Page 64 of Fourth Wheel
“Am I correct in assuming that secret sleepovers are actuallynota thing after all?” I go for casual, refusing to let my voice waver. But I dodge his gaze in case the truth of my hurt is written all over my face.
He sighs one of those long, cheeks-puffed-out Dempsey sighs before glancing down at me and replying. “Look, princess. There’s no way my brother’s not going to find out about tonight. It’s just a matter of time. I need to be home when he—”
“I get it,” I interrupt. “It was fun while it lasted, right?” I cock my eyebrow and give him a quick up and down, becausedamn. It was more than fun, and I really don’t want to give him up.
We cross the street toward the back parking lot. I click my key fob, and when my Lexus beeps and illuminates, I freeze.
He must see it, too, because he stops beside me and reaches for my hand.
“You didn’t have plans to meet up with someone else tonight, did you?”
His question is in jest, and we both know it. I sass back anyway.
“I thought you were a sure thing, Haas. I didn’t have a plan B.”
“That’s what I thought…” he mutters as we walk through the lot, his body shielding me from the figure leaning up against my car.
Hunched over posture. Menacing vibe. It’s the baseball hat covering half his face that really gives him away.
“Get lost, Adley,” I call out once we’re within earshot.
He straightens up and raps his hand on the hood of my car.
“I thought this was you, Wheeler. You gonna make this easy and drive me to yours, or is this a game where I have to follow you home and chase you down?”
I don’t have time to react before Dempsey’s charging the car, pinning Andrew to the passenger door with one hand, and wailing on his face with the other.
“What. Part. Of.NO. Don’t. You. Under. Stand?” He punctuates every syllable with a jab.
Adley crumbles to the ground as soon as Dempsey pulls back.
“Maddie Wheeler ismygirlfriend. You so much as say her name out loud again, and I will hunt you down and bring on a world of pain. In court. In the streets. I’ll fight you with everything I have until you’re fucking ruined. She. Is. Mine. Do you understand?”
I stand there, speechless, as Adley nods frantically from where he’s kneeling on the pavement.
“Use your words, asshole. Maddie Wheeler is off limits. Say it,” he spits out.
Andrew gasps for breath and struggles to right himself. He coughs and sputters, but eventually he pants out Dempsey’s demands. “Maddie Wheeler is off limits.”
“Good boy,” Dempsey degrades, patting Andrew on the head as he turns back to me.
“Lock your car,” he commands, taking my hand and pulling me toward the alley that separates Clinton’s and The Oak. “You’re coming home with me.”
Chapter 31
Dempsey
Hethoughthecouldcome into my bar and put his hands on her. He thought he could intimidate her into fulfilling some sick obligation he decided she owed. He thought wrong.
I thought I could put some distance between us and pump the brakes on whateverthisis. I thought I could push down all the feelings I’ve been fighting since the moment I met this woman. I thought wrong, too.
We cross the street in silence, her hand wrapped protectively in mine, neither of us uttering a word as we walk to my car parked near the clock tower.
I guide her to the passenger side, open the door, practically lift her inside, then buckle her up like she can’t do it herself. Her eyes bug out of her head, and I know she wants to protest, but she must see something in me that silences her objections.
I need to do this. Ihaveto protect her. The only reason she’s even on Adley’s radar is because of what she did for my brother.
But it goes deeper than that.
