Matt was right as rain the next day. I showed up to practice extra early, just to make up for the last couple of nights. He seemed surprised to see me on time. He seemed even more surprised when I gave him and Evan a new song to start working on. As much as Matt loved perfecting the old stuff, he loved new tunes even more. “We need to stay fresh, keep moving forward,” he often told us.
I loved watching the way his pale eyes lit up as he read through new lyrics. He was bobbing his head to a beat only he could hear as he instantly created a song in his mind. He peeked up at me before flipping the page. “This is good. Really good.”
His eyes returned to the paper, so he missed seeing me shrug. “It’s all right.” The lyrics he was looking at were pretty peppy, upbeat…almost sappy. It wasn’t like the stuff we typically sang about. It was…romantic, I guess. It was about finding that person who completed you, and discovering that you completed them too. It was wishful thinking on my part. I didn’t make Kiera whole. Denny did.
After rehearsal, we all went to Pete’s. Evan and Matt busied themselves over a melody for the new song, while Griffin busied himself with dancing on the table to “Baby Got Back.” Eventually his antics got Pete’s attention, and he was thankfully ordered off the table, but not before we all had a good laugh. The smile on Kiera’s face was intoxicating to watch, and my eyes didn’t leave her for very long.
It was only because of my incessant need to watch her every move that I saw something disturbing. Some asshole in her section reached up her skirt and grabbed her leg. Sometimes the drunker customers would try to hit on the staff. Not the regulars, but the drop-ins. I had never seen the guy currently accosting Kiera before, but I was about to get up close and personal with him and his friend. I started to stand, but Kiera had already moved away from him. I settled back in my seat, watching the guy. If he touched her again, he was dead.
Evan noticed that I was glaring at the guy. Kiera was avoiding him for the most part, but whenever she came near enough, his fingers reached out for her. I wanted to chop those fingers off and stuff them down his throat. “Who are we mentally burning alive?” Evan asked me.
I nodded over to the seedy guy and his equally seedy friend. “That guy groped Kiera. I’m making sure he doesn’t do it again.”
Evan glanced over at the scumbag I was staring at. “Hmmm, Sam’s off today, isn’t he? Well, Kiera’s a big girl, I’m sure she can handle him.”
“She shouldn’t have to,” I seethed.
Evan eyed me, then nodded. “Okay, we’ll keep an eye on him then.”
It wasn’t five minutes later that Kiera grudgingly walked over to the guy to hand him his bill. I tensed, then sprang to my feet. He hadn’t made a move toward her, but I was already striding over to him. Evan got the other guys’ attention and I heard their chairs squeak as they all followed me. I didn’t particularly care for violence, but I wasn’t about to let this guy touch my girl again.
Oblivious to what was coming his way, the jerk-off grabbed her ass, pulled her tight to his body, then put his other hand on her breast. Oh no, he did not just fucking do that. Kiera knocked his hand off her chest, but she couldn’t push him away. Unaware that I was about to kill him, the man laughed. Kiera looked around for help, but help was already on the way.
Maybe seeing that I was going to rip the guy’s arms off, Evan beat me to him. Coming up behind the asshole, he yanked his hands off Kiera and pinned them to his sides. The man seemed stunned, like he truly hadn’t expected anyone to intervene. Sorry, buddy. You don’t get to attack someone on our home turf and just get away with it. No way. Especially not when it’s the woman I love that you’re molesting.
Restraining myself from pummeling this man into an unrecognizable mess, I seethed, “Not a good idea.” His teeth were yellow and his breath smelled like he’d been on a three-day booze fest with no time for basic hygiene, like showering. The smell didn’t keep me out of the guy’s face though.
From somewhere behind me, I heard Griffin say, “Yeah, this ass is ours.” I had to assume he was standing by Kiera.
Shaking off Evan, the man shoved me back. He was strong, and I retreated a step. “Piss off, pretty boy.”
Grabbing his shirt, I stepped right in his face again. “Try it…please…” I’d love to have an excuse to punch your lights out. Not that I don’t already have one…you touched the wrong girl.
We stared at each other for long seconds, neither of us backing down. My adrenaline slowed while I watched him. I knew I couldn’t hit him unprovoked, not after the amount of time that had gone by. I really didn’t want anyone questioning why I was defending Kiera, so I made myself calm down. True, I would defend any of the waitresses here, but defending and completely coming unglued were two different things. I needed to be calm, reasonable, and rational.
I released him with a warning. “I suggest you leave now. I wouldn’t come back if I were you.”
His friend grabbed his shoulder, urging the man to do what I said. “Come on, man. She’s not worth it.”
Wrong. Kiera was worth anything. Asshole gave me a derisive sniff, eyed me up and down, then had the audacity to wink at Kiera. I wanted to smash his teeth in, but I let that one go. He turned to leave the bar and I relaxed and looked back at Kiera. Griffin had his arm around her shoulder. Her eyes were wide as she flicked her gaze between the man and me. She looked really freaked out. I wanted to take Griffin’s place, wrap my arms around her, but we’d need to go someplace private first. Just when I was about to ask her if she was okay, her eyes opened even wider and she yelled my name in warning.
I instantly followed her gaze and returned my attention to the man I’d thought was leaving. Turned out he wasn’t. He lunged at me, and I saw light glinting off of a knife in his hand. I managed to spin away before we collided, but a sharp pain exploding along my side let me know I hadn’t been quite quick enough. I was momentarily shocked that the fucker had a weapon. Chaos erupted around me. All at the same time, I saw Griffin pull Kiera back as she made a move for me, Matt shove the asshole’s friend aside, keeping him out of the fight, and Evan make a move for the knife in the guy’s hand. I had the better position though. Pulling my arm back, I swung just as hard as my dad would have; he might have even been proud.
After my fist connected with his jaw, the man went to the ground and the knife skittered under a table. I went for the guy, eager to finish this, but he scrambled away from me. Without a glance back, he fled the bar; his friend quickly followed him. Pete’s was deathly quiet for a long time, then noises slowly started up again.
Flexing my aching hand, I turned to find Kiera. “You okay?” I finally asked her.
As I watched, the tension seemed to melt right off her. “Yeah, thank you, Kellan…guys.” She looked over all of us, then her eyes settled on Griffin, still standing at her side. “You can get your hand off my butt now, Griffin.”
I felt a little light-headed as I laughed at my opportunistic bandmate. A playful smile on his face, he pulled his hand back and held it in the air. “Sorry. Mind of its own.” He winked at her, then drifted over to Matt. Talking about the incident, the pair walked back to our table.
Evan stayed near Kiera and me. I kind of wanted him to leave so I could make sure Kiera was fine. He was eyeing me with concern though. “You okay, Kell? Did he get you?”
Cringing, I turned my body toward Kiera. She seemed even more concerned than Evan was. She must not have noticed that he’d nicked me. I put my hand under my shirt, feeling the point of pain along my ribs. I felt the wetness on my fingertips, and wasn’t surprised in the slightest when there was blood on my fingers when I pulled them back.
Kiera flipped out at the sight though. “Oh, God…” She grabbed my hand, examining the red, then lifted up my shirt to inspect the damage. I had a pretty decent-sized slice along my ribs. It was bleeding quite a bit, but I didn’t think it was very deep. It would close on its own. Kiera didn’t seem to think so. “Kellan, you should go to the hospital.”
“He barely got me. I’m fine.” I smiled and raised an eyebrow at the fact that she was still holding my shirt up. She let it drop, then grabbed my hand again.
“Come on,” she said, pulling me away.
She led me through the swarm of curious onlookers, then to the back room. She got some first aid supplies from there, then we headed back out to the hallway. Ordering me to stay put, she ducked into the women’s room to make sure it was empty. I was patiently leaning against the wall, waiting for her when she returned.
“This isn’t necessary. I’m fine,” I said, as she grabbed my hand and led me into the bathroom.
Once the door closed behind us, Kiera scowled at my stubbornness. “Shirt off.”
I smiled. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. “Yes, ma’am.”
I took my shirt off, then held it in my hand as I waited by the sink for her to fix me. The thought of her fingers on my bare skin gave me a chill, although I wasn’t looking forward to the pain she was about to cause me. Just the fabric of my shirt touching the cut had sucked. I could take it though. It would be worth it to have her caress me.
She turned on the water and soaked a towel. When she brought the rag to my wound, I sucked in a sharp breath; it was cold, and it stung. Kiera actually grinned at my reaction, which I found amusing. “You’re such a sadist,” I muttered. She didn’t like that. She gave me an appealing put-out expression that she probably thought was a nasty glare. I laughed.
Her ministrations more gentle, she asked in a disbelieving voice, “What were you thinking, going up against a guy with a knife?”
I struggled through the searing ache at my side. I hoped she finished soon, or I might start whimpering, and that would be really embarrassing. “Well, obviously, I didn’t know he had a knife.” Kiera pressed the towel firmly into my side, trying to stanch the blood. “I wasn’t about to let him keep touching you like that.” Anger flooded through me as I remembered his hands on her. Bastard. He should be the one with his side split open. Hopefully he at least had a headache.
Kiera and I locked gazes and all the anger left me. She was so beautiful, so caring, so warm and tender. She was amazing. She pulled the towel away, and a satisfied smile touched her lips. I looked down and saw that the bleeding had stopped. Good. I hated hospitals.
As she opened the bandage, I couldn’t help teasing her. “He can’t touch you like that if I don’t get to. It’s against the rules.” I laughed and Kiera slapped the bandage on my side. A flash of pain seared through me, and I made a mental note to not irritate a woman when she was patching me up. Words to live by.
Remorse crossed Kiera’s face and she gently stroked her fingers over the cover, flattening the edges. “Well, it was stupid—you could have been seriously hurt, Kellan.” She swallowed a hard lump in her throat, and I clearly saw how much the idea bothered her. She’d miss me if I was dead and gone. No, she’d mourn me. That was surprisingly comforting.
Grabbing her fingers, I held her hand to my chest. “Better me than you, Kiera.” I couldn’t picture mourning her. I couldn’t picture her being gone. I didn’t even want to. We locked eyes again; hers were a deep, thoughtful green with specks of brown around the edges. I could easily get lost in them. “Thank you…for watching out for me.” I wished I could kiss her. That seemed the only way to truly thank her. But she didn’t want that, and I’d respect her wishes.
Her breath caught, then she averted her eyes and her cheeks flushed with color. “You can put your shirt back on now,” she muttered.
She stared at the ruined remains of my T-shirt after I put it on. Her eyes started to tear up, and I could tell she was thinking about losing me again. Needing her close, I pulled her in for a hug. She squeezed me back, hard, and I inhaled as a sharp pain wrenched my side. Realizing she was hurting me, Kiera eased up. “Sorry. You really should get that looked at.”
Knowing I wouldn’t go see a doctor unless I was bleeding out, I nodded and held her close again. She sighed and relaxed into my arms…and that was when the door opened. “Oops,” Jenny said. “Just checking to see how your patient was doing.”
Kiera quickly moved away from me. The loss of her touch hurt worse than my side. “We were just…he’s fine,” she stammered.
Amused by her flustered response, and also not wanting Jenny to think anything of us holding each other, I laughed and walked into the hallway. Turning back, I said, “Thank you, Kiera,” then I nodded at Jenny. “I should probably get that knife from Griffin now.”
Jenny’s pale eyes looked confused for a moment. “Griffin has it?” I raised an eyebrow in answer. Jenny knew Griffin just as well as I did. If anyone in the bar had nabbed it, it had been him. And Griffin was the type of person who should never be armed. It was safer for all mankind that way. Jenny rolled her eyes, understanding. “Griffin…yeah, you should go get it.”
I looked back at Kiera, masked my longing with a casual laugh, then walked down the hall. I heard Jenny ask Kiera if she was coming, and heard Kiera tell her that she needed a minute. Was that because of me? How upset was she over the thought of forever losing me? Maybe this would change things for her. Or maybe not. Regardless of Kiera’s “think you’ll win” attitude, I couldn’t count on things working out my way. Hope was too painful.