“Let’s just go to The Warehouse,” I suggest.
Aiden nods. “Old faithful. Sounds like a plan.”
As soon as I walk into The Warehouse the next night, thoughts of that first night here with Allison and holding her close are front and center within my mind. I try to fight them off, but I’m losing the battle, slowly, painfully, as I relive every moment of that night. We push through the crowd to the bar and order a beer. Aiden spots Blitzen, so we head toward the two tables he and several of our teammates have pushed together. Aiden and I sit at the end of the table and easily slip into the conversation about Friday’s practice. We’re all chatting, drinking and having a good time when Mike, a defensive lineman, speaks up.
“Fuck, Mac, who is that hot ass chick with your sister?” he says as he tilts his head toward the dance floor.
I glance at Aiden as we both whip our heads around to see who he is looking at, even though we both know who the ‘hot ass chick’ is. My eyes instantly lock onto Allison and right beside her is my sister. I also notice that both of them are dancing very provocatively with two guys I can’t stand. My temper flares as I stand up, and Aiden quickly follows. We don’t even speak. We know what we need to do to protect the girls. We’re both fiercely protective of both of them. Aiden knows I hate Todd and Jason. I’d told him the story freshman year after we played them. We won, of course.
We approach the girls, and Hailey immediately sees us. She stops dancing and flashes a worried glance toward Todd, the dickwad she’s dancing with. Allison stops dancing as soon as her eyes find mine.
I’m so angry I want to smash both of their faces in. Todd and Jason went to my rival high school and are total assholes. They’re notorious for getting girls drunk out of their mind, using them, and then leaving them alone wherever they happened to be. Rumor has it they raped a girl after their final game senior year, but the girl was so scared, she refused to press charges. Needless to say, they’re scum in my book, and now I have to watch my baby sister, who knows how I feel about them, and my girl grinding up on them. Furious isn’t a strong enough word to describe the rage running through my veins.
Allison steps away from Jason toward me, and I quickly grab her around the waist and pull her close. Hailey steps forward, like she’s going to stop me, and Aiden grabs her and pins her to his side. She’s pissed, I can tell, but she has nothing on me. Jason, fuckstick that he is, reaches for Allison, grabbing her arm and pulling.
“What the fuck, MacCoy? Get your hands off my date!” he yells as he tugs on Allison’s arm.
“Date?” I look down at Allison with a questioning gaze as she stares wide eyed at Jason and then looks at her arm. I feel her tremble next to me.
“Get your fucking hands off of her, you’re hurting her!” I yell at him.
Hailey speaks up, “What the hell, Liam? Why are you going all caveman?”
I grab Jason’s wrist and squeeze as tight as I can, so he’ll release Allison. Once he drops her hand, I bring it to my chest and cover it with my own to comfort her. I then turn to Hailey. “What are you doing here with them?”
Hailey squares her shoulders and looks me straight in the eye. “Todd and I have been out on a couple of dates.”
I pull Allison closer, feeling her start to relax. “What do you mean dates? You’re better than this loser.”
“Really, Hales?” Aiden asks, his jaw is tense. You can hear the anger in his voice.
Todd has been pretty quiet up to this point; he goes to grab Hailey, but Aiden produces a noise that could only be described as a growl and tucks her in tighter.
“Touch her and die, asshole,” Aiden seethes.
“What is wrong with the two of you? We were just dancing!” Hailey shouts.
“Hales, you’re dating him?” Aiden asks her, barely able to control his rage.
“No, yes. No. We’ve been on two dates, this being the second one. GAH!”
“Well, sorry to tell you this one is ending early,” I growl.
“Liam! You aren’t my ruler. I can date whomever I damn well please,” Hailey hisses.
I feel Allison grow tense. I lean down and whisper in her ear, “What about you, sweetheart? Do you want to finish your date?”
Allison meets my gaze, but she doesn’t speak, just bites her lip as she turns to look at Jason. “You’re coming with me,” Jason growls as he reaches for her again. This time he grabs her arm and jerks her toward him.
Allison yells out in pain, or maybe it’s fear. Blitzen and the rest of our teammates are at our sides now. I hand Allison off to him. “Watch her!” With that I turn toward Jason and begin to unleash a fury I’ve never known. I’m faintly aware of Aiden doing the same thing with Todd. I can hear Hailey and Allison yelling for us to stop. I feel a tug on my shoulder, and I look up to see Mike pulling me back. I glance over at Aiden and Scott has his arms behind his back, holding him, as well. I glance down to see Todd and Jason both out cold on the floor. Serves them right for touching my sister and my girl.
“I’m good, man,” I say, flexing my fist. I can feel my knuckles already starting to swell. Mike releases me, and I make quick work of getting to Allison and wrapping her in my arms. Scott has also released Aiden. Hailey’s currently tucked tight against his chest, and he’s rubbing her back soothingly. They’re both safe.
Chapter 15
Allison
My heart is racing, Liam and Aiden are throwing blow after blow. Hailey and I are screaming for them to stop. I struggle against Blitzen, yelling at him to let me go. He doesn’t, instead he tightens his hold. I look over at one of their teammates, whom I’ve yet to meet. “Stop them, please!” I cry.
The guy jumps into action and begins pulling on Liam’s shoulders. I glance over and there’s another one holding Aiden with his arms pinned behind his back. Hailey’s standing right beside Aiden, crying and yelling just as hard and loud as I am. The only difference is they don’t have her restrained.
Liam stands up and looks at Aiden, who’s being released from his hold. Hailey instantly throws her arms around his waist and hugs him tight. Aiden wraps his arms around her, rubbing soothing strokes down her back. Liam moves toward me. He bends his knees to meet my eyes as he lifts my chin with his thumb and forefinger. “You okay, sweetheart?”
I can’t help it, I sob harder. Liam mumbles what sounds like, “Fuck”, and pulls me close.
Turns out the father of the guy, who was restraining Aiden, owns the place. Scott is the guy’s name.
“Hey, guys, you need to leave. I can cover for you,” he motions with his head to Todd and Jason, who are now sitting up on the floor, “but you need to leave now.”
“Thanks, man,” Liam and Aiden say at the same time.
As we walk outside, Liam grabs my hand, and I wince from the tenderness. He stops me by sliding his arm around me. “Allie, baby, what’s wrong?” he asks as he wipes the tears from my cheeks.
Aiden and Hailey are at my side. “Ash, what is it?” Aiden questions me.
Liam pulls me to his chest and whispers in my ear, “You’re safe. I’m sorry you had to see that.”