Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(44)

But maybe I’d been wrong.

I felt bad because I cared much less about what my brother thought than Hugh did. Crossing the line would be an issue in their friendship, but it wouldn’t affect my relationship with my brother any more than Travis having a meltdown, which was nothing new for me.

Hugh had more to lose.

I hadn’t thought that through because I didn’t think it was any of Travis’s business.

I knew I’d be doing us both a favor to just leave it alone and focus on my father these next few months and then head back to Chicago.

But for whatever reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss.

And I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anyone or anything.

But acting on that would only hurt the people that I cared about most.

And Hugh was at the top of that list.





thirteen





Hugh





I’d had my eyes on Lila all night. Following her every move like a goddamn stalker. I didn’t like seeing Kline hang all over her.

This wasn’t about me being protective. This was about me wanting her in a way I knew I shouldn’t.

So here I was, hanging out at a bar that I didn’t feel like being at, drinking far too much, with a woman who was working my last nerve.

“Hughey!” she shrieked and tugged on my arm for the millionth time tonight. She was hot, no doubt about it. I just wasn’t interested. And the fact that she kept rubbing her gigantic tits against my back was irritating the fuck out of me because I had to keep turning around to put some space between us, which meant my eyes weren’t on Lila.

I’d always been able to find Lila in a room full of people, but I needed to stop seeking her out.

But I couldn’t stop looking.

So, I was going to get my drink on and try to forget about all this shit.

“Hughey! Why aren’t you listening to me?” She tugged at my arm again, knocking the shot I’d just clinked with Brax right out of my hand, who fell over laughing because he thought everything was hilarious.

Including the fact that he’d helped Lila sell her car.

Not fucking funny.

But I had a solution for that. I just had to figure out how to pull it off.

“Jesus, Clara. Stop grabbing at my arm, and stop shrieking in my ear,” I hissed, raising my hand to ask the bartender for some napkins.

Roddy was laughing his ass off from a table away. He and I had known each other for a few years, and I was hoping he could help me with Lila’s car situation.

“It’s Karmy, not Clara,” the woman grumped, and then leaned down and licked the tequila off my hand.

Oh, for fuck’s sake. She was not reading the room. I was obviously not interested.

“Dude.” I looked at Brax after the bartender handed me some napkins, and I wiped the booze along with Karmy’s saliva off of my hand. “You need to help me out here.”

“Oh, like a threesome?” she asked, looking between us.

Jaqueline, her friend, was giggling as she basically wrapped herself around Brax. “Or a foursome.”

“That’s a hard no.” My tone was harsher than I meant it to be, and I stepped away from Karmy. “There are a dozen dudes in this bar that would take you up on that offer. I’m just not one of them.”

She pouted, her pufferfish lips looking odd when she tried to move them. “But you’re the one I want. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Everyone wants me.”

“It’s not personal. He’s just got his eyes on someone else.” Brax opened his arms for Karmy to walk into them.

My gaze moved to the restroom door where Lila and Del had gone a few minutes ago, but I’d gotten distracted by the shitshow currently invading my space. She wasn’t back at her table yet, but maybe there was a line for the restroom.

Just as I was stepping back to look down the hallway, I heard shouting coming from that side of the bar. I was moving before I even knew why.

I charged past several tables and toward the hallway where the restrooms were. A guy had Lila trapped against the back wall, his arms caging her in as her legs struggled to kick him away. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew it was her.

Del was shouting and punching him in the back.

And I saw red.

“Let her go!” Del shouted, and she continued to swing at him.

He was a big guy.

But I was bigger.

And it wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t. I was going to fucking ruin him.

I picked Del up and set her down a few feet away and wrapped my arm around the dude’s neck and yanked him back before pinning him to the wall and pressing my elbow against his throat.

“You like to fucking hurt women?”

His eyes were wild, and he tried to swing, but I pressed harder against his throat, and he started gasping. I glanced over to see Lila’s eyes wet with emotion, mixed with fear, as Del wrapped an arm around her.

“You okay?” I shouted, and the bastard took that moment to push me backward.

“She’s at a fucking bar; that’s what you get. Don’t come here if you don’t want to get laid.”

What the fuck?

My arm rolled back before I could even think straight. I landed the first hit to his face, and I was fairly certain I broke his nose with one shot. He swung at me, but his drunk ass couldn’t hit me if he tried. I slammed him against the wall, and my hand came over his throat.