her go,” I demand. His hold on her tightens, and pain fills her eyes.
“I said fuck off.”
“I’m only going to ask you one more time.” I get closer, and his eyes rake over me, his expression going from pissed to something else, something that makes me feel dirty.
“Yeah? What are you gonna do to me, gorgeous?”
“Break your nose.” I shrug. “Maybe a finger or two.”
He laughs, lets the girl go, and takes a step toward me. “So you think you can hurt me?” he asks as the girl sags against the wall before standing and rushing past me. I don’t take my eyes off the guy coming toward me slowly, but I still wonder what the hell happened to girl code and woman power.
“I think I can kick your ass,” I state, and he stops a few feet away. Even though he’s bigger than I am, I’m not as afraid as I probably should be. My brothers and I used to fight all the time, but as I got older, they stopped fighting with me and started showing me how to defend myself against someone bigger and stronger.
“Give it your best shot, babe.” He lunges at me, and I don’t think. I ball my hand into a fist, pull my arm back, and swing. I feel the crack of cartilage under my knuckles and listen to him cry out in pain. He covers his nose with his hand as blood pours between his fingers. “You bitch!” he roars, rushing at me again.
Before he makes it to me, I’m picked up off the ground by arms that wrap around my waist. My legs flail, and I start to scream.
“Calm,” Tyler orders against my ear as the broken-nose guy is tackled to the ground by two of Tyler’s friends. He attempts to fight them off, but it’s pointless. They’re both bigger than he is.
My muscles relax, and I sag back into Tyler, listening to the guy on the floor complain about me breaking his nose. “Cops are on the way, Ty,” someone says, and Tyler turns us to face the end of the hall, not letting up on the hold he has around me. “You good?”
“Yeah, but get me some ice for her hand.”
“Got it.” The guy grins at me, shaking his head before disappearing from sight.
Tyler half walks, half carries me to the women’s bathroom, opens the door, and takes us in. He releases me when the door is closed, then turns to face me. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he roars as I shake out the hand I now notice is throbbing.
I take a step back from his fury but narrow my eyes. “He had a girl pinned to the wall. She didn’t want to be pinned to the wall. He wouldn’t let her go. What did you expect me to do?”
“I don’t know, Leah. Maybe fucking come get your man to take care of shit.”
“Why?” I frown. I go to the sink, turn on the cold water, and run it over my hand.
“Why?” he barks behind me, and I look up to see him glaring at my reflection in the mirror.
“Who knows what could have happened if I left him with her, Tyler? I wasn’t going to do that, not when I could help her.”
“You weigh maybe”—he jerks his chin up—“maybe a hundred and forty pounds, baby. That guy could have crushed you. He could’ve had a knife or a gun. What the fuck were you thinking, taking him on?”
“I was being a good person.” I lift my chin. I will not feel guilty for what I did. I don’t care if he’s pissed or not. There’s no way I would ever stand by and let a man or woman be harassed without stepping in.
“A good person?”
“Yes, a good person.” I shake my head. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on that girl’s face as that guy tried . . . tried to . . . I don’t know what he was trying to do for sure. But I know she didn’t want it done to her.”
“Fuck.” He sifts his fingers through his hair.
“I need to go make sure she’s okay.” I start to move for the door, but he blocks it, cutting me off.
“She’s fine. She’s with Eli.” His breathing is heavy, and I can see the pulse in his neck and the twitch in his jaw. “Give me your hand.” I don’t want to, but I still place my hand in his when he