No Weddings (No Weddings #1)(52)

Kristen now stood by my side, serious as a heart attack and shaking her head. “Don’t, Cade. Let her fight her own battle.”

My brow furrowed. Had Hannah shared her past with my sisters? Or was it just blatantly obvious to any person who wasn’t passed out cold that this guy bothered Hannah?

Fighting the urge to pummel the guy into the earth, I held fast. Kristen was right. The fight wasn’t mine; it was Hannah’s. And who knew, maybe it would help her get some closure.

Hell, maybe I could live vicariously through her. Maybe for all of those shredded and abandoned hearts out there, Hannah could give the uncaring f*ck a piece of all of our minds.

Hannah crossed her arms and stepped forward, invading Dumbf*ck’s space. Her stance was suddenly steady as a rock, like adrenaline had spiked through her too, readying her to fight. “You don’t get to ‘come down and see’ me.”

I forced a calming breath into my lungs as Hannah took another step closer to him, getting right up in his face.

With Kristen’s restraining hand on my shoulder, I took a step forward, leaning in, pushing to make sure I remained within a three-foot boundary, ready to strike the * if he so much as twitched.

Hannah’s razor-sharp words were loud and clear over the music from where I stood. A wry smile twisted onto her face as she lifted her arms straight out from her sides. “Like what you see, Brandon? Well take a good look. This is me happy. This is me moving on with my life. This is me so damn glad you left, because I was only a shadow of my true self with overbearing you.”

She dropped her arms to her sides, leaning in so far that Dumbf*ck had to sway back on his heels to prevent their foreheads from smacking.

“I’ve stepped out into the sun and I love it. Go back into whatever hole you crawled out from. You’re not welcome here.”

Hannah turned toward the bathroom.

Dumbf*ck shot his arm up, grabbing her wrist.

I launched forward, slamming open palms into the *’s chest, sending him flying. The momentum knocked Hannah off-balance and I lunged sideways, grabbing and steadying her before tucking her into my side.

His body crashed into a couple of occupied tables. Glasses flew and shattered on the floor. Dumbf*ck sat on his ass for only a few seconds before jumping up and charging me. I shoved Hannah behind me, into my sisters.

The music stopped and a low chant grew louder, escalating to shouts. “Fight! Fight!”

In a blur of movement, Kevin, the bar owner, tackled Dumbf*ck from the side, obliterating another table. The crowd cheered, then sang yet another Irish song about drinking and brawling.

Before things got out of hand, Kevin’s employees descended, lifting the * off the floor and forcibly removing him from the building. The entire time, he stared at Hannah with a psychotic grin on his face, like ruining her night had made his.

I spun around. Hannah stared at the floor where he’d been, her gaze unfocused. Tears brimmed in her eyes.

My sisters surrounded her from behind. We were a pack who protected our own.

Rage coursed through me that the idiot could pull her out of having such a great time and upset her to this extent. There was a special place in hell for the Dumbf*cks of the world.

A few tears finally spilled over onto her cheeks. I lifted my hands to cup her face and rubbed the tears away with my thumbs. “Hey, Hannah. You okay?”

She stared up at me with a pained look on her face, then shook her head, breaking away. “I have to pee.”

Before I had the chance to stop her, she barreled into the crowd and skimmed along the wall down the narrow hallway to the bathrooms.

Her panicked expression imprinted into my mind. Carefree Hannah had vanished. Determination rising hard and fast inside me, I took a deep breath and vowed to help her keep that bright happiness she had worked so hard to claim.

When my sisters began to make their way down the hall in pursuit of one of their fallen, I rushed to catch up. In the narrow space, I grabbed Kendall, pulling her back. I lunged forward, clutching Kiki and Kristen by their shoulders before they pushed open the door.

Kristen frowned. “What are you doing, Cade? Back off. This is a girl thing.”

“No. It’s not.” My voice had gone gruff.

They turned to face me. Kristen looked at me. Then she really looked. Her eyes widened as understanding dawned. The one who was most like me, who read people as well as I did, had connected the dots that I was the most equipped to help Hannah. I’d been there.

I took a deep breath, tamping down the rush of emotion. “Hannah needs me more than she needs any of you. I need to do this for her—and for me.” My voice broke.

Kristen nodded and moved aside. The other two gaped at her, clearly confused, but they stepped back behind Kristen, letting me pass.

The bathroom door opened and two laughing girls stumbled out. I shot an arm out to stop the closing door, scanning ahead from the doorway. Three sinks lined the wall. An upholstered chair, a small round side table, and a couch sat empty in an entry area.

Searching for the unseen stalls that had to be somewhere on the right, I stepped inside. A toilet flushed. Another girl appeared and walked to the sink, flipping on the faucet.

“Hannah?”

Soft crying. A sniffle.

I followed the sounds to the last bathroom stall. The other two were now unoccupied. I stepped inside the stall beside hers, closed and locked the door, then leaned against it.