Page 151 of Forgotten Comeback

Taylor

Using my chopsticks, I feed Gavin a sushi roll. “Thanks for the master class in bare-knuckles boxing.” A debt collector got his ass beat, and I got a written acknowledgement of my debt negotiated to one dollar and paid in full.

A smirk stretches across his face. “If it gets you to feed me, any time.”

He’s icing his knuckles, and I lean closer to him in the booth, pressing my lips to his before feeding him another bite.

After dinner, we stroll down the boardwalk with his arm draped over me, my fingers laced with his. “You wanna ride the coaster?” Gavin notices me eyeing it.

“Not tonight.” Maybe sweet is the word to describe this man, because I think deep down, he hates roller coasters.

We pause for sunset, with him wrapping his arms around me, and me leaning back against his muscular chest. If someone had told me that I’d fall head over heels in love with Gavin Webb, I’d have called them the c word.

I tilt my head.

He smiles down at me, and I smile up at him.

It’s perfect…until a familiar voice cuts through the night air like nails on a chalkboard.

“Gavin, there you are. I’ve been trying to contact you?—”

“It’s not about your car’s extended warranty,” I cut Mia off.

Gavin’s chest vibrates with laughter. See, he gets it.

“I cannot believe you are dumb enough to still be with this man,” Mia tells me with a huff.

“Mia, what do you want?” I bristle.

“Not you,” she says with a smirk. “Gavin doesn’t want you, either. It’s really pathetic, Taylor, that you’re still letting this man play you.”

Gavin grips me tighter, probably so I don’t test out bare-knuckle boxing.

“Go away, Mia,” Gavin says in a bored tone.

“Sure that’s what you want?” she challenges. “I’ll go to the cops.”

“And say what?” I interject. “That your cousin was involved with the Parisi family, and now he’s missing? Good luck with that,” I drawl.

“Let’s go.” Gavin takes my hand as we walk away, but Mia can’t take a damn hint, trailing along after us.

We’ve almost reached the car when she calls, “You’re right: I can’t say that to the cops. But what I can say is there’s an illegal boxing ring and a crazy ring girl.”

I spin around, ready to throw hands, except Mia’s got a gun in hers.

She’s pointing it shakily at Gavin.

Time slows.

A loudbang.

“No!” I shove in front of Gavin, and it feels like my arm’s been punched.

Did that bitch really punch me?

As I’m knocked back, I glance down to the crimson gushing from my left arm, and it’s then that I realize, oh, that wasn’t a fist that hit me.

It was a bullet.