Page 47 of Unchained

The second my hand connects with his and he helps me out of the chair, electricity bolts up my arm.

As we head to the exit, Harper and Lola are watching us with their mouths wide open. So, I give them a little wave goodbye.

“Just to warn you, I’m drunk as hell,” I mutter, knocking into his side.

He loops his arm around my waist and laughs. “I gathered.”

“Why did you come?” I ask out of interest.

“You texted that you needed my help, Gianna. The most concerning part was that you used the word please.”

I swallow hard as he pushes open the door, the fresh air bringing a wave of nausea over me.

“Next time, make sure it’s a real emergency when you text me shit like that,” he mutters.

He lets go of my hand, and within a blink of an eye, he’s squaring up to Dave, grabbing his face and throwing him head first into the window of a truck.

I clench my thighs together. He throws him on the floor, and smashes his fists into his face repeatedly. Enough to not just leave a scar, but reconstruct the man's face.

“Come near my wife again, I’ll string you up and let you bleed out like a damn pig,” Colten spits, pushing himself back up to stand.

I nod in appreciation as Colt wipes his hands on his jeans and strides towards me. A yelp slips from me as he bends down, picks me up, and shoves me over his shoulder.

“If I throw up on your back, this is on you, cowboy.”

“You do realize every man you let flirt with you during the time we’re married will end up this way or worse. Be very careful, Gianna. I know you want a war, but think about the consequences.”

I roll my eyes, my body bouncing as he walks to the truck. “Oh, you don’t want me, so no one else can have me either?”

“Never said I didn’t want you, G.”

He sets me down on my feet, and I turn to face him with a grin, hiding how sick I feel. I need my bed. Some water. And some drugs to cure the headache before it even forms.

He stares at me in complete silence.

“If I slit your throat from here—” I drag my finger across his neck. “To here. How long do you think it would take for a man your size to bleed out?”

He wraps his fingers around my wrist. “Why don’t you do it and find out?”

I hiccup in response. Because I’m too drunk to do it properly, and then I’ll be in big trouble.

“Why did you text me, G? I know you don’t need me to fight your battles.”

I stare into his eyes, and my brain short-circuits. Drunk Gianna is about to spill the truth. “I’m smart enough to know not to pick fights on your territory. And that asshole needed a beating before he drugged some girl who can’t fight back like I can. So, I was telling the truth, I did need you.”

“To do your dirty work?”

I shrug. “To stop a predator walking the streets in your town, Colt. I was thinking about Lola actually.”

I tap his cheek, and his eyes blow wide. “Next time, do I have permission to slice a man's throat in these circumstances?”

He runs his thumb across his lip. “There won’t be a next time here. No one will be so much as brushing their hand against you by accident in this town.”

That makes me laugh. He has no idea the shit I have to deal with at home.

“What’s so funny?”

I shake my head, letting out a yawn, and I step back, resting my hand on the truck. “I need my bed, cowboy.”