Page 51 of Rev

Rev’s eyes go to me. “You say no?”

I nod. The girl I came out here to rescue is behind me. “So did she. She’s why I’m out here.”

Rev’s lip curls up in a feral snarl, teeth bared. To me again. “He was groping you.” It’s not a question.

I nod again—it’s all I can manage under the fury of Rev’s gaze

“I—I’m sorry.” It’s stammered, pained. Afraid.

“Too late for sorry, shithead.” Rev twists his hand in a sharp, hard movement. I hear a loudsnap, audible over the music; a pained cry echoes. “Woman says no, know what that means?” His voice is a leonine rumble.

“Sorry—I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, fuck, oh my god fuck, my wrist—”

His hand hangs limp, twisted the wrong direction. My stomach lurches, bile acid on my teeth. I touch Rev’s shoulder; it’s like touching a brick wall. “Rev, enough.”

He ignores me. “No…means…” His fist lances out, plows hard and deep into the man’s side, high, “NO.”

There’s another crack—ribs. The man goes to his knees, sobbing. Rev snags the man under the throat one-handed and hauls him to his feet. Shoves, hard—the man stumbles backward.

Into Chance.

The man staggers upright, turns in place, his eyes hitting Chance’s chest and traveling up and up. Chance’s handsome face is absent of all trace of its usual good humor. His eyes flit to me, my untucked shirt. My face. He growls—it’s wordless, but it communicates all there is to say.

The man has his broken wrist in his hand, cradled to his chest, hunched sideways to favor the broken rib or ribs. “Please. No. No more. I’m sorry.”

“Name.” Chance pinches the man’s broken wrist between a finger and thumb.

“Eddy—Eddy Baron,” comes the whimpered reply. “Please—no more. I’m sorry.”

“Banned.” Chance releases the man. “I see your face in this club again, I’ll break every bone in your body.”

“Oh-okay. Okay!” he whimpers and runs for the stairs.

Chance scans the crowd around us, stopped and watching, silent, the music still throbbing, the crowd elsewhere oblivious. Here, all eyes are on Chance. “Lay a hand on a woman in this club who says no, you answer to Rev.” A pause. “Lay a hand on a member of my staff? You answer tome.” The last word is a breathed threat, and I guarantee you no one misses it.

His eyes go to me. “You. Hall. Now.”

I see Rev facing the girl I rescued, see his lips move. She nods, gestures to me—telling Rev what happened.

I meet Chance in the corridor—the door closes with a thump, muffling the music to a dull pound. “Um, hi.”

He’s pissed. “You stay your fine white ass behind the bar, Myka. Under no circumstances do you wade into shit. That’sourjob.Yourjob is to look hot and sling booze.” He puts his face close to mine, bending nearly double to do so. “Feel me, sweetheart?”

“Yes, Chance. I hear you.”

The door opens, and I feel Rev. “The absolutefuck, Myka?” His snarl is full of fury.

“Handled it, brother,” Chance says. “She gets it.”

Rev ignores Chance, his hands spinning me in place. “Doyou get it, Myka?” He exudes fury so potent I shrink away from him. His fury is violent, vengeful, and terrifying. “Fuckin’toldyou, first day, you see shit, you tell us. You tellme.”

“I wasn’t thinking. I heard her saying no, and she was scared. I wasn’t thinking, I just reacted.” I force my knees to lock, when they want to wobble under the black spark of his eyes on mine. “It won’t happen again.”

He stabs a finger in the direction of the bar. “Each bar has a phone. Each phone has a big red button at the top. You push that button it puts you through to me. Direct. You tell me where you are. No time to explain what’s goin’ down? Name the bar and say nine-one-one. I’ll be there faster than you can fuckin’ blink.”

“Okay, I understand,” I whisper.

Now that it’s over, I’m suddenly shaking.