A Perfect Distraction(86)
Mortified, Maggie tried to step back, away from the scene, but her legs were frozen in place. Her skin crawled with the sensation of so many pairs of eyes watching her. Judging.
The walls seemed to close in on her. The air was dense—it was hard to draw breath.
Here and there murmurs started. No one moved. They were determined not to miss a moment of gossip. She sensed their disgust and disdain.
Tears pricked her eyes, but she refused to let them spill.
The DJ neatly segued into “Thriller,” encouraging everyone to get on the dance floor, but he couldn’t drown out Tony’s vile stream of abuse.
Tru and Ike appeared and grabbed Tony’s arms, hauling him to his feet. When he tried to lunge at Maggie, they restrained him and started to haul him away.
She needed to get out of here. Get some air.
Turning, she stumbled to a stop when she saw Lois and the cameraman recording everything. The smugly satisfied smile on the reporter’s face made Maggie’s stomach roll.
“Beat it, Lois.” Jenny stepped in front of the reporter and blocked the camera lens with her hand. “There’s no story here.”
Lois started to argue, but Jenny leaned forward and said something to her that Maggie couldn’t hear. The other woman paled, then nodded to her cameraman. She flounced off, but not before deliberately snapping a picture on her smart phone. No doubt she was already tweeting about what had happened.
Jenny wrapped a comforting arm around Maggie’s waist. “Are you okay?”
Maggie nodded dumbly, unable to force words through her constricted throat.
“Come on. I’m sure you could do with a stiff drink after being pawed by Tony. All that money and not a nickel’s worth of class.”
Jenny’s calm support soothed Maggie’s ragged nerves. She allowed herself to be steered away toward the ballroom doors.
Her heart stuttered when Jake appeared before her, his expression thunderous, his jaw grimly set. She wasn’t scared; his rage wasn’t aimed at her. He’d never hurt her. No, her concern was about what would happen next if she didn’t stop him.
She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. “It’s all right. Tru and Ike have Tony under control. Let them deal with him.”
“Did that bastard hurt you?” Worry mixed with the fury blazing in his blue eyes as they raked over her, inspecting her from head to toe. His hand cupped her chin gently. His thumb caressed her cheek, then her lips.
“I’m fine. Just a little shaken. Nothing a glass of wine can’t fix.”
“Yeah, well, he’s going to learn never to lay his hands on my woman again.”
Her gut twisted. “Jake, don’t. It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it.”
But it was like he didn’t hear her plea. He stormed across to where his friends still held the raging man. Maggie didn’t hear what he growled at Tony, only the threatening tone.
Tony’s response was crystal clear. “Get your cheap piece of ass under control, Bad Boy, or you’ll be the one paying the price.”
Jake’s fist ploughed into Tony’s face.
Bone crunched, blood spurted.
A camera flash exploded.
The perfect evening had become a perfect nightmare.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MAGGIE’S SILENCE WAS a hell of a lot more painful than his bruised knuckles.
For the first time in his life, Jake hadn’t a clue what to say to make this nightmare situation right. Charm wouldn’t bail him out of the mess he’d created.
His gut burned. After all his assurances, he’d blown it.
He just wasn’t cut out to be a good man. He’d been whistling in the wind to think he could change. Hadn’t tonight been proof of that? He’d done the very thing Maggie had been afraid of. Worse, he’d done it in full view of the media and every idiot with a cell phone and a Twitter account.
The pictures had probably already hit the internet. By tomorrow, every sports blog, podcast and talk show would have commented on the details. The nonsports media would get in on the act, too, happy to take another pop at hockey’s violence.
Everything he’d been trying to do for the past few months had blown up in one hotheaded moment. Thing was, given a do over, he couldn’t swear he’d have done anything different. That’s who he was. No one got away with bullying on his watch.
Unfortunately, Maggie would suffer the consequences, no matter how justified Jake’s actions were or how much that jackass had deserved the broken nose. He looked across the limo at her, pressed as close to the far door as she could. Her head was turned away, staring out of the tinted window, though he doubted she saw anything of the landscape flashing past.
Jake reached out to touch her but pulled his hand back at the last second. He wanted to bridge the gap, but he wasn’t sure how. The distance between them felt broader than the width of the limo.