Page 21 of Forbidden

“Did it make you feel like a man? Huh?” Gage growls.

“What are you talking about?”

Gage pulls him forward and slams his back against the wall again.

“Gage, stop it!” I shout.

“Putting your hands on a defenseless girl. Is that what gets you off?”

Holy shit. He thinks it was Chris.I meet Chris’ shocked and confused stare.

“I swear, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chris says in a panic.

“I’m talking about the bruise on her arm, asshole!”

Chris turns his head toward me and the hurt in his eyes gets me moving. I punch Gage on the arm and push at him until he finally releases Chris. He turns to me and I have to avert my gaze. The rage in his expression is just too much for me.

“Are you okay?” I ask Chris.

“Fine. What’s he talking about, Raven? What bruise?”

“Let’s just go.”

“Not until I know what he’s talking about. And why he knows and I don’t.”

“He saw my arm today in the diner. He’s got this crazy notion that someone’s hurting me, but just like I told him, I walked into a door.”

“Show me.”

I watch the muscles in his jaw work as he clenches his teeth. All the time, I’m still aware of Gage observing us.

“Cut the bullshit innocent act. Just tell me it was him and let me kick his ass,” he seethes.

Chris steps forward and gets into Gage’s face.

“This is none of your business. If she’s hurt, it’s my problem to deal with. She’smygirlfriend.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Well, you’ve been doing a bang-up job so far.”

I grab Chris’ arm and try pulling him out of the alley. He shrugs from my grasp and turns his anger on me.

“Show. Me.”

I sigh and pull up the sleeve of my blouse. He reaches out to touch the bruise but I cover it back up.

“Raven, what –?”

“Let’s go. Please.”

“Okay. But we need to talk about this.”

We start to walk away but I turn back and approach Gage. He looks down at me and I see that his anger has turned to concern again.

“I promise, Chris isn’t hurting me. No one is. Just stop.” I fish the hundred dollars out of my pocket and hand it to him. “You left this at the diner. I don’t want to see it or you again.”