Page 60 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
But I don’t back down. I swing again, my fist slamming into his jaw, and he goes down, hitting the floor hard. I’m on him in a second, grabbing him by the collar, ready to hit him again?—
Strong arms wrap around me from behind, yanking me back. “Axel, stop!” Tanner’s voice is in my ear, his grip tight as he pulls me off Whit. “Enough, man!”
But the rage is still there, white-hot and seething. I struggle against Tanner’s hold, my fists still clenched.
“You want more, huh?” Whit spits, his face a bloody mess, his eyes wild. “I’m not done with you!”
“Stay down, you asshole!” Tanner growls.
“I’m going to kill that piece of shit,” I say. Whit pales, his bravado fading.
“Knock it off!” Tanner warns, still holding me back, his voice low and fierce. “You’re going to get us all thrown out!”
I’m breathing hard, the taste of blood in my mouth, but I force myself to take a step back, glaring at Whit as he struggles to his feet, wiping blood from his split lip.
“Get the hell out of here, Whit,” I say, my voice deadly calm. “Before I do something we’ll both regret.”
He glares at me, his chest heaving, and for a second, I think he’s going to charge again. But then he spits on the floor, his eyes burning with fury. “This isn’t over,” he snarls, backing away slowly.
“Yeah, it is,” I snap, my gaze locked on him as he stumbles toward the door, still shooting me murderous looks over his shoulder. But I don’t move, don’t breathe, until he’s out of sight.
Only then do I relax slightly, my hands still shaking, every muscle still thrumming with leftover adrenaline.
“You okay?” Tanner asks quietly, finally letting go of me.
I nod, exhaling slowly. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Tanner steps in front of me, his brow furrowed as he squints at my jaw. He leans closer, concern creasing his face. “Shit,you’re bleeding,” he mutters, reaching up instinctively like he’s about to touch the cut, but I jerk back.
“I’m fine,” I growl, wiping the blood away with the back of my hand. The sting barely registers compared to the rage I feel for Whit.
“You look like hell,” Tanner says, shaking his head. “This is way above my paygrade. Where the hell is Ben when we need him?”
That’s when it hits me—Ben’s not here. I glance around the bar, still buzzing with the aftermath of the fight. The bartender is eyeing us warily. A few patrons sit around whispering and throwing us sideways glances, but there’s no sign of Ben. Or Jace.
A sinking feeling settles in my gut. They were both here a few minutes ago, keeping an eye on Whit just like the rest of us. I remember Ben’s eyes glued to Emily as she ran out, the tension in his shoulders as he watched her leave…and now they’re both missing.
Tanner’s already pulling out his phone, dialing Ben’s number. He holds it up to his ear, tapping his foot impatiently as he waits for the call to connect.
“Pick up, pick up…” he mutters under his breath, glancing at me. “You think they went after her?”
“Where else would they be?” I snap.
“Hey!” Tanner’s voice breaks through my thoughts. He’s finally got Ben on the line, and I can hear his voice on the other end, muffled but urgent.
“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Tanner’s saying, his expression shifting from relief to something sharper. “Whit’s gone, but Axel’s bleeding, and I’m here stuck playing nurse while you’re off—” He pauses, listening intently. “Wait. What? Where the hell are you?”
He waits, listening to something on the other end. “Okay, come soon,” Tanner says, pocketing his phone.
“Where is he?”
“Didn’t say,” Tanner says.
“Where the hell are they?”
“No clue,” Tanner says.
“We’d better get up there and figure it out ourselves.”
