Page 90 of Chasing Callie

She struggles to get her footing in her four-inch heels, but she finally scrambles up, face twisted with rage. “Asshole!” Crack. Her hand connects with his cheek. Her nails rake across his skin, leaving angry red welts.

Silence descends upon the bar. Even the music seems to fade away, and suddenly I’m moving before conscious thought kicks in, storming out from behind the bar. Jax curses behind me, his boots pounding against the floor as he chases after me.

“Maura!” His voice booms.

Two steps. That’s all I need to reach this bitch and⁠—

Strong arms wrap around my waist, lifting me off my feet. My whole body is still moving forward though, so my feet and arms swing out in her direction and I growl, trying to wrench out of his hold. She’s fucking dead.

“Easy, Alley cat.” Jax’s breath is warm against my ear, his grip firm. “She’ll press charges.”

“Oh, great! Look who came to join the party.” She sneers at me. “You were always a jealous little whore,” Penelope spits, smoothing down her hair. “I hope you’re enjoying my leftovers, skank.”

“What in the hell is going on here?” Maura appears like a countryfied version of an avenging angel, red-checkered shirt, shorts, and well-worn boots. Her hands drop onto her hips and fire burns in her eyes.

Penelope immediately switches tactics, her voice becoming breathy and innocent. “Callie attacked me! I was just trying to say hello to Knox, and she went completely crazy. You need to do something about her before⁠—”

Maura’s laughter cuts through the bullshit like a knife. She shakes her head. “Bless your heart, sugar. I think you have that wrong. My Callie may be a lot of things, but she would never start a fight in my bar without a good reason.”

Well, at least she knows I would definitely start a fight, because I was wholeheartedly about to.

Penelope rears back with a scoff. “You’re going to take this slut’s side?”

The temperature in the room drops ten degrees as the words wash over me like a bucket of ice water. Maura straightens, growing inches in a matter of seconds, and her scowl could freeze Satan’s balls. “It’s time for you to leave.”

“You can’t kick me out! I’m a paying customer!”

“Watch me.” Maura jerks her thumb toward the door. “Out. Now. And don’t come back.”

Penelope opens her mouth to argue, but something in Maura’s expression must convince her to cut her losses. With a noise that would make a banshee envious, she whirls and storms to the door. She stalks toward the exit, pausing only to shoot me one last venomous glare before slamming the door shut behind her.

There’s a moment of complete and utter silence from the patrons and then the entire bar erupts in cheers and applause.

Someone shouts, “Good riddance!” and glasses clink in celebration.

But all I can see is the blood trickling down Knox’s cheek from where her nails gouged him.

“Shit, Knox. That looks bad.”

Jax finally releases me, and I rush to the supply closet for the first aid kit. My hands shake as I tear open an antiseptic wipe. Goddammit. This is my fault. Theo. Penelope. Them losing their house. Everything.

“Sit still,” I tell him, grabbing a stool from a nearby table and perching on it in front of him. The cuts aren’t deep, but they’re angry and red. I dab at them gently, trying to ignore how close we are and how my chest flutters.

“I’m sorry.” The words tumble out in a rush. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t come back⁠—”

“Stop.” Knox’s hand covers mine, stilling my movements. “Don’t apologize for that psycho.”

I shake my head. “She only came after you because of me.”

“She came after him because she’s a bitter, hateful person,” Brax says. “That’s not on you, Callie.”

“The only person responsible for Penelope’s actions is Penelope,” Jax adds, his voice still rough with leftover anger. “She’s filled with malicious envy and needs to do some serious self-reflection.”

Knox, Brax, and I trade looks again.

“Seriously, who are you?” Brax asks his twin.

Jax taps his temple. “Get educated, bro.”