AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My fist connects with his jaw before he can finish. There’s something so satisfying about the crunch of impact. The force of my punch sends a jolt through my hand and arm, and leaves my knuckles stinging. Beating the shit out of someone would be one way to ease this stress I’m feeling, but I haven’t fought in quite some time.
Ben straightens up, holding his face. The tension in his body tells me he expects another punch to follow.“The last moron that hit me wound up shot,” he says.
Alex flashes into my mind, and I grab him by his shirt and lift him up. “Go ahead, shoot me,” I growl. His gaze searches my face.
“You’re crazier than I remember.” He sounds panicked. That thought is almost as satisfying as hitting him had been.
Sarah, behind the bar, smirks at Ben while continuing to fill drink orders. Stone appears, his massive frame a shadow looming over us.
“Time to go, Ben,” Stone rumbles, taking Ben from me as if he weighs nothing. “And don’t come back.”
“You shoulda known better than to mess with Rick,” Sarah calls out as Stone carries Ben toward the exit like the bag of trash he is.
I shake out my hand, suppressing the adrenaline-fueled shake. The reminder of my partial ownership of this place is a cold comfort; sure, it keeps me protected from idiots like Ben, but it doesn't bring me any closer to finding Emma.
Still, the freedom to act without repercussions might just be what I need to hunt her down.
Before I can make another move, a hand comes down on my shoulder again. I glance up at the kind-eyed man as he jerks his head as if telling me to walk. “Come with me,” he says.
I follow him away from the crowd and toward the private rooms. He opens up a door and gestures for me to go in. I do so and catch sight of Emma.
She’s sitting on a white couch with a smirk on her face. “You are just not going to give up, are you?” she asks.
“Never. I promised your sister I wouldn’t. What are you doing here, Riley?”
She rolls her eyes.
“Your family is worried about you,” I say when she doesn't respond further.
“I didn’t think they’d notice.” She sounds completely unaffected by how much she’s putting her family through. I watch as she leans back on the plush couch, her arms stretched out to the sides as she studies me. “And I’m eighteen. Old enough to leave.”
“That doesn't mean you have to disappear.”
Her eyes narrow. “That’s what you did.”
I’m at a loss, but only for a second. “I didn’t have family worrying about me.”
She lets out a hollow chuckle. “Mine did. Lila broke after you left. She was still there physically... but inside... she was blank. She just got back to something resembling normal and here you are again to hurt her.”
“So, you want to break them like I broke her?”
Emma looks away. “She wasn’t the only one who missed you. I looked up to you.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, but she shakes her head.
“It’s too late for apologies.” She lifts her phone, her fingers dancing on the screen. When she turns it to face me, I’m looking at an account with a substantial amount of money.
“I want in on the club,” she says, flattening with both hands and gesturing to the space around her.
“Why?” I ask, surprised. The sharp word seems to upset her, and her gaze locks on me.
“None of your business,” she says.
I cross my arms. “My club, my business.”
Her expression twists. “I don’t want to scrape by like them, juggling a failing flower shop, a diner job, and a deadbeat brother who only causes problems. I want out.”
White-hot anger sears through me, and I take a step forward. She doesn't so much as move.
