Page 119 of Rastor

"Never mind," I said. Going for a casual move, I leaned forward, trying to ease the cramping in my stomach. "Lemme tell it."

Chapter 60

I looked around the table. Chloe downed the rest of her wine, and Josh was grinning like he was actually having a good time. And in that moment, I knew that whatever happened, it would be totally worth it.

As for the rest of them – Chloe's dipshit of a dad, her stepmother from hell, and her grabby, lettuce-loving step-sister – I didn't care what they thought, as long they weren't giving Chloe or Josh grief.

With another glance around the table, I started talking. "It was right after this underground fight in downtown Detroit. I'd just had the worst beating of my life. Total massacre. And I'm lying there in a pool of my own blood–"

"Oh for the love of God," Loretta muttered.

"Mom!" Lauren Jane said. "Don't interrupt." She gripped my arm. "It's just getting good." She squeezed my arm tighter and said, "Go on. We're all dying to hear the rest of it."

I smiled over at Chloe. "And I look up, and I saw this girl, and she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

Next to me, Lauren Jane asked, "Who was she?"

On my other side, Josh spoke up. "It was Chloe. Wasn't it?"

I nodded. "Yup." I turned to Josh. "And you know what?"

"What?" he asked.

"She probably saved my life."

"I knew it!" Josh said.

Loretta was frowning at us. "That's some story."

Yeah. And it was all true. When I glanced at Chloe, she was smiling like she knew I was full of it, but was too polite to say so.

I held up a hand, palm out. "All true, I swear."

Lauren Jane snorted. "But you've never lost a fight in your life." She turned and announced to the whole table, "I know everything about him, probably even more than Chloe."

Yeah. Because random groping, along with whatever she read on the internet, made her some kind of expert. What a dumb-ass.

Across the table, Chloe choked back a laugh. The sound of it warmed me to the bone and made me almost forget how shitty I was feeling in every other way.

Lauren Jane gave Chloe a dirty look. "What's so funny?"

Chloe blinked. "Nothing." She patted her throat. "Chicken bone."

"But we had turkey," Lauren Jane said.

"Oh," Chloe said. "Turkey bone then."

Under the table, I felt that fucking hand grip my thigh again. I stiffened, and not in the way she wanted. It was one thing to ignore it earlier when I felt okay. But now, I was feeling less okay with every minute.

It was too damn hot in here, and a hand anywhere wasn't going to cool off anything. When the hand inched higher, I reached under the table and shoved the hand aside. I turned and gave her a warning look.

"What?" Lauren Jane whispered.

Across the table, Chloe was gathering up the dessert dishes. Glad for the noisy distraction, I leaned closer to Lauren Jane and said under my breath. "Grab me again, and you'll be wearing that gravy I just ate."

She froze, looking surprised and more than a little insulted. Yeah, whatever.Shewas the skank groping her step-sister's date.

After a long moment, she whispered, "How about the picture? Still wanna see it?"