“If I make him stop, then I’m going after him myself,darlin’.”Liam has a firm grip on Lily, Angel’s sister. His eyes blaze furiously. “Why were you letting him put his hands on you in the first place?”
“That’s none of your business,” she screams like a banshee, literally baring her teeth.
“Like hell it isn’t,” he counters aggressively. Lowly. So low, if I weren’t paying attention, I would’ve missed it. “You wanted my fucking attention. Well, you got it.”
Maddox taps my chest, bringing my attention away from Liam and Lily towards Angel. “Let’s break this up before he kills him.”
I roll my eyes. Maddox and Dane grab Angel while Jake and I grab Blaze Erikson. I personally think Angel would be doing the world a service if he got rid of the vile, worthless scum. But he isn’t worth the repercussions.
“You keep your hands off my sister,” Angel roars loud enough that all of Beverly Hill probably heard him.
Before you start thinking that Angel is a typical, overprotective brother, let me reassure you, he is not. But he has a history with Erikson.
Blaze Ericson is the lead singer of Dirty Minds, and we’ve had him at a few of our parties over the years and vice versa. He also has a reputation for being less than honorable.
No. The shit he pulls is downright criminal.
A few years back, when Josephine first came back into Angel’s life and the band’s, Erikson tried tocharmJosephine. It might’ve worked if we hadn’t been watching her all night. We knew she hadn’t had much to drink. Suddenly, she sluggishly announced she was leaving with Erikson volunteering to take her home. To this day, we don’t have solid proof, but Josephine told Angel she’d only had two drinks. The second, of which, came from Blaze.
Angel will never be convinced the guy wasn’t up to something shady. For that matter, neither will I.
“It wasn’t me with my hands on her. She was the one all over me.” Erikson thrusts his chin out arrogantly. I really want to punch him just to put it back in place all over again.
Angel growls at him, but so doesLiam. “Calm down, mate.” I tighten my grip on Angel’s shoulder. “You got him away from her. He’s not worth the night in jail.”
Angel jerks himself away from Jake and me in a huff, but he goesin the opposite direction. Maddox and Dane move so that Erikson may pass. He tries to shoulder-check Maddox because he assumes that Maddox’s smaller stature compared to Dane’s would make him an easier target. Maddox doesn’t budge, much less flinch at the asinine move. When the douche gets to me, I grip his arm. “Stay away from us and anyone associated with us, or the next time your jaw will be more than a little bruised,” I whisper so only he can hear. “Am I clear?”
“Fuck you, Jamison,” he grunts. “I wouldn’t have gone near her if I’d known who she was.”
I nod, letting him go.
“Let. Me. Go,” Lily yells out once again.
Liam finally releases her. She shoots daggers at him while his eyes blaze with fury. I turn my attention to Maddox, wondering if he sees what Ido.His eyes convey the same confusion and curiosity as mine, but he shrugs his shoulders.
Maddox, for the most part, doesn’t like interfering with people. He sees everything and feels even more. But he never inserts himself until he senses someone is ready to talk. He never pushes. He just offers an ear and a bit of understanding.
But sometimes, people need that push, or they will never move forward. A bit hypocritical of me, but I don’t want to see the people in my life be as bloody miserable as I am. And sometimes, I’m just anosey parkerthat wants to know everyone’s business. It may not be today, but I will find out what’s going on with Liam and Lily.
Lily starts to walk past us when Jake grabs her. “What the hell?” she demands loudly.
“We are leaving, and so are you,” he tells her firmly.
“You can’t tell me what to do, Jake. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Really? Because you’re sure as fuck acting like one. Now, you either walk out of here with us, or I carry you. Your choice.”
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me at the pouty look on Lily’s face. But she doesn’t argue. When he was going to UCLA, Jake spent a lot of time with Angel’s family, so I suppose she became familiar with his threats.
I see my mother from the corner of my eye as we make our way to the door. My stomach turns at the sight of her.
Yep. It isdefinitely time to go.
Ryder
Johnny Cash
The next morning, I am the first one on our plane as we prepare to return to New York. It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve been home. The international tour that started over a year ago kept getting extended. For nearly eighteen months, we have been traveling from country to country and state to state, with Jake and Angel being the only two getting any kind of reprieve. They weren’t missing their kids’ births. Not that we would’ve let them.
