Page 39 of Chance
In tandem, they turned their heads and looked up at the man.He was young, probably early twenties.I didn’t recognize him.From his clothes to the way he smirked down at them, like he was doing them a favor by talking to them, I figured he was one of the preppy trust-fund college boys.
The twins stayed completely blank-faced as the guy said something I couldn’t hear over the dim roar of the crowded diner.Even when they blinked at him, they did it in sync.It was eerily beautiful.
Behind him, the preppy’s friends were eating up whatever he was saying, their chortles rising annoyingly loudly over the other conversations and the clatter of plates being delivered to hungry customers.Evie and Everly continued to sit there, staring at him, silent.His smirk started to slip, his brows pulling together.
“Do either of you speak English?”I was close enough to hear him now.“I’m inviting you to a party tonight.Frat house.”
That was when I saw it, the slightest flinch that told me Evie was the one on my right.Shouldering the asshole out of my way, I slid into the booth beside my peaches.Leaning into her, I pressed a kiss to her temple, breathing in her peaches-and-honey scent that calmed my racing mind for the first time in days.Peace, for one glorious moment.
Preppy slapped a hand down on the table, bending until he was in my face.“Watch it, dickhead.”
“Sorry, man.Didn’t see you there.”I relaxed into the booth, draping my arm along Evie’s shoulders, ignoring him and focusing on my girl.“Missed you, peaches.”
She sat stiffly at my side, her pretty eyes flickering to the unwelcome guest still standing at the table before she stared straight ahead at her sister.“You called him.”
Everly picked up her drink.“I thought I was texting Reid about our dinner plans.It was an honest mistake.”
“Right.”Evie rolled her eyes.“He’s listed as ‘Bloodhound’ in your contacts.How did you mistake that for Reid?”
“So you do speak English.”Preppy slid into the booth across from me, sitting too close to Everly.“Like I was saying, beautiful, we’re having a party tonight.You and your sister should come.I can personally guarantee you will both have a good time.My frat brothers and I will treat you right.”
“Pass.”Everly shifted away from him, only for him to move closer.
“Fuck’s sake, it didn’t have to be this way.”I stood, grabbed the little bitch by the back of his neck, dragged him from the booth, and shoved him toward his friends before he could do more than squawk a protest.He stumbled into his table, moving it almost a foot before he caught himself.The noise level was suddenly turned down, all eyes on us.“Get the fuck out.You’re not welcome here.”
“You can’t kick us out.”Preppy straightened, rubbing at his stomach where it had collided with the table.“We’re paying customers.”
Around the diner, ten other men stood, all of them in MC cuts.From the back, Kingston appeared, apron on, spatula in hand.Preppy’s friends noticed, but his full attention was on me as he got in my face.He was a good five inches shorter than me, at least thirty pounds leaner, but full of a fire that came with being young and dumb.
“Chance,” Evie said quietly behind me.
“It’s okay, peaches.Nothing to worry about.I’m just taking out a little trash that is stinking up the place.Can’t have this kind of filth cluttering up tables.”I moved into Preppy’s space.His face, already flushed with anger and embarrassment, turned tomato-red.“One more time.Get the fuck out.”
“You can’t tell me what to do, motherfucker.I’ll do whatever I want.We’re still waiting on our food.”
“When you invaded my friend’s personal space, you lost the privilege of eating at Aggie’s.Now, take your friends and walk out that door.Or I will drag you.”I dipped my head, getting in his face.Killing him would be so easy.Too easy.Guys like him, who didn’t know how to handle being told no, deserved slow deaths.The kind where I scooped out his eyes with a spoon and force-fed them to him.“It’s your choice.”
One of his friends tugged on Preppy’s arm, pulling him back a few inches, getting some distance between him and me.“Let’s go, man.It’s not worth it.These bikers are going to jump us if you don’t calm down.Come on.”
“Fuck you, loser.I’m not scared of these hillbilly nobodies.”But he took another step back and grabbed his jacket.“The food here is shit anyway.And those bitches aren’t?—”
Red descended over my vision, and I grabbed him by the back of the neck again, cutting off whatever insult he was about the spew at my precious peaches.Forcefully turning him back to the booth, I bent him in half so that he was basically bowing to the twins.They stared up at me with their mouths open in matching gapes, their unique eyes wide.“Apologize.”
“Fuck you!”
My grip tightened on his neck, bumping his head on the table hard enough to make it rattle.“One more chance.Apologize for being a nuisance and then get out.”
“I-I’m sorry.There, you happy?Fucking asshole.”I couldn’t see his face, but his voice shook with emotion.He sounded like he was about to cry.Or piss his pants.
Shifting him away from the table, I shoved him into his friends.“You’re excused.Run along to your little party.Wouldn’t want you to miss all the fun.”
Kingston walked them out, letting them all know they were now on the banned list.
I retook my seat beside Evie as a waitress rushed over to wipe down the now-free table.Around us, the noise level returned to normal.
Beside me, Evie was breathing faster.I could feel her eyes on me, but I tried to pretend I wasn’t quaking in my shoes.Had I scared her?Would I survive if she was afraid of me now?
Everly gave me an assessing look before grinning.“Maybe I was wrong about the bloodhound thing.You’re more like a well-trained guard dog.Either way, you’re still covered in fleas, and I’m still questioning if you’ve had a recent rabies vaccine.”
