Page 13 of Knocked Up by Her Daddy's Friends

“And the apology,” Drifter reminds them, his voice calm.

“Sorry,” they all mumble.

“That’s better,” Drifter says, releasing the one’s arm who rubs it, wincing in pain.

They all scramble to leave but Drifter blocks their path. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” At their blank faces, he nods toward me, “You need to tip your waitress.”

Clearly now realizing how dangerous a situation this could still become, they don’t argue, they simply thrust a handful of twenties toward me and make a break for it. As they hurry out of the door, tails between their legs, the members of the bar start to laugh and the atmosphere returns to normal.

I don’t. Drifter might have protected me from being groped and assaulted, but there’s no way those guys won’t tell Ethan now. Unless they’re too embarrassed about what happened. But guys like that want someone to blame, someone to pay for making them feel small and weak. That person is going to be me.

Drifter turns to me, the dangerous energy is now gone, and his face is full of concern, “You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m alright, thank you,” I reply though my hands are shaking.

“Here, sit down,” he says guiding me.

I don’t protest, allowing him to slide into a booth next to me.

“You didn’t have to do that, I had it covered,” I say, not wanting to come across as a damsel in distress.

He chuckles lightly, “Oh, I know that. You could definitely handle those assholes, but I didn’t like seeing that prick lay his hands on you.”

Again he gets that dangerous look in his eyes as he thinks about it.

“Right, because I’m Tommy Gun’s kid,” I say a little despondently.

He gently touches my chin, tilting my head to look into his eyes. They’re a deep blue-gray that makes me think of storm clouds, dangerous, yet beautiful and soulful.

“You’re so much more than just that,” he murmurs.

He’s looking at me in such a way that I think he’s about to kiss me, and I want him to. My mouth parts slightly and I tilt my head back a fraction, welcoming him.

“What happened?” Angel’s voice breaks the moment, and we jump away as though scalded.

He’s flanked by Gunner who seems serious and curious, and Buzz who appears mildly amused. Angel looks pissed off.

“Some assholes groped Skye, so I told them to fuck off,” Drifter says with a shrug.

“I was asking Skye,” Angel replies.

“Exactly that, just some assholes,” I reply, unable to meet his gaze.

“There’s more to it than that, tell me,” Angel orders.

I let out a sigh. “They knew my stepbrother and threatened to tell my stepdad. He’s a huge asshole and he won’t like me working here. If he finds out, he’ll try to make me quit, and I don’t want to.”

Angel nods, “We don’t want you to quit either, you’re a hard worker and everyone likes you.”

The others nod in agreement. I’m surprised to hear that, part of me figured Angel would sooner not have me around reminding him of his mistake in sleeping with me, which he clearly thinks it was.

“Look, why don’t you go home early, see if you can’t work something out with your family,” Angel adds.

I start to shake my head to disagree, but he stops me.

“Even if you decide not to speak with them, you’re evidently shaken after what happened. Go home, we can help Tammy close up.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” I reply before giving Drifter a small smile, “Thanks again for kicking those pricks out.”

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