Take With a Grain of Salt
JAKE
THE PLACE WAS A FUCKING mob scene.
Without hesitation, I pushed my way through the crowd and shook my head when I looked in the direction of the cage. One guy had the other on the floor, and his fists were pummeling down without mercy.
AX was one archaic place.
Bare-knuckled fights without protection. Choke holds, eye gouging, groin attacks, the only rule was there were no rules. Over the past few months, I’d seen these guys come through the ER claiming they’d fallen or gotten into it with a buddy, but the bruising around the neck and bloodied knuckles always gave it away.
Whatever, I wasn’t there to judge. My job was to keep them alive. Nothing I did could stop them from wanting to kill each other.
The volume of people inside was unreal. Those who weren’t watching the fight were either drinking or smoking or looking for a good time. It smelled like piss and vomit and cigarettes everywhere, yet hands were exchanging hundred dollar bills like it was a fancy casino in Las Vegas.
I searched for the sign she’d told me to look for, and then strode past it down the hallway she’d mentioned.
It was where the restrooms were located. It was dark, and water dripped from copper pipes above. There was no doubt the place had once been condemned and was now occupied for the sake of off-the-grid illegal activity only.
A payoff here and there must be what was keeping them open for business. With any luck, not for much longer.
There were a few dudes in leather loitering about halfway down the corridor. This set me on edge. It could be a drug deal going down, or perhaps a plan was being hatched to inspire a good time.
Who the fuck knew or cared, so long as it didn’t involve Jules or me. To help ensure that, I pulled the hoodie of my sweatshirt up and started down the yellowed linoleum. Drawing attention was the worst thing I could do in a place like this. Invisible was what I wanted to be.
Christ! Jules would be anything but invisible with that bold dirty blonde hair of hers and those big green eyes.
Every muscle in my body tensed and my hands made fists so tight my knuckles ached when I thought about what an easy target she was.
These guys were all hyped up, one was bouncing on his toes, and another was throwing punches in the air. They did, however, seem in their own world. Exchanging stories of fights they’d seen go down, they barely appeared to notice me. I kept my cool and made casual as I breezed by them. Giving the only one guy who looked my way a slight nod, I then quickly averted my gaze.
I wasn’t a chicken shit, by any means.
In fact, I was a black belt, and I could probably take all three of them if I had to.
I just didn’t want to have to.
I had to find Jules.
The women’s restroom was where I’d told her to go. I had no idea how safe it was or wasn’t, but it was better than anywhere else I could think of since she’d refused to leave.
It was just ahead, and I glanced over my shoulder to see if any of the guys I’d passed were watching me, but no one was. They were too caught up in the insanity of this place to displace their attention for long.
I huffed in a huge breath and pushed inside. It was hotter than hell in here. I glanced around and saw only one small window opened for ventilation.
The room was quiet despite the open window. Having no idea if anyone was in there, I peered down like a peeping tom to look under the stalls. Only one was occupied, and by a pair of red Converse. Uncertain if it was her or not, I whispered, “Jules.”
The door opened slowly with a creak that seemed way too loud, and there she was standing in the opening staring at me with wide green eyes.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” she answered, her voice low, shaky and her hands gripping the edges of the stall frame.
I wasn’t convinced.
“You shouldn’t have come here alone,” I barked, taking a step forward to inspect her.
She came closer to me. “I had to, Jake. I didn’t have a choice. I already told you that guy said he was going to throw my cousin out on the street if I didn’t come get him.”
I looked her up and down, and not because I was turned on, but because I was concerned. The blood had drained from her face, her breathing was slightly labored, and she seemed unsteady on her feet. As my gaze rose, I noticed a large red blotchy spot just above her elbow. “What happened to your arm?” I asked, gently taking her wrist to lift her limb.
“It’s not a big deal.”
“What happened?” I asked again, a little more sternly this time. Upon examination, the redness didn’t appear irritated or punctured in any way, but more like a hand mark, like someone had grabbed her.
She tugged her arm away before I could finish looking at it. “I said I was fine.”
“And I said, tell me what happened!”
She stared up at me wide-eyed with resolve. “Fine. When I was outside calling you, some drunk creep approached me and took me by the arm, but I took care of the situation.”
There was no way to explain the surge of adrenaline that spiked through me, the need to put that motherfucker in his place. I wanted to find him and tear him limb by limb.
It was crazy.
No, it was insanity.
Acting out irresponsibly in that way could cost me everything I’d worked for.
With a muttered curse, I shook off the white-hot rage that was threatening to consume me and focused on Jules. “How exactly did you take care of it?”
She smiled a bit, and right away that put me mildly at ease. “I kneed him in the balls and marched back inside.”
Fuck, yeah.
Smirking at her, I pulled her against me like it was the most natural thing in the world, and then I stroked my hand over her cheek. “What are you, some kind of ninja?”
She leaned into my touch for just a moment, but then she pulled back and looked up at me. “How did you know?”
The comedy she found in the situation wasn’t really funny. However, the fact that she could find it so fueled an insanely crazy need to kiss her. I couldn’t right now, though. Focus. I had to focus. “Other than being slightly delusional, where’d you learn to do that?” I asked instead, thinking it would be a great skill for my sister to learn.
“Finn taught me. And we should probably go get him, he really didn’t look good.”
“He’s in the office at the end of the hall, right?”
She nodded. “That creep said he’d keep him in there until I returned.”
Creep. The term probably wasn’t that far off the mark . . . for either of the men.
Looking at the way her tits filled out that tank top like half oranges, I unzipped the beat-up navy sweatshirt I was wearing and handed it to her. “Speaking of creeps, put this on, and pull the hood up. We’ll draw less attention that way when we leave.”
To her credit, she might have wanted to refuse, but she said nothing. Instead, she surprisingly held her arms back for me to help her into it. From behind her, I reached around and zipped it. She smelled like sunshine in a place that smelled anything but. I had an urge to hold her for a moment, and I had no idea why. Hugging was definitely not my thing. Besides, my sister did enough of that for the both of us.
I took her hand. “Come on, stay close to me.”
Back in the hallway, the group of guys had cleared, and it was empty. With quick strides, I was knocking on the closed metal door that read, “Manager,” in a matter of seconds.
Manager.
That was a joke.
More like human janitor.
“Go the fuck away.”
I raised a brow as I looked over at Jules. “I got this,” she told me. She put her face close to the door. “It’s Finn’s cousin, I’m back to get him.”
When the door swung open, I had to admit I was clearly impressed. “He’s awake now,” the burly dude with lettuce stuck in his beard, grumbled.
He looked me up and down. “Who the fuck are you?”
I looked around the shabby office and wondered what the hell her cousin was doing in a place like this. “A friend.”
“Friends ain’t welcome.”
Jules stepped forward and breezed right past him. “He’s here to help me get Finn to the car. And don’t worry, you’ll still get your money.”
Those beady eyes of his narrowed on me “Fine then. Saves me the trouble,” he muttered, and then he held his palm out. “I’m guessing you’re the ATM.”
I wanted to shove the twenties up his ass as I pulled them out of my pocket, but I wasn’t stupid either. Getting into it with this prick wasn’t going to make getting out with a defeated fighter in tow any easier. Besides, by the looks of the heap of a body in the corner, it was already going to be tough enough.
I held out the money though, he could take it himself.
“Finn, are you okay?” Jules asked her cousin.
He mumbled something that at least gave me hope he was alert enough to ambulate.
She looked over at me. “He says he’s fine.”
Without appearing to be overly worried, I strode over toward Finn and Jules and then squatted down. “Do you know your name?” I asked him.
“Finn,” he mumbled. “Finn Easton.”
I tracked his pupils. “Do you know what day it is?”
He looked over at Jules, and she nodded at him. “Saturday,” he answered.
“You know why you’re in here on the floor?”
“I was knocked out,” he said, his lip more than a little swollen and impeding his speech.
“What the fuck are you, a doctor or something?” the human janitor asked.
Finn was alert at least, and I felt comfortable enough that getting him out of there should be the first priority.
The sound of shuffling feet was quick, and huge boots were beside me. “Cause we don’t allow medical attention to be given in the building.”
I glanced up. “Do I look like a fucking quack?”
It wasn’t like I denied who I was. I simply asked a question.
For some reason using the term for a sham doctor seemed to satisfy him. “Just get him out of here,” he fumed, and then he turned and stormed out of the room.
“Come on,” I told Finn as I hoisted him up.
Jules went to his other side.
“I’m good,” he told her.
I pulled his arm over my shoulder. “I need that sweatshirt back,” I told Jules.
She removed it, and I couldn’t help but watch the way she moved. The shape of her body. Her slight curves. Once she handed it to me, I put it on Finn and pulled the hood up. If the crowd saw him, there was a chance he’d get heckled. This way we might slip out somewhat unnoticed.
Before I opened the door, I asked him, “Have you vomited?”
He shook his head no.
“You know, you should go to the hospital for a scan.”
Again, he shook his head no. “I don’t have any insurance. It’ll be too expensive.”
“Finn!” Jules admonished, “Don’t worry about that.”
“No,” he said firmly.
I nodded. “How about I examine you first, and we decide after?”
To that he said nothing.
As soon as we stepped outside the office and into the hallway, he broke free of me. “I need to walk out of here on my own.”
The main room looked even more crowded than when I’d arrived, and the crowd sounded even rowdier.
It wasn’t a bad idea.
“Jules, stay between the two of us. I’ll lead the way.” I told her.
Jammed wall-to-wall with bodies, even though I had her hand, and she had Finn’s hand, it was hard to weave through the mass and stay together.
Jules wrapped her arms around my waist to stay close. I tensed and sucked in a breath, realizing the shaking I felt was a physical response to her body. And the feel of her front to my back had me wanting to do very bad things to her. I couldn’t recall a time any woman had sent a shiver racing down my spine.
Outside, she let go of me, and I didn’t like it. I wanted to keep her cocooned in safety until we could get out of there. After taking another few deep breaths to shake off whatever this was, I turned to check on Finn.
“My vehicle is over here,” I said, “Let me get you back to my place, and I’ll take a better look at you.”
“We can’t go to Rosewood!” Jules exclaimed.
“Not Rosewood,” I said. “My apartment in mid-town.”
She nodded. “Do you want me to follow you?”
“No. I want you to ride with me. I’ll bring you both back here tomorrow to get your vehicles. They’ll be fine until then.”
“But your car is too small.”
“I didn’t drive my car. I borrowed the night nurse’s Explorer.”
“Matthew’s?”
I nodded. She remembered.
Finn was quiet but keeping pace. The air was humid, but still so much better than inside. I wiped my brow and kept moving. When we got to the truck, I opened both the passenger and back doors. Jules slid in, and I closed her door, and then helped ease Finn down. As he slowly sat, he stopped for a moment to say, “You must be the infamous Dr. Kiss I’ve heard so much about.”
Normally, I would have cringed over the use of Dr. Kiss and what he’d said, but tonight I found myself grinning. “Don’t believe all the bad shit your cousin says about me, I’m actually a decent guy.”
He nodded. “I know you are. She told me.”
“Finn!” she exclaimed. “Shut it.”
I laughed as I closed the door. He might have been banged up pretty bad, but at least he was talking and tracking.
The rear window was jammed open about an inch, and as I walked around the vehicle, I heard Finn say, “Relax Jules, it wasn’t like I told him you think he was made for you.”
Made for her.
What the hell did that mean?