Chapter 23: Chapter 23

WREN

Tad brings a hand to my throat, his other hand still on my mouth, and his body pinning mine painfully to the wall behind me.

“If you try to scream, I will throttle you,” he says as he takes his hand off my mouth.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” I say, and he closes his hand around my throat. I claw at his hand, and he loosens it again.

“You messed with the wrong motherfucker,” he says. “You and those fucking Tellers cost me a cushy job. And I intend to make you pay for that, little girl.”

“Wow, you are a terrible loser,” I say.

“Are you trying to get your ass kicked?” he asks.

“I know how much you enjoy beating up women, but how many guys are with you tonight? Because the entire Teller bunkhouse is about to walk in, and they’re going to wonder where I went.

“You know how they get, don’t you?”

Tad’s eyes bounce around my face, trying to decide if I’m lying.

“This won’t be the last you see of me. Say a word about this, and I’ll fuck you up,” he says.

Tad steps back and punches me in the stomach. It’s not full force, but it knocks the wind out of me and I double over in pain. Tad takes off and leaves through the back exit of the hallway.

I haven’t quite recovered, but I hobble out of the closet and practically run toward the main part of the bar.

I run straight into Lance.

“There you are, I was wondering— Are you okay?”

“Where’s Penelope? We gotta get out of here now,” I say, still breathing hard.

“What’s wrong?”

“Tad’s here, he just threatened me.”

Lance’s face immediately changes. “Where is he?” he growls.

“No, Lance, please, not with my sister here. I told him the guys were coming. If he finds out I’m lying he may circle back. We have to go NOW,” I say.

“Okay, let’s get your sister,” he says. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, but don’t say anything to Penelope. I don’t want her to think we’re in danger. Go get Greg and the car and we’ll meet you out front—and please be careful,” I say.

Lance takes my hand and puts a heavy black object in it.

“Switchblade. Pull the lever on the side to release it. Don’t hesitate to use it if you need to, Wren,” he says.

We go our separate ways.

I approach Penelope, who just got tossed off the mechanical bull.

“Penelope! Come on, we’re going to get out of here,” I say, pulling her up by her arm.

“What? We just got here!”

“Yeah, it’s just too crazy here. We’ll go back to the farm for a nightcap.”

I’m trying to play it cool but my eyes are pleading.

“Oh okay, where’s Lance?”

“He’s getting Greg and the car. Come on, let’s go!”

I practically pull Penelope out the door just as Greg pulls up with Lance in the front seat. We jump in the back and take off.

Back at the house, we ask Greg to take Penelope to the bunkhouse and keep an eye on her until we finish checking on Puck.

“I don’t know why that takes two of you, but oooookay!” Penelope says with a wink.

As soon as we see them walk in the bunkhouse, Lance pulls me in for a hug.

“Tell me what happened,” he says, his voice low and angry.

“Lance, we don’t—”

Lance pulls back and grabs my chin gently yet firmly. He looks me in the eyes.

“Tell. Me.”

I sigh. “He pulled me in a closet. Said we cost him his job and we’ll pay.”

I shrug, trying to downplay it for Lance’s sake.

“Why were you grabbing your stomach?”

“He punched me, presumably to get away,” I say.

“What?!”

Lance lifts up my shirt. There’s only a mark and some slight bruising on my hips.

“I’ll fucking kill him,” Lance says and starts pacing.

“Lance, please. If you retaliate, the war will officially begin. Is that what you want?”

“I can’t stand by while he goes around assaulting women, especially a woman I care about,” he says.

I sigh. “Let’s just get through tonight with Penelope and then we can figure this out,” I say.

Lance pulls me in for a long hug.

“I’m sorry I left you,” he says.

“I went to the bathroom, Lance, there’s not much you could’ve done to protect me,” I say, pulling his switchblade out and handing it to him.

He waves his hand. “You hang on to it. And we need to be extra vigilant til this all blows over,” he says. I nod.

Lance grabs my face and gives me a long kiss then touches his forehead to mine.

“I—I care about you,” he says.

“I know. I care about you too.”

***

At the bunkhouse, we play darts and drink beer with Greg, Logan, Hank, Kendra, and Roy. It’s pretty late when we finally decide to turn in, especially since Penelope has a flight to catch tomorrow.

We have her sleep in Lance’s guest room, Puck in his bed on the floor beside her, while Lance and I sleep upstairs. Her stuff is all packed at my apartment; we just need to grab it in the morning.

Lance snuggles in close to me, but I can practically hear him thinking.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m still upset. I hate that someone put their hands on you. I’m supposed to protect you,” he says, and the disappointment in his voice hurts my heart.

I put my hands on his face. “Wow, you’re going to protect me from all the bad stuff in the world? That’s a big job,” I say jokingly.

“I’ll do anything I have to do, Wren. Anything for you,” he says in a very serious tone.

I know he means it. If there’s anything I know about Lance, it’s that he does everything at a level 100.

Whether he’s fixing a car or fucking my brains out, he gives it his all, and that’s just not something you come across every day. Certainly not twice in one lifetime.