He was definitely not reading the situation wrong. However, I didn’t need his help. It wasn’t that kind of scenario. Stray wasn’t going to hurt me. Not the way Noah thought he might.
“I just want him to stop following me around,” I blurted. Why the hell did I say that?
Stray let go of me, backing off as he turned to face Noah. I sensed the violence brewing between them. When Noah pulled out a knife, my heart began to race.
Instead of taking a swing at Stray, Noah jammed the blade into Stray’s back tire. “There. That should give you a head start.”
Panic seized me. This was not what I wanted. I began to babble. “You didn’t have to do that. That’s not what I meant. Everything is cool. Seriously, I don’t need your help.”
Stray erupted in anger. “Seriously, asshole? You owe me for a new tire. You also really need to learn to mind your own fucking business.”
He grabbed Noah by the collar of his shirt, dragging him close. I feared that Noah would use the knife. To my relief, he dropped it on the ground and raised both hands.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Hurley?” Noah snarled. “I’ll beat your fucking ass, and I don’t need a weapon to do it.”
Stray threw the first punch. Unable to stick around and watch, I took off running for my car. Tears welled in my eyes. There was no denying the attachment I’d started to form to him. The worry I possessed for his safety.
Once inside my car, I pulled out my phone and texted Storm. I let her know that Noah and Stray were fighting in the parking lot. She would need to alert Rebel. I hated leaving him alone with Noah, but I couldn’t stay. The need to flee won out, and I gunned the engine, squealing my tires as I exited the parking lot.
One tear managed to slide down my cheek before I angrily swiped it away. Developing feelings for him had never crossed my mind as a possibility. I was in over my head. Somehow, I had to break this tie with Stray before it consumed me completely.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
STRAY
I was ready to kill this motherfucker. My fist slammed into Noah’s face repeatedly. The sick bastard seemed to enjoy it. He took several hits before fighting back. Guys like him were unpredictable. Unhinged.
In my peripheral view, I saw Codie run. Not that I blamed her. She didn’t want to get caught up in my bullshit. I wouldn’t want to either if I were her. There was a reason most of us were still single.
All right, there were a few reasons. Most of us were players who weren’t ready for anything more than a good fuck. However, there was also this. The lives we lived. Not a lot of women wanted to tie themselves to a guy up to his eyeballs in violence and crime. Codie didn’t want this.
I shouldn’t want it for her either. I was a fool to think I could claim her. Make her mine. I’d never wanted that before. I still didn’t know if I did want that. All I knew was that I wanted her.
Going after her now wasn’t an option. Noah had stabbed a hole in my fucking tire, stranding me in the parking lot. I wasn’t sure why he felt the need to play the hero. He didn’t even like women. This wasn’t about getting Codie’s attention. This was only about pissing me off.
My face was still healing from the fight with Danny a week ago. The bruises had faded significantly. Now Noah was creating new ones to take their place. Adrenaline made it so that I barely felt each blow.
We took turns throwing punches, shoving each other around the parking lot. I’d had more than enough of Venom for one day. I was ready to kick this dick’s skull in.
“What kind of a sick fuck are you?” Noah smashed me in the chin with his left fist after faking me out with his right. “Cornering women in the parking lot? What were you going to do to her? Sexual predators like you are good for nothing. You deserve to be six feet under.”
I’d been called a lot of things in my twenty-two years. A sexual predator was not one of them. I’d never needed to prey on any woman. They were more than happy to spread their legs for me. Even Codie.
“You’re talking out your ass. You have no idea what’s going on between Codie and me. I would never hurt her. I would fucking kill anyone who tries.” Every sentence was followed by a punch thrown at Noah.
He blocked a few before taking a good one in the nose. He laughed with blood running down his face, pausing to spit some on the ground. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re a real standup guy. Everyone knows you love them and leave them. Moving on to the next girl before the sheets have even cooled from the last one. I feel sorry for any woman unlucky enough to get involved with you.”
A surge of fury gave me a boost of strength. I shoved Noah hard enough to send him flying into the back of my car. He flipped over the trunk and landed on the asphalt.
Back on his feet in seconds, Noah lunged at me. I was ready for him. I had a lot of pent-up frustration to release.
There was a shout as Rebel and Casper arrived on the scene. Rebel grabbed for me while Casper went for Noah. They pulled us apart, despite our efforts to keep fighting.
“Chill the fuck out, man,” Rebel admonished. He put himself in front of me, forcing me to back away.
As furious as I was, I wasn’t going to shove one of my best friends around just to get to Noah. Casper wrestled Noah down to the ground, pinning him with a heavy knee on his chest.
“What the hell is going on here?” Rebel asked, looking to me for an explanation.
