Page 88 of Fox (Road Rebels MC 4)
Either way, it was none of my business. Whether she was happy with his presence or not, she was still talking to him. Even if she didn’t want to, she was holding her own which was something I liked. She was definitely not the kind of woman who needed a man to come to her immediate rescue, and I wasn’t going to be that guy.
I finished my second drink and asked for another, and from the corner of my eye; I could see that they were still talking. It wasn’t my place to interrupt or feel jealous. My mind wandered to other things soon enough anyway.
Maybe we could spruce up Dirty Harry’s. Who was I kidding? It was either the alcohol or the fact that I was stupidly drinking in a bar like this, that gave me ideas about making something of Dirty Harry’s. There was no way that any of the other guys would agree to turn the bar into anything other than what it already was-a dive biker’s bar, where people like me hung out. Where someone like the woman sitting there, would never walk into.
There she was again! Occupying my thoughts when I least wanted her to. I clenched my jaw, unhappy with the fact that she was luring my attention towards her again. I looked over in her direction, and now I could see the guy leaning towards her, saying something close to her face. She was leaning away from him, like his breath was bad, and I nearly laughed.
I looked away again. It was none of my business.
No, sprucing up Dirty Harry’s and trying to float it as our main income earner was not going to work. The bar wouldn’t generate enough revenue to keep all the guys happy. Besides, my brothers needed the kind of work that would keep them on their toes and their blood pumping at all times. If I didn’t find work like that for them, who knows what else they would get up to, to keep themselves busy. No, I needed an idea that would keep them occupied. A legitimate business plan along the lines of the kind of work that the club was already accustomed to handling.
I sensed a movement in the direction of the woman, and I looked over at her again. She was sliding off the stool, and I knew immediately then, that she wanted to get away from the guy. She wasn’t being rude. She was smiling and blushing, and I could sense that she was politely trying to make excuses. It was obvious to me now that she didn’t want him sticking around.
I clenched my jaw as I watched them. She smiled and said something to him, which made him step closer to her. She was off her stool now, but he was blocking her path. He had even bought her a drink, which the bartender was now placing on the counter in front of them.
The woman tried to swerve out of his way and my brows crossed. Up until now, I was happy to see her being able to handle herself, but now the guy was taking it to another level. Even though I didn’t want to see her go, I hoped for her sake that this idiot didn’t cause a scene. If that meant that she would leave the bar and I would never see her again, I was okay with that. I just hoped that this guy didn’t end up upsetting her.
But he did.
Instead of stepping out of her way and letting her go, which is what any man should have done in this situation; he made a grab for her wrist. He did this harshly, violently enough for the woman to gasp, which I heard. I gripped the glass of whiskey tighter in my hand, trying to control my building rage. The woman yanked her wrist away from him, and now I could see her brows crossed. She was beginning to lose her cool. She was beginning to panic. She had been calm and polite for too long, and she had every right to be mad at him now.
The guy still didn’t move out of her way, and I heard the traces of her raised voice.
I’d had enough. I’d seen all that I needed to see.
I slammed my glass down hard on the bar counter and stood up from my stool. This wasn’t about rescuing a woman I wanted in my bed, this was about teaching an asshole a lesson on how a woman should be treated. Unless he played his cards right, he had a big lesson coming his fucking way.
Chapter 8
Ensley
The moment he grabbed my wrist, I was thrust back into my old life. Fear gripped my heart, and instead of Murray blocking my way it was Ryan. And my whole body was threatening to shut down.
“C’mon, Ensley, don’t be like that,” he had a silly grin on his face as he blocked my path again, when I tried to duck past him.
Ice was coursing through my veins, as my heart began to race with fear. I tugged my arm slightly making his grip tighten and my adrenaline finally kicked in. I tried to push past him again, and this time, he reached for my waist. The strength with which he grabbed on to me, made my blood curdle and my heart stop.
This was the way Ryan treated me. If he didn’t get his way with me, he forced his will on me. He was physically much stronger than I was, and he made sure that I was always aware of that.
This time, when Murray grabbed me by my waist; I couldn’t move. It was like I had frozen to the spot. Every bad memory I had of Ryan came crashing down on me, and I felt like I had no way of escaping it.
“Tell me you’ll stay for one more drink with me,” Murray hissed, close to my face. Close enough for me to smell his beer-laden breath. I looked up into his eyes and noticed that they were bloodshot. I hadn’t noticed until that moment, but it seemed Murray was a lot drunker than he had let on earlier. My heart was leaping out of my chest. I had wave after wave of flashbacks of the fear that Ryan had instilled in me. I thought I had gotten over those fears, that I had managed to pick up the broken pieces of me and move on, but clearly, that wasn’t the case. At the slightest trigger, I was right back where he had left a me-a naive twenty-year-old girl who had no strength to defend herself against a brute of a man.
I had no idea how long it had been that Murray was standing there, holding me by my waist. It was only when I heard the voice behind me that I was snapped out of my crippling thoughts.
“Is there a problem here?” the voice was firm and a growl. It was coming from behind me, and I didn’t have to look around to know who it was.
It was like I had always known his voice. I recognized it in an instant.
“Yes,” I murmured, without turning to him and I could feel Murray’s grip on my waist weakening. The expression on his face had changed as well. He was beginning to lose color.
The man in the leather cut, who I thought hadn’t even noticed me before, now stepped up to my side.
“I’d suggest you let her go,” he said, and every word that came out of his mouth was a threatening command. Murray’s hand dropped from my waist immediately, and he was stepping away. He raised his hands up in the air, palms forward.
“Hey, I was just making conversation,” he said, but I could sense that he was nervous.
“Get the fuck out of this place before I bash your head in,” the man growled, and I felt my mouth go dry. I was still staring at Murray, I couldn’t believe that he had this effect on me. I was left feeling vulnerable and cold now. Murray was backing away, almost dissolving in the crowd of the busy bar.
“And the next time you touch a woman without permission, remember that I’ll find you and I’ll kill you,” the man continued in a hiss. Murray nodded his head like he believed every word and then whipping around from us, he seemed to disappear into thin air.
I finally felt like I could breathe again.
The man in the leather cut turned to me now, my eyes adjusted to his face. This was the first time I was noticing how green his eyes were, they were focused on me. There was a hint of concern in those eyes, and I tried to gather myself quickly.
“Ttthank you, for that,” I stammered with my words and I watched as he stuffed his large masculine hands into the pockets of his old ripped jeans.
“Anytime,” he replied, and I could feel a smile forming on my face, and all the panic in my body disappear. I couldn’t help it. Despite how miserably frightened I had been feeling just a few moments ago, now I felt like it was all forgotten. The only thing on my mind was how hot this man was, and the fact that he was finally acknowledging my existence.
“Do you want to sit down and catch a breath?” he asked, and without waiting for a res
ponse, he turned from me and pulled out the stool again.
He was right, I did need to sit down. I hadn’t realized how weak and unstable I had been feeling. I sat down on the stool, with him standing in front of me and we stared at each other in silence for a couple of moments.
“You seem like you’re an ace at this. You rescue women often?” I asked him, and there was a smile forming on his face finally. He had one of those faces that weren’t made for smiling.
“Once a day and twice on weekends,” he replied, and I couldn’t help but burst into a nervous laugh. He grinned as he watched me laugh, his green eyes glowed as I tucked some stray strands of golden hair behind my ears.
The drink that Murray had bought me was still lying on the bar counter. I pushed it to the side not trusting what could be in it.
“I’m Ensley,” I told him, and unlike Murray, this man didn’t seem to have a problem with my name.
