Damaged and the Knight (Damaged #2)

“Leave her alone,” Nick said, kicking one guy into the jerk looking to hit me.

As impressive as Nick was against six guys, he was just one guy against six. A losing bet, he took a shot to the face then the gut. Lark grabbed a folding chair and went WWE on one guy. I was tossing beers in the roundabout direction of the other guys. Yet, Bailey was the one who ended the fight by pulling out a gun.

“Back the fuck off or I’ll burn this motherfucking house to the ground!” she screamed then fired at a lamp. Everyone stopped and stared at her. When she noticed me wide-eyed, Bailey frowned. “Too much?”

Grinning, I followed Lark to the door. Nick followed us while the assholes seemed ready to piss themselves. Well, except for an idiot who looked ready to go for Bailey’s gun.

Dude,” Nick muttered, “that’s Bailey Fucking Johansson. Unless you want to end up in a shallow grave, back the fuck off.”

“What he said!” Bailey yelled, waving her gun around before I hurried her out of the door.

The cold air sobered up Bailey enough for her to return the gun to her purse. She was still drunk enough to laugh hysterically as we reached the SUV. “Did you see me kill that lamp?”

“You did good,” I said, groggy as my adrenaline shifted to nausea and the alcohol threatened to come back up on me.

Nick walked us to the SUV. “Next time, you might want to wave the gun around before you get drunk and dance.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Bailey growled, crawling into the backseat. Then, realizing he saved her, she crawled back to face him. “You were so brave. I should totally get you off as a thank you.

“Maybe another time,” he said, laughing as she batted her eyes at him. “Are you guys safe to drive?”

Lark nodded. “I’m sober enough to remember everything tomorrow. Trust me that there’ll be mocking.”

Grinning, I fought with my seatbelt until Nick helped me. “Thanks. My sister said you were nice.”

“Tell Farah hi.”

“How do you know that’s my sister?”

“The eyes,” he said, grinning.

Bailey popped her head into the front seat and frowned at Nick. “If we tell Farah hi, Cooper will be pissed. Why do you want him to kick your ass so much?”

“Might get another free semester out of it,” he said, stepping away from the car. “Have a good night.”

Nick watched us pull away and I could see why Farah initially liked him. He seemed sweet, but I sensed he wasn’t nearly as dull and average as Farah thought.

On the ride home, Bailey insisted we pick up a few beers, so she’d be drunk enough to fall asleep quickly. Lark did as she was ordered and Bailey was thoroughly wasted by the time we dropped her off at her house.

As Lark drove to my apartment, I drank three beers. The fun of the night was gone, leaving only the acceptance that I’d lost Judd.

Lark walked me to my apartment and helped me inside. She also left me with the remaining beers. I stood in my dumpy apartment and smiled at her.

“You’re the best designated driver ever,” I said like an idiot.

“Don’t let Judd make you feel bad. I know it’s hard, but you have more to your life than a guy.”

Nodding, I hugged her then watched her walk back to Bailey’s SUV. Once she was gone, I really thought about Lark’s words. Maybe she was right, but Judd owned my heart and he’d tossed it aside like trash. In a way, I didn’t blame him.

Stumbling around my apartment, I finally sat in the middle of the floor. In this moment, drunk off my ass, I accepted Judd had dumped me. No more maybe about it. He was simply done with me.

Dialing his number, I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t answer. His message was short. “This is Judd O’Keefe. Leave a message.”

“It’s me and I get it. I know it’s over and I don’t blame you. I told you too much about all my fucked up stuff. I showed you how ugly and stupid I am. How foul I am. Ruined like shit and I should have hid it because that’s what girls do. They put their best face forward and sell their better qualities. I just thought…”

Crying, I wiped at my eyes and kicked off my shoes.