“Get cleaned up. We should probably head back out.”
“They won’t have noticed,” I say, praying that my words are true.
I do as I’m told before pulling my clothes back on and running my fingers through my hair to tame it.
“Stop,” I cry out when Spike is about to open the cubicle door.
I pull a wipe from my bag and lift it to his face to wipe away my red lipstick that’s covering him.
“Thanks,” he mutters before pulling the door open and marching from the ladies’ toilets almost as quickly as he entered.
The women who are now at the basins watch him leave before turning their eyes on me.
I don’t give them the time of day and move to a basin of my own to fix my makeup.
A smile tugs at my lips as their attention remains on me.
Their jealousy is so strong I can almost taste it.
He’s all mine, I think as I reapply my makeup, but a loud scream from outside forces me to stop mid-application when a huge ball of dread fills my stomach.
I don’t know how I know, but I do.
28
Spike
The eyes of the interested woman follow me from the ladies’ bathroom, but I don’t look at any of them. Why would I when I have Kas?
My head is still back in that cubicle, so I don’t even notice the man loitering outside the door—well, not until I feel the crack of his knuckles against my jaw.
Motherfucker.
My back collides with the wall from the force of the hit, but it seems that wasn’t enough.
As I look up at one of my best friends, his fist flies toward me once more, connecting with my cheek and making my vision blur.
“Fucking liar. You’re a fucking liar,” he bellows, taking his anger out on my face.
I could fight back. I could probably hold my own to an extent, but what’s the point? He knows the reason he just watched me walk out of the ladies’ toilets, and in a few seconds Kas is going to emerge, making it even more obvious.
My clenched fists remain at my sides as I let him take what he needs.
Women scream and run, but no one stops him.
Not until the inevitable happens.
“Zach,” Kas screams, running toward us as fast as she can. “Stop it. Fucking stop it,” she squeals, wrapping her small hands around his forearm, but he’s too focused on his next hit because he pulls his arm back with such force that Kas flies backward and collides with the wall before falling to a heap.
I move to get her, but I’m not quick enough, because Zach’s fist sinks into my stomach and I double over in pain, dropping to my knees.
Kas recovers quicker and crawls over to me.
“Shit, Spike. Fuck. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. You need to get out of the way.”
“Fuck that, Spike. I’ll stand right beside you.”
“There you are… what the fuck have you done?” Biff screams as she rounds the corner, taking in the scene before her and standing in front of her husband in the hope of stopping him.
I stare up at Zach. His eyes are blown, his chest is heaving, and his fists are clenched and covered in blood—mine or his, I have no idea.
I’ve never seen him like this before. This angry and uncontrollable.
Biff pushes at his chest to make him back up, but he doesn’t move. In fact, I’d swear he only gets closer.
It’s not until two bouncers come running around the corner that he backs up, and that’s only because they take an arm each and practically drag him away from the scene.
“I fucking trusted you,” he screams back at me as he attempts to fight the two guys holding him.
“Fuck. I’m so sorry,” Biff says, dropping to her knees on the other side of me to Kas.
“It’s not your fault.”
Lifting my hand, I wipe away the blood trickling down my chin.
She looks back in the direction Zach went in before her concerned eyes come back to me.
“Go to him, it’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” I’ve never seen her look so torn.
“Yes. He’s going to need you.”
“Spike, for once will you stop thinking about everyone else and concentrate on yourself,” she snaps. “Anyway, he’s not going to want me anywhere near him when he discovers that I already knew about this.”
I wince, knowing that she’s right.
“Don’t worry about me, I can handle him.” She winks.
“Just go,” I say as I notice a member of staff heading our way.
Pushing from the floor, I manage to get to my feet with the help of Kas’ arm around my waist.
“One of my colleagues is about to call the police. If you’d like to follow me, then—”
“No,” I bark, much to his surprise. “No police. We’re leaving.”
“But you need to press—”
“I need to do fuck all.”
The guy—who doesn’t look a day over eighteen—pales at my tone.
“Excuse us,” Kas says, taking a step forward with me and forcing him to stand aside.
“But—”
Kas stops when we’re in front of the guy. “Nothing happened here. You got that?”
He swallows nervously but eventually nods and allows us to leave without any further drama.
“Fucking hell,” D shouts when he sees the two of us trying to make our way to the exit. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Don’t start,” I mutter. I don’t need him playing dad right now.
I fucked up tonight. Hell, I fucked up the first time I laid a finger on Kas, but it’s a bit late to regret any of that now because I’m in too deep.
“There’s a car on its way,” Kas says
“They’re not going to let him in like that.”
“They’re going to have to.”
“Jesus. He really didn’t stand a chance with you, did he,” D says as if I’m not even here.
“Nothing wrong with going after what you want. How much did you give him to drink?”
“Few shots, some whisky. I wasn’t fucking counting.”
I lose focus on what they’re saying by the time the cool night
