move, eyes fixed on the man who I now recognize as the one Thalia danced with the night we met. He gets in her face, his red, but Thalia doesn’t back down. She shoves him again and then snatches a colorful drink out of his grasp.
“Are you out of your mind?” he yells.
My step falters when Thalia flings the drink in his face and immediately grips his shoulders, bracing against him to drive her knee in his groin. He turns purple, mouth twisting into anoas he grabs his junk with both hands.
Ouch. That must’ve hurt.
“What’s going on?” I ask, stopping beside her. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing.” She tugs on the hem of her dress to cover her thighs, a ball of pure rage when she glares back at the guy.
“You have one chance to explain,” Nico says, taking her by the arm. “Why did you do that?”
Her cheeks burn scarlet, and she shoves her finger into Nico’s chest, shrugging out of his grasp. “You’rewelcome. Ask Asher why I kicked his nuts.”
People stand around the four of us, muttering behind their hands, eyeing the scene, as confused as I am. I quickly count how many drinks Thalia had since we arrived. Three. There’s no way she’s drunk off her ass and incapable of thinking straight.
Asher straightens out, his face a faint shade of purple. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Me?” Thalia stomps forward. “Me?What is wrong withyou?I could point my finger at ten women who’d gladly fuck you, so why do you go after those who don’t want your dick?”
“Just... leave me the hell alone. You’re not right in your fucking head.”
“Says the asshole who spiked someone’s drink,” she snaps, shoving him again.
A cold shiver rushes up my spine, and I exchange one loaded look with Nico. “You saw him?”
Thalia turns to me, shoulders sagging as she nods slowly. “Yeah, by the bar. He slipped a pill in this drink.” She waves the now-empty glass in my face.
“I didn’t!” Asher booms, fidgeting on the spot and glancing around as if searching for the fastest way out.
Neither Nico nor I need more confirmation, but Logan’s faster. He springs out of nowhere, draws his arm back, and sends it whooshing through the air to land on Asher’s jaw. Blood gushes from the fucker’s mouth. Thalia steps away just in time, saving her dress from blood stains.
Shawn joins us three precise punches later, emerging out of the crowd to stop Logan from knocking out Asher’s teeth. “Enough. My boys will take over from here, alright?” He takes the glass from Thalia. “They’ll need your statement.”
She nods, no longer in combat mode when I take her to the side, away from the excited murmur of the crowd.
“Promise me something,” I say when we round the building to wait for the cops. “Next time shit like that happens, tell me. I don’t want you getting in anyone’s face. He could’ve hurt you.”
“And that’s when you’d break his hands, right?”
“I’m serious. Find me and let me deal with it.”
She presses herself to my chest for a hug as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “I promise.”
???
It’s close to two in the morning when Thalia cuddles into me on the couch, her head resting comfortably on my shoulder as she starts nodding off.
The house cleared of guests a while ago. Two squad cars arriving at the scene put a damper on the party. Even more so when the officers started taking statements from anyone who claimed to have seen Asher spiking the drink.
He was taken to the station in handcuffs, but Shawn said he’ll probably be out by sunrise with no charges. Thalia threw the only evidence in Asher’s face, and the cops didn’t find any drugs on him.