Throttled (Wild Riders #1)(58)

“Whatever, Beau,” I said, walking past him. I didn’t have to stand out there and listen to a single word he said. I hadn’t cheated on him. Well, not exactly. He could think whatever he wanted, his opinion really didn’t matter to me. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that things didn’t work out between us, but I’m not going to apologize again. If you want to be pissed for half your life, that’s fine.”

“Wait just a minute,” he said, reaching out to grab my arm. “You didn’t even give me a chance to fight for you. That’s what really pisses me off.” His fingers tightened around my arm as he stepped closer. He was angry and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “I could be the right guy for you.”

“No,” I said, yanking free of his grasp, I took a step back. “You couldn’t.”

He took a step toward me. I shuffled my feet back until I felt the cool cement of the bar wall behind me.

“What is it, you only f*ck professionals?” he said, pinning me between his arms. The heat in his tone and stare had me worried. “I don’t have enough sponsors for you?”

“That has nothing to do with it,” I said, trying to move past him, but he wasn’t budging. “Just let me go back inside. I have nothing to say to you.”

“Well, I think—”

“I’m going to give you two seconds to get the f*ck away from her before I beat your ass, Gregurich,” Reid’s voice broke the trance that Beau was trying to hold on me. I could see Reid over Beau’s shoulder. His fists and jaw clenched, whatever restraint he had was wearing thin as those two seconds passed and he walked to where we were standing. Beau held up his hands, releasing me, and took a step back. Briefly, I thought maybe that would be the end of it. That somehow we could avoid what was next, but just as I reached Reid’s side, Beau turned on his heels and launched his fist toward Reid’s face. The sound alone was enough to draw a scream from me.

“Omigod,” I yelled, as I rushed to Reid’s side. The punch hadn’t knocked him off his feet, but I could see his cheek reddening and immediately starting to swell. “Are you okay?”

“I’m all right,” he said to me, before turning his attention to Beau. “I’m going to give you that one,” Reid said. The chuckle that followed surprised me as much as it surprised Beau. The smug smile he had on his face after sucker punching Reid fell as quickly as his fist had. Reid rubbed his hand over his cheek and smiled as if it hadn’t hurt at all. “I deserve a punch for stealing back what was mine, but I swear to God if you ever touch, talk, or look at her the wrong way, I will end you. Do you understand me?” Reid took a step toward him, and he knew as well as Beau that they weren’t evenly matched. Reid could have wiped that parking lot with Beau if he wanted to. “Don’t think I won’t use every connection I have to ruin you.”

“Go f*ck yourself, Travers,” Beau snapped, not wanting to back down.

“I don’t have to,” Reid said, dropping his arm across my shoulders. “That’s what I’ve got her for.” I tucked myself against him as we walked back inside. The second we were back inside and far from Beau, Reid turned to me. “Are you okay?” he asked. His eyes scanning my body for any trace of Beau being a little too forceful. “Did he hurt you?”

“I’m okay,” I promised. “You’re the one who got punched in the face.” I brought my hand up to his cheek and he winced a little when I pressed on it.

“I’m fine,” he assured me. “He hits like a little bitch.” He gave me a wink and smile to let me know that he was really all right and then grabbed my hand. We walked over to the table where Georgia and Brett were sitting.

“Damn, RT? Who clocked you?”

“Who do you think?” he replied, before giving his buddy and my sister a run-down of what happened.

“Did he hurt you?” Georgia asked. Reid shook his head.

“Is he gone?” Brett said, cracking his knuckles. “We need to go out there and give him a Throttled Energy ass whooping or what?”

“Just let it go, man. He’s not worth getting into trouble with the sponsors over. We’ve got too much to lose.”

“He is definitely not worth the trouble,” I agreed.

I couldn’t help but feel like this was entirely my fault. I hadn’t provoked Beau, but it was my fault he was so upset. Maybe if I would have just been honest with him from the get go, he wouldn’t have felt the need to lash out.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Reid.

“Baby, you have nothing to apologize for. He shouldn’t have been out there harassing you.” He ran his hand down my cheek, looking deep into my eyes. “I’m sorry for letting you go out there alone.”

“No. I ran off.”

“Well, I should have followed you,” he sighed. “And, I’m sorry for the smart ass comment about having you to... you know.”

“Well it was true.” I leaned in to kiss him.

“I guess it is.” Reid chuckled. “But, it’s more of a forever kind of thing for me, not just a f*ck.”

“For me too,” I said with a smile, before pressing my lips back to his. “He deserved a whole lot more than just a smart ass comment from you.” I was still in awe of the fact that Reid had played it so cool. I knew he hated Beau and I’m sure he wanted to retaliate, but he was right about having a lot to lose. He didn’t want to stir up trouble with his new sponsors or get a bad reputation. If he would have hit Beau, I had no doubt that he would have gone straight to the press and spun some story about how Reid assaulted him. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Speaking of what you said earlier... can we go home?”