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I wrap my arms around my stomach, a small act of trying to protect myself in any way I can. It’s almost ironic that I’m protecting myself from the only man I was sure would never hurt me.
I’m struggling to find the right words, and even if I found them, I wouldn’t trust my voice right now. Luckily, Jake takes an angry step towards Miles, fighting my battles for me.
“What the fuck, man? What the hell is wrong with you?” Jake shouts, looking at Miles like he can’t quite believe what he just said.
Miles fobs him off, waving his hand dismissively. “Nothing is wrong. I’m trying to work, and you’re in the way. So get the fuck out.” Even though he hasn’t raised his voice, the low threatening tone is almost worse.
“Miles—” His name comes out sounding almost like a plea, and his eyes snap up to meet mine. Before I can get anything more out, Miles cuts me off.
“Don’t fucking talk to me,” he snaps, glaring at me with such hatred, it feels like I’m being stabbed by thousands of tiny knives.
Jake positions himself so he’s slightly in front of me, putting his body between Miles and me, to protect me. It’s a sweet gesture, but even with Miles’ threatening behaviour, I’m still almost certain he’d never hurt me.
Besides, he has every reason to be mad at me, and I can’t take that from him. I rest my hand on Jake’s back… It’s a thank you, as well as telling him to stay as he is for now. He listens and remains quiet, so I try talking to Miles again.
“Miles, I’m?—”
Miles takes a step towards me, his face twisting in anger as he cuts me off again. “There’s no point in you talking to me, as I’m never going to believe any of the lies that come out of your mouth.”
The words, and the way he speaks to me, make me recoil, taking a step back, as though he hit me. I knew he was mad at me, and has every reason to be, but I’m starting to think he might actually hate me. My heart aches and the tears I’ve been trying to hold back finally slide down my cheek.
As a sob catches in my throat, Jake whips his head around to look at me. Seeing my tears, he turns back towards Miles, who is trying his best to look anywhere except at me.
“What the fuck? Why are you behaving like a bellend?” Jake shouts at Miles, taking an angry step towards him.
Miles responds to his anger with his own fury, stepping forward until they’re standing within arm’s reach of each other, glowering. “Why are you sticking up for someone you barely know? Her pussy isn’t that magical, from what I remember.”
His words are like a knife to my heart, and I hug myself tighter to stop my insides from spilling out over the floor. Jakerushes forward and pushes Miles’ chest with his hand, looking furious.
Miles slaps his hand away, and fixes him with a malicious glare, as an almost evil smirk causes his lips to twist upwards. “Oh, that’s right, it’s not just pussy that does it for you, is it? Or are you still lying to yourself, Pretty Boy?”
Before I even have a chance to process what Miles has said, Jake pulls his arm back before launching forward, smashing his fist into Miles’ nose. Jake lets out a roar as the sound of skin hitting bone fills the room, and I yelp, running backwards from the violence.
Miles doesn’t even move, he just stands there waiting for Jake to hit him again. Jake looks like he’s about to, until suddenly, Marcus jumps in between them.
Marcus had walked into the club just before Jake threw his punch, but with everything going on, I’d barely registered his arrival, before he was throwing himself into the middle of their argument.
He pulls Jake back, keeping his arms wrapped around him to prevent him from throwing any more punches.
Miles just stands there, not even attempting to stop the blood that’s pouring from his nose. Marcus reaches over the bar and grabs a towel, throwing it at Miles. He catches it and presses it against his face, wincing as it makes contact with what I’m sure is a very sore nose.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Marcus doesn’t shout, but his authoritative tone makes it sound like the demand it is.
Both men remain silent, and so Marcus turns to me. I had paid little attention to what I was doing, so focused on the violence that I’m not entirely sure when I ended up sitting on the floor against the wall, with my arms wrapped around my legs as I pulled them against me, almost like I’m a ball.
With all eyes on me, the tears fall harder, until I can barely see through them. A sob catches in my throat, and panic forces my heart to race so fast that I can feel it trying to break free from my ribs.
“Indie, what the hell happened?” I can hear Marcus talking to me, but I can’t claw back enough control to answer. Panic has a hold of me now, and I can barely breathe.
Marcus and Jake take a step towards me, but my eyes widen frantically of their own accord, fear taking over. They see my reaction and freeze. I can tell Jake really wants to come to me, but he doesn’t. Instead, he turns to Marcus to answer his question.
“Indie and I planned to spend the day together, and we arranged to meet here before heading out. As we’re still getting to know each other, and building up trust, Indie wanted to meet somewhere she felt safe, and chose here.
“Miles walked in, saw us here, and completely lost the plot. He said hurtful things to both myself and Indie, and I made it clear his behaviour wouldn’t be tolerated. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but if he’s disrespectful like that again, there will be consequences.”
As Jake talks to Marcus, there’s something different in his tone, and Marcus must see it too, as he looks a little startled. Jake holds his shoulders back, his head high, and there’s an authority to him that I’m not used to seeing.
Marcus straightens up too, suddenly looking much more professional than before. “Are you saying this to me as my friend, or as a ruler of Blackthorn?”