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My eyes fell to his clinking jewelry. I lifted up the strands of his cheap plastic beads. “You think a girl likethat—” I jerked my head toward Lana, “is going to show her tits to a little shit like you for crap beads like this?” I flung them in his face. “You know what, give them to me. All of them. You’re done.” I pried them over his head and stumbled away with a fistful of plastic necklaces.

Smirking, I turned around, and one of his frat brothers punched me in the face and laid me out on the curb. The blow rang in my ears.

The other douchebags danced away, shouting, “Dude, you beaned him!”

Yep, had to get drunk and pick a fight with six frat boys, huh, Asher?

Not my proudest moment.

Rubbing my jaw, I rose slowly, seeing red. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

I tackled the guy into a nearby oyster shack, bowling over a table and scattering the screaming patrons. Already cocked back, my fist slammed into his face. His nose sprayed blood. Nice.

I was going to go to jail for this.

For defending Lana.

Fuck.

I landed one more punch before his friend dragged me off, arm clamped around my neck.

Tonight was just not my night.

I got my feet under me and thrust us backward. Through sheer dumb luck, I managed to ram him into the archway, earning a grunt. Bits of plaster flaked off above us. Grabbing his arm, I heaved him over my shoulder and slammed him onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. Wheezing, he raised his palms at my cocked fist, and I backed off.

Breathing heavily, I turned back to the other four and wiped my bloody lip. “Anyone else think it’s Mardi Gras?”

They looked drunk enough to attack me, too. Probably thought they could take me six versus one.

“Bro, bro, he’s got a gun!” Catching sight of my holster, the guys grabbed their buddies and stumbled backward, tripping on their heels.

I called after them, “Come at me,bros! I want some more beads!”

But they were gone.

Idiots. I wasn’t even carrying concealed, and it took them that long to notice.

I looked around at the rest of the onlookers—half the street had paused to watch—and they ducked their heads and continued on their way, like I was going to shoot them or something.

“Humans are weird.” Lana frowned, clearly still trying to figure out what had happened. “What was that even about?”

I picked up the beads, and led her away by the elbow. “Told you you’d get into trouble.”

“That wasyouwho got into trouble,” she said. “He was just being nice and trying to give me some beads... and can I at leasthaveone? Or do I have to beat you up and steal them from you now? Is that how the bead game works?”

Her naivety made me smile. “Stop. Look at me.”

We paused on a street corner out of the way, those strangely beautiful eyes of hers fixed on me. God, she was innocent. Something protective reared up in me.

I draped all the beads around her neck. “There. Now they’re yours.”

The way her eyes lit up, you’d think she’d just learned Santa Claus was real. She ran her fingers reverently over the molded plastic balls, her expression wondrous.

I stared at her, unable to look away, suddenly bewitched by her. Like a moth being pulled toward a flame. Her allure was toxic. And I needed to get away from her before I did something I would regret.

But I didn’t edge away. Neither did she.

“Wait,” she said, “you won them, you should get some too.” She lifted off half the necklaces and stepped in close as she reached up to put them over my own head, so close I could smell her ashy scent, a scent I’d come to hate. A scent I was now reconsidering.