Suddenly he was the one pinned to the wall, while Jeff’s thick forearm rammed into his throat and elicited a choking sound from Reed as his windpipe was crushed in the powerful grip.
“Let him go, you stupid brute!”
Darcy hurtled forward without thinking and threw herself at Jeff. She collided into him with a thud, grabbing his hair with both hands and pulling hard.
The man roared in outrage, and then his elbow shot back and clipped her right in the face. She flew backward, promptly losing her footing and falling on the floor with an ungraceful thump.
The curtain suddenly whipped open, AJ’s incensed voice rising over the music. “What the hell?”
Chapter Eleven
Reed struggled for air as his lungs began working again. AJ had yanked Jeff off him, and the bouncer was now being restrained by both AJ and Gage, who’d hurled themselves into the fray.
Panting out ragged breaths, Reed wildly searched the dark space for Darcy. His chest tightened right back up again when he spotted her on the ground.
Her palm was pressed to her left cheek, and the vulnerable, protective gesture smashed apart the last bit of his control. Growling, he threw himself at Jeff, whose arms had been yanked behind his back by Gage.
Reed bunched up the bouncer’s collar, digging his fingers into the flesh at the base of the man’s neck. He still couldn’t believe Jeff was the culprit. His supposed friend, the man he’d done a solid for by giving him this job. That error of judgment, combined with the fact that Jeff had laid a hand on Darcy, was enough to make him go postal.
“You better hope the cops lock you up tonight,” Reed hissed out. “Because if I find out you’re not behind bars, I’m going to hunt you down and kill you.”
AJ’s calm voice penetrated the red haze of fury. “Get Darcy out of here, bro. We’ll take care of this.”
The urge to beat the living crap out of their traitorous bouncer was so powerful Reed could taste it on his lips, but he forced himself to release the man. Sucking in a breath, he whirled around and took Darcy’s arm just as she staggered to her feet. Then he squared his jaw and dragged her out of the tiny space. He saw her mouth move, but couldn’t hear what she said over the loud music or the deafening hammering of his heart.
Reed shoved open the emergency exit door and pulled her through it. As they entered the fluorescent-lit corridor, the music became muffled again, and Darcy’s protests became audible.
“Where are we going? We should wait until the cops come!”
“You’re not staying in this club a second longer,” he snapped. He couldn’t even look at her, afraid that if he saw the damage Jeff had done to her face, he might storm back inside and strangle the man with his bare hands. “You’re leaving.”
He tried to forcibly make her walk, but she didn’t budge. “Reed, stop.”
“Goddammit, am I going to have to carry you out of here myself?” When another objection left her lips, he scooped her off her feet. “I guess so.”
Darcy’s astonished squeak barely even registered. He flung her over his shoulder and marched toward the metal door at the hallway’s end, ignoring her angry yelps and the small fists battering his back.
“Put me down right this instant! Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re doing this! I hate you so much right now!”
He didn’t respond, didn’t even acknowledge the squirming woman in his arms. To her credit, though, she was implementing a damn good worm, wiggling like a pro as she attempted to escape his grasp.
Only when they emerged into the alley that separated the club from the restaurant next door did he put her down.
Ignoring the death glare she shot him, he spoke in a low, deadly voice. “I have one question for you. And you better answer it right.”
Aggravation darkened her eyes. “I can’t believe you just carried me out of there like I was a five-year-old!”
“Answer the question, Darcy.”
“You didn’t ask one!”
He drew a calming breath. “What the hell were you thinking attacking Jeff like that?”
She looked amazed that he would even ask. “He had you pinned against the wall! I didn’t want him to hurt you. I was trying to protect—”
“Wrong answer,” he cut in. “The correct answer was, I’m sorry, Reed. I was being stupid.”
Her jaw fell open. “It was stupid of me to want to help you?”
“It was stupid of you to throw yourself at a man who’s twice your size! He could have killed you!”
Reed’s breathing was labored as he examined her face, running his shaky fingers over the red mark on her cheek. Jeff had hit her right on the cheekbone, and when Reed noticed the slight swelling there, red-hot anger bubbled in his stomach. The thought of Darcy getting hurt, and on his watch, made him want to smash his fist into the brick wall behind her head.
Afraid he’d say something he might regret, he gave her cheek one last caress before taking her hand and leading her toward the alley’s entrance. He expected more protesting, but Darcy followed him silently, all the way to the main street and then around the side of the club to the parking lot behind it.
“My car’s over there,” she said in a tight voice.
Her displeased tone didn’t spark even an iota of guilt or remorse. The shock of learning that Jeff was the one dealing drugs at Sin was nothing compared to the horror of seeing the man’s elbow connect with Darcy’s face. Protective urges he’d never known he possessed had reared their head, and they were surging through his blood now, refusing to let Darcy out of his sight.
He walked her to her older model hatchback, then gestured to her purse. “Keys,” he said flatly.
She pulled her key ring out of her purse and wordlessly handed it over. Reed clicked the button to unlock the doors, then hovered over her while she settled in the driver’s seat.
“You’re behaving like a total Neanderthal,” she muttered as she reached for the door handle.
Stifling his frustration, he rounded the vehicle and slid into the passenger side before she could drive away. “I won’t apologize for being worried about you. You saw the look in Jeff’s eyes—he was like a cornered animal. He would’ve knocked you unconscious if it meant escaping. “
After a beat, Darcy spoke grudgingly. “Fine, I can see why you’re upset.”
He waited, but when she didn’t continue, irritation seized his chest. “I still haven’t heard an apology for you throwing yourself in the middle of a dangerous situation.”
“I was trying to help you!”
“At the expense of your own safety? For fuck’s sake, I thought you had more sense than that.”
Her blue eyes blazed. “I’m hating you again. This whole alpha macho thing is annoying.”
“Tough shit. I don’t care if you’re annoyed. The next time you’re in the same room as a huge bouncer who’s out for blood, stay far away from him, do you hear me?”
The insufferable woman had the nerve to give him a haughty look.
“Damn it, Darce. What’s it gonna take to make you recognize how reckless you were? Am I going to have to fuck some sense into you? Is that it?”
Rather than the angry retort he expected, she responded with a gleam of defiance in her eyes. “Maybe you should.”