Page 5 of Knox
Summer
I popthe top off a bottle of beer and slide it along the counter.
It’s been a few days since I started working at the bar, and so far, I’m loving it.
Everyone’s been super nice to me. Although, that’s probably because Knox is always lurking somewhere near.
If a man so much as looks at me funny, he cracks his knuckles and growls like a bear.
It makes my tummy tingle every time he does it. I love having him as my big, protective alpha. But the weird thing is, I don’t know where I stand with him.
The way he looks at me. Like he wants to eat me up and ravage my body, totally counteracts the actual way he behaves. I’ve been waiting for him to make a move, but it seems like I might be reading the situation wrong.
Loads of women hit on him. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel jealous every time they bat their eyelids and squeeze their cleavage together. But he doesn’t seem to pay them any more attention than he does a bit of dirt under his fingernail.
All the same, I’m not sure he’s interested in me.
Not that I can blame him. I’m pudgy, and not as gorgeous as the other women who hang around the bar. Plus, I have enough baggage following me around it must be like a big warning sign on my forehead saying, “this girl isn’t worth the trouble.”
I’m just counting out the change for another customer when I hear a familiar voice behind me.
Turning around, I put my hand to my chest. My legs go weak.
‘There you are,” Dean, my stepdad growls. “Thought you could run away, did you?”
I walk towards him, keeping my back straight. The last thing I want is to cause a scene and lose my job.
“I think you should leave,” I say, keeping my voice low so nobody around me can hear.
“You hear that?” he shouts, nudging the man next to him in the ribs. “My own daughter, and she’s telling me to leave. The last time I checked, this here’s a free country! Or is my money not good enough for Miss. High-and-mighty?”
At the mention of him being my father, Knox takes a step closer. He’s so big he towers over Dean. I shoot him a warning glance. Hoping he’ll back off. But I can already tell that trouble is brewing.
A large vein is bulging on the side of Knox’s head. His hands are bunched together in fists. A low rumble emanates from his vast, rock-solid chest.
“What are you doing here, Dean?” I say, just about managing to keep my voice civil. “Why won’t you just leave me be?”
He reaches across the bar, quicker than I expected him to move. His grip is painful. I try and pull back, but he holds on tight. His red eyes, glaring at me with that familiar look of loathing and lust that made me run away in the first place.
“When are you gonna get it through that fat head of yours?” he growls. “You belong to me, Summer. You’re mine. And there’s no way in hell I’m letting you run away so you can stand around serving whiskey like some goddamn tramp. Your place is at home. Getting my supper ready. Doing as you're told. You understand?”
I’m too surprised to say anything. He’s never actually spoken to me like this before.
“If you don’t let go of her arm,” Knox growls, “I’m gonna rip it right off your shoulder.”
My stepdad whips around to face him. He lets go of my arm and I almost fall over. There’s pink splotches on my skin where he was gripping me so tight. Tears are welling up in my eyes. My hands are shaking. I’ve never been so angry and so scared in my life.
“What’s that, buddy?” Dean sneers. “What the fuck are you gonna do? You think you can —”
Without warning, my stepdad tries to sucker punch Knox, but apparently, he’s ready for it.
For a big man, he moves surprisingly quick. His head ducking down and under the fist like it’s the most natural thing in all the world.
A flash of movement and Dean's doubled over gasping for breath.
I don’t get a chance to hear what he’s muttering under his breath, because Knox grabs him by the back of the shirt and drags him out the door, slamming his head into the solid wood door on his way out.
For a moment, everyone in the bar is looking at me, and then, as if a switch is flicked the conversation starts again and everything goes back to normal.
