Page 4 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)

OWEN

“Oh no, that’s not…” the cute blonde sitting at the bar started to say, clearing her throat. “I mean, I used to?—”

But before she could finish her sentence, a sudden commotion erupted behind her. And when I looked to see what was going on, the guy I’d seen with his arm around the girl I was currently talking to suddenly wound up his arm and threw a punch straight into another guy’s face.

Oh no. This is definitely not happening.

“Excuse me, ladies,” I muttered. “I need to go take care of that.”

But before I could take even two steps, the chaos exploded even further as the two guys, probably drunk out of their minds, went at it.

And by the time I reached the altercation, there were a few other guys trying to break up the fight. But the bigger guy—the one who had thrown the first punch—was belligerent, looking like he was out for blood.

I hadn’t had to break up too many fights since I started managing The Garden two years ago, but I should have known that a team of college hockey players coming in after a big game would make for an interesting night.

The noise was almost deafening as the two guys continued to throw punches at each other, completely oblivious to the chaos they were causing. My heart rate kicked up as I made my way through the mess, my eyes scanning the crowd for a way in.

“Hey, guys, you need to break it up!” I shouted, trying to make myself heard above the ruckus. But my voice was lost in the sea of shouting and the clinking of glass.

I pushed forward, trying to get closer to the fight, but one of the hockey players grabbed my arm like he thought I was about to join in.

“Hey, I work here,” I said, shaking him off.

“Oh, sorry,” the guy muttered, releasing my arm just as my security team showed up.

“Josh, calm down!” a female voice shouted through the chaos. “You’re gonna get kicked off the team if Coach finds out about this!”

I froze for a second, looking toward the opening in the crowd where a woman had stepped forward.

It was the girl I’d just been talking to at the bar.

I think Theo had said her name was Lucy.

My mind raced as I watched her shout at the guy who was obviously at the center of the fight.

The guy whose name, I assumed, was Josh.

It had seemed like she’d been about to tell me that the guy I’d seen her with earlier—the one she was currently yelling at—wasn’t her boyfriend. But from the way she was going after him, I couldn’t think she was anything but his girlfriend.

Either that or she was his sister.

The bouncers had a grip on both guys now, but Josh—big, angry, and way too drunk—was still fighting back, struggling to break free. And instead of staying on the sidelines where it was safe, Lucy was right there, pushing her way closer like she was trying to stop the fight.

She’s gonna get herself hurt. Sure, she was probably pretty strong for a girl—I had noticed how toned her arms were in her sleeveless dress as she’d been sitting at the bar with her friend.

But strong as she might be, she was still tiny.

From the looks of it, she was barely five feet and could easily get hurt if she got too close to a guy that was enraged.

“Hey!” I called, stepping forward, my hand reaching out for her. “Let my security team handle them, okay?”

Lucy looked up, her gaze going to my hand on her shoulder before meeting my eyes. “Are you guys gonna call the cops?”

“If he doesn’t start cooperating, we’ll probably have to,” I said, eyeing her boyfriend who was still thrashing against the bouncers.

“Josh,” Lucy yelled, stepping out from my grip and pleading with him. “Please just calm down. He’s not worth it. Whatever is happening isn’t worth it.”

I wasn’t sure her boyfriend could even hear her over the noise and the adrenaline pumping through his veins. But then—thankfully—he noticed her and seemed to snap out of his rage. And with a deep, ragged breath, he gave in and let the security team guide him out of the bar.

Lucy stood there for a moment, watching them. Then she turned to me, a tight, apologetic smile forming on her lips before she said, “Sorry about all this. I don’t know what happened.” She shook her head, and then seeming to speak to herself, she added, “He was in such a good mood earlier.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, but before I could say more, she was already darting off toward a nearby table and grabbing a white puffy coat.

She shot me a look I didn’t understand over her shoulder, and then she was off, chasing after the security team and the two guys they were escorting outside.

I stood there, watching her leave, feeling a strange sense of concern for her.

I really hoped she was going out there to break things off with him. Because if not, well...I didn’t want to think about what might happen if she found herself on the wrong end of his temper.

Hopefully she’d be okay.

I turned back to the area where the fight had broken out, scanning the space for any signs of broken glass or damaged furniture. There was a lot of noise and frantic energy, but thankfully, everything seemed to be intact.

“You guys okay?” I asked, quickly checking in with the few people who’d been nearby. “Anyone get hurt?” They shook their heads, and thankfully, everyone seemed to be okay.

“Sorry again for the disturbance,” I said. “Hopefully, that’s all the excitement we’ll be having tonight.”

When I turned to head back to the bar, my eyes caught on the girl Lucy had been hanging out with. She was grabbing a black coat from the booth Lucy had just run from. Good. Hopefully that meant she was going to help her friend.

With a deep breath, I walked back to the bar to check in with Irina and Malik. They were chatting, glancing at the aftermath, but their eyes met mine when I approached.

“Everything good here?” I asked, trying to shake off the tension from the scene.

They both shrugged, looking at each other. “I think we’re fine,” Irina said, giving me a half-smile. “That was...intense.”

“Yeah... Man.” Malik let out a low whistle. “That was crazy.”

“It was.” I let out a breath, running a hand through my hair. “I knew I should’ve kept a better eye on the hockey team. ”

“Sorry about that.” Irina winced. “The big guy told me he was getting drinks for him and his girlfriend, so I didn’t realize how much he’d had already.”

“It’s okay,” I said, shaking my head. “His girlfriend was only drinking water, so I think he played us.”

“Should I add him to the blacklist?” Irina asked, eyes already flicking to the computer.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Put him on it.”

I turned back to the bar, my eyes scanning the room. It was just after midnight and the busiest part of the night was past, so I decided to take a few boxes from the back room out to the dumpster.

The cool night air hit me as I stepped outside, the gentle fall of snowflakes brushing against my cheeks. I opened the lid to the dumpster and tossed the first two boxes in. I was reaching for the next box when I heard voices coming from the parking lot.

“You can’t drive like this,” an all-too-familiar voice said. “You’re way too drunk.”

I froze. It was Lucy again. And I had a good idea who she was talking to.

How did such a seemingly bright girl end up with such a loser?

I quickly tossed the last box into the dumpster and jogged toward the voices, careful not to slip on the ice. When I rounded the corner, I saw Lucy tugging at her boyfriend’s arm, clearly putting all her weight into her attempt to stop him from getting behind the wheel of a sleek sports car.

Her friend was nowhere to be seen. Had she taken the other guy from the fight home, then? The girls had been drinking water, so maybe they were the hockey team’s DDs for the night .

I looked around to see if my bouncers were still outside, but they must have already gone back to their posts inside.

I shook my head. I should’ve called the cops on this guy earlier. If he was trying to drive in this state, he clearly needed someone to lay down the law. Before he put anyone else in danger.

I picked up my pace and when I reached them, Josh was already pushing Lucy off him, mumbling something under his breath about him being fine and that she should stop getting in his way.

When he tried to get into the car, swaying on his feet and with his balance all off, I could see the panic in Lucy’s eyes.

And I was suddenly twelve years old again, back in my parents’ driveway and trying to keep my mom, who suffered from addictions of her own, from driving off in the middle of the night.

I shook the memory away and tried not to think of all the things I’d lost, the tragedies that came from bad decisions. Because I knew all too well what could happen if Josh got behind that wheel. The kind of consequences that could wreck everything in an instant.

“Is there a problem here?” I asked, stepping forward. And when Lucy turned to see me, I saw that flash of relief in her eyes.

“I’m just trying to stop him from driving,” she said quickly, her voice wobbling. “I was supposed to be his DD tonight but he’s not listening to me.”

“I’m fine,” Josh slurred, leaning against the car now, thankfully not sitting down in the driver’s seat, looking at me with bleary eyes. “You can go back to your bar. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“You’re in no condition to be getting behind the wheel tonight,” I said, my tone firm. “Let your girlfriend take you home.”

“My girlfriend?” Josh scoffed, an edge of bitterness in his voice. “Yeah, right. She doesn’t care about me anymore. And I said I’m fine.”

“Clearly, you’re not.” I crossed my arms, standing my ground. “And if you get behind that wheel, I’ll have to call the cops.”

Lucy’s eyes darted between us, her desperation clear, silently begging him to listen. “Come on, Josh. Coach will kill you if your dad has to bail you out of jail again.”

This guy had already been bailed out of jail before?

I glanced at his sleek, expensive sports car, and everything clicked. I knew his type well: entitled rich kid with parents who cared more about appearances than anything else, letting him slide by without facing any consequences for his actions.

Josh sighed heavily, muttering something under his breath about his coach.

After what felt like an eternity, he reluctantly pushed away from the car, swaying as he stumbled toward the passenger seat.

With an exaggerated huff, he collapsed into it, throwing himself in with a grunt.

“Happy?” he grumbled, slamming the door so hard it rattled the vehicle.

I stood there for a moment, watching Lucy. She was still visibly shaken, her hands trembling slightly like it was taking everything within her to keep it together.

“You gonna be all right?” I asked, dipping my head so I could look into her eyes. “Because if you don’t feel safe driving him home, we can take his keys and find another way to get him back.”

“No, I’ll be okay.” She wiped a stray tear from her cheek, her eyes avoiding mine as she let out a shaky breath. “Thanks for stepping in.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to find someone else to take him home? Maybe one of his teammates is sober?” I glanced over at her boyfriend, now slouched in the passenger seat like a petulant child. “He doesn’t look like someone you want to be around when he’s like this.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice steadier now. “I just need to get him home.”

“Okay.” I nodded, though I was still concerned. And since I couldn’t help it, I added, “Just take care of yourself, okay?”

“Thank you for your concern,” she said, her voice soft but firm, her tone telling me that I was starting to cross a line and she just wanted me to stop inserting myself where I didn’t belong. “I appreciate you worrying about me, but I’ll be good now.”

So instead of saying anything else, I just watched her for a second longer, feeling a sharp ache in my chest that I couldn’t quite explain. And when she climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car, I shook my head and sighed, turning to head back to the bar.

It wasn’t my place to get involved further, and she wasn’t my responsibility.

But dang if it didn’t feel like this girl needed a little saving.