Page 5 of Their Holly Bell

You cannot hit him, Holly. You are better than this, better than him. Look at him, he’s clearly been drinking. Walk away and get Carter over here to calm this asshole down. Yeah, yeah, I know. I turn toward the bar and my eyes immediately go to Carter who is already watching and heading in our direction with a scowl on his face. I hope it’s for this dickhead, and not me.

I walk two steps before my hair is pulled and I’m snatched backward. I slip in the beer below me and end up falling. Right before I hit the ground a pair of warm arms lift me up to a firm, muscular chest. I look up at my savior not expecting to find myself in Quinn’s arms.

“Getting into trouble already?” He asks. Just the sound of his warm voice has me melting into him and wrapping my arm around his neck.

Before I can respond, Jasper has the asshole pinned to the bar with a broken beer bottle pointing at his face. “Who the hell do you think you are touching one of the Steel Daggers?” Jasper asks through clenched teeth.

“She wasn’t wearing a patch Jester. I didn’t know.”

“I don’t fucking care if she’s wearing one or not. She’s working here isn’t she? She’s ours. You keep your hands to yourself. Keep your mouth to yourself. Don’t fucking walk back into this bar.”

“You can’t keep me out of here you son of a bitch.” He roars.

“No, he can’t. I, on the other hand, can. Tyler, you can pick up your final check on Friday. You are no longer welcome anywhere that belongs to the Steel Daggers.” Pres says evenly across the room of the hushed crowd.

“Come on Pres. The bitch needed to watch where she was going?”

Quinn tenses and squeezes me tighter as soon as he calls me a bitch, but I’m not affected, I’ve heard worse. He’s still got me held bridal style in his arms. I rub his chest trying my best to calm him down. “It’s okay Quinn.”

“Him calling you a cunt and a bitch is not okay Holly. Him putting his hands on you is unacceptable. Do you hear me, Holly? How dare he put his hands on you!” He seethes.

I nod. He’s right and I know it. I’m ashamed I let these behaviors become acceptable to me. The things I let Steven do and say just to get through the days with him were unacceptable.

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