Page 78 of Rush the Edge

“Can I have your autograph?” he asks.

Kane’s spine straightens, and the grip he has on me tightens.

He exhales deeply. “You almost crushed my girl, and you’re going to ask for my autograph?”

My girl.

I both hate and love the sound of that. The smoke in this place must be clouding my thoughts becausewhat?!

“Well, yeah.” The guy snorts. “You’re Kane Barlow.”

Kane’s laugh comes out menacing. “How about I autograph your face with my fist?”

“Kane.” I tug on his shirt. “Stop it. I’m fine.”

He scoffs at me. “I’ve heard that before.”

Thankfully, the guy ends up being a lot smarter than I gave him credit for, because he takes off in the direction of his friends who have completely left him to fend for himself.

I let go of Kane’s shirt as he steps away from me. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until air slips in between us. It cools me right away, but I’m right back to feeling warm when I find him staring at me.

I fix my clothing from being whooshed behind him. “Was that necessary?”

His lips flatten. “If I would’ve let it go on any further, I would have ended up in jail. So yeah, it was.”

I’m mid eye-roll when Kane’s fingers wrap around my wrist. He pulls me through the casino, as if I’m the one who needs to be dragged out.

I rip myself free from his grip when we end up at Malaki's car. Kane makes no move to get inside after I unlock it.

“Are you crazy?” A vein pops out of Kane’s neck as he runs his hands through his hair angrily. “Were you going to take a drink of whatever that guy gave you?” Kane crosses his arms, his forearm muscles bulging with anger. “He could’ve been trying to date-rape you.”

“Careful, Kane,” I say. “You’re starting to act like you care.”

He snaps his head to me, and I jerk backward. “You’re a damn fool if you think I don’t care.”

His insult is a slap to my face.

“A fool? How could I think otherwise after the last couple of weeks? You’re so bent out of shape over the past and clearly holding a grudge against me, something that you have no idea about.” I storm around the front of the car with fury and slide into the driver’s seat.

Kane stands with his back to the passenger side. After a few seconds of trying to calm myself, I roll the window down. “Get in.”

He spins around, the dust of the parking lot kicking up in his wake. The door flies open, and he begrudgingly sits down. The door slams, and I speed out of the parking lot in hopes I’ll get us home sooner so we can go our separate ways.

There’s so much tension between us I could suffocate at any given second.

Silence fills the inside of the car, and my heart aches with every angry beat. My fingers squeeze the steering wheel, and before I know it, I’m giving Kane an explanation that he doesn’t deserve.

“I wasn’t going to drink it,” I snap.

He scoffs, like he doesn’t believe me.

“Do you think I’m lying?”

He’s staring at the side of my face, his angry gaze starting a fire on my cheek. “Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lied to me.”

I stare at the blurring yellow lines out the windshield. The truth is on the tip of my tongue, ready to be unleashed just so I can stop this animosity between us, but what good would that do? It’s not like it’ll change anything. What’s done is done.

“Don’t act like you’ve never lied, Kane. Because we both know you have.”

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