Page 110 of The Bitter Words

“Ah, bro. No fucking way!” He swipes his palm down his face and releases a heavy sigh. “You sure about that, Cash?”

“Yeah.” I sit on the stool. “She locked herself in the bathroom and refused to talk to me about it.”

“Whoa. I can’t believe it.”

“Me neither.” I shake my head. “Who has she been dating?”

“No one that I know of.”

“Don’t hold out on me. Tell me so I can deal with him.”

He puts his hands up in the surrender position. “I honestly don’t know.”

“You said she stumbled in last night around three. Do you know where she was before she came home?”

“She was at that members-only dive bar where we hang out and they let us drink.”

I race through all the guys I know who go there. Who could it be? Bren and I review every asshole we can think of for the next hour, but none of them stand out.

She can’t stay upstairs forever, so I wait for her to come down. I will get to the bottom of this today.

The front door alarm beeps, alerting us that someone has either entered or she’s leaving. I spin out of my chair and run through the formal dining room since it’s the closest route to the foyer.

Through the window, I catch a glimpse of her from the corner of my eye and she’s not alone. She’s practically skipping off with Sebastian fucking Holloway.

They reach the gravel area off the concrete circular driveway where all the extra cars can park. I see red and tear out of the room.

Bren grips my arm and stops me. “Cash, don’t go out there.”

“Guns, she can’t be with him.” My chest heaves. “He’s not who everyone thinks he is.”

“If you go out there, you’re gonna?—”

“Kill the sick fuck? Yeah, damn fucking straight I am.” I fling Bren off me and race outside with only one person in my line of sight.

The guy who wants to rape Livianna is gonna die in mereseconds. Bren chases and grabs at me, trying to get me to rethink my decision.

I trudge forward, pushing him away. “Hey, Sebastian. We have an agreement, or have you forgotten?”

He turns my way and his face pales. “This isn’t what it looks like, Cash.”

“No? You’re not getting ready to drive off with Livianna?” I get chest to chest with him, every muscle in my body ready to pounce.

Leon’s words echo in my head.Sebastian wants her and he’s tried to get to her more times than you know. One day when you least expect it, he’s going to get what he’s patiently waiting for.

Everything goes silent and the next thing I know is my fist makes contact with his jaw. His head swings to the side and blood flies from his mouth. He falls to the ground and I go right down with him.

Chaos ensues as I make hit after hit, not knowing where I’m landing my punches. People are yelling and screaming, but none of it registers.

Something strikes me with great force. The air gets knocked out of my lungs as someone lands on top of me.

I’m face down on the Hemingses’ gravel driveway with some larger motherfucker gripping my arms behind my back and throwing handcuffs on my wrists.

Fucking hell.

The main patrol guard who watches over their subdivision must have been driving by and seen my attack happen. Then he came to Sebastian’s rescue. Lucky bastard always seems to have a savior watching out for him.

The guy pulls me to my feet and pushes me away. “I have the police on their way, so don’t do anything stupid.”