“I don’t know. The last time we crashed your date, you guys fought,” Regina pointed out.
Dex’s phone vibrated, and he read the text from Ellie. Sounds good!
“Sage is gonna meet us, too, so it’s not like you’re imposing. Besides, we didn’t fight.” Dex could hardly believe it had been only a week since they’d gone to his parents’ house. He and Ellie had come together in every way, and he felt like they’d been living together forever. Maybe in his mind, they had. Thoughts of her had always lingered in his mind. Was she okay? Was she happy? Was she thinking of him as much as he thought of her? She still loved to lie beside him while he read, or lie on the couch while he worked his way through a game. He used to cherish his privacy, but what he realized was that he just hadn’t tried sharing his time with the right person.
“Right. What are we calling it now? A lovers’ quarrel?” Mitch asked.
“Oh, like you’d know anything about dating.” Regina swatted a Twizzler in his direction.
“Hey, I could date if I wanted to.”
“Aren’t you the guy who swears women don’t want gamers?” Regina arched a brow.
“Hey, focus here or I’ll be late. You in or out?” Dex headed for the door. Regina and Mitch were right behind him.
They arrived at NightCaps fifteen minutes late, and Ellie was nowhere in sight. They went inside to look for her. The bar was packed, but Dex didn’t see Ellie.
“I’ll check the ladies’ room,” Regina offered.
Mitch elbowed Dex. “You think Reg would go out with me?”
No way. How could Siena have seen that and he have missed it? “Dude, don’t stick the pen in the company ink. It never ends well.” Dex pulled out his phone and texted Ellie.
“I’m serious. We have the same interests, the same schedules.” Mitch shrugged.
Dex only half listened, sidetracked by trying to reach Ellie.
“She’s not in there,” Regina said.
“Shit.” Dex tried calling her cell phone. It rang three times, then went to voicemail. “I’m gonna walk down by the subway and see if I can find her. You guys can grab a table.”
“I’ll go with you.” Regina fell into step beside him.
“I’m good. You guys wait here. I’ll go alone.” He turned so Regina couldn’t see his face and winked at Mitch. Mitch pulled his shoulders back, which only made his gut stick out farther.
Regina shrugged. “Okay. Text if you need us to send out search and rescue.”
Friday nights brought out the masses in the city. They came out early and stayed out late. Tonight Dex was looking at a sea of bodies moving fast and constant. He tried calling Ellie again before heading toward the subway. He held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring. He heard the ringtone Ellie had set up to identify his calls coming from the alley beside the bar. He lowered his phone, listening intently, then followed the ringing into the darkness.
“Ellie?” he called. He could barely see five feet in front of him as he entered the alley. He raced toward the ringing sound and found her phone lying on the ground, the faceplate cracked. Fuck.
“Dex!” Her voice was high-pitched, frightened. “Leave me alone, Bruce!”
“Like hell I will,” a deep male voice seethed.
Dex ran into the darkness, his heart slamming against his ribs. Blood rushed through his ears as he came upon Ellie, her back against the brick wall, the man blocking her with a wide-legged stance. She took a step toward Dex, and Bruce pushed her back against the wall. Ellie sucked in a breath.
Moving on pure adrenaline and gut instinct, Dex grabbed Bruce and dragged him away from Ellie. Tears streamed from her terrified eyes.
“Dex!”
“Get outta here, Ellie,” Dex growled just before slamming Bruce against the wall. His head met the brick with a loud thud. Ellie ran toward the street as Bruce’s fist connected with Dex’s jaw.
Ellie yelled, “Dex!”
The metallic taste of blood hung in Dex’s mouth as he launched himself at the guy, blocking another punch and knocking Bruce off balance. Blind fury sent Dex’s arm into motion, landing punch after powerful punch on Bruce’s jaw. As his head fell back, Dex’s fist connected with a blow to his gut. Bruce keeled forward, and Dex hammered an uppercut to his already bloody jaw, then threw him to the ground, landing on top of him with another thud. The anger and frustration of the last few weeks tangled into one massive surge of force. The sound of bone cracking and flesh pummeling flesh filled the darkness. Somewhere in the distance he heard Ellie calling out to him, but Dex was powerless to stop. He was pure adrenaline, rage personified. All of the men who had ever hurt Ellie blurred into the man beneath him. His fists flew hard and fast as the man went limp. A strong hand gripped his arm and he twisted out of its grip, landing another punch to the already bloody face beneath him. Then his arms were trapped, held firmly back as he was yanked from the limp body and dragged backward. He flailed and fought against them, burning to avenge Ellie’s pain.
“Dex. Stop. Stop. You’ll kill him.”
Sage.
Dex’s chest expanded with each angry breath. His fisted hands ached and burned. His knuckles dripped with blood. Some his, some the other guy’s. Fury seeped from every pore. He struggled to break free, but stood no chance with Mitch and Sage holding him back.
“Ellie!” he growled. He heard her crying. He elbowed and twisted until he was facing the road, where Ellie shook and shivered within Regina’s caring arms. “Lemme go!” He broke free of their grasp and sprinted to Ellie, barely aware of the crowd that now circled the man he’d beaten. Ellie’s eyes and nose were red and puffy, her terrified eyes locked on his.
“Ellie.” He pulled her against him, his own body shaking against hers. “Babe. I’m right here. It’s okay. I’m right here.” She clung to him, digging into him with her nails. He barely felt the moon-shaped cuts he knew he’d find later. She drew a shaky hand to his jaw.
“You’re…bleeding,” she sobbed.
He didn’t care about the blood. Adrenaline and fear numbed the physical pain. Ellie was safe. She was in his arms, and he was never going to let her go. Ever.
AT THE HOSPITAL, Dex sat on the bed with a bandage secured to his hand. He’d needed eleven stitches to close a gash along his knuckles. Ellie stood between his legs, her hands on his hips. Regina leaned against Mitch, looking almost as scared as Ellie.
“I’m fine, you guys. You don’t have to hang around.” He was glad they were there, but the painkillers had kicked in and he felt fuzzy around the edges. He wanted to go home, lie down beside Ellie, and not move until his life would fall apart if he didn’t.
“You sure?” Regina asked.
“Reg, I’ve got Ellie and Sage. I’ll be fine.” He watched her and Mitch exchange a glance, and he wondered if the closeness he noticed was caused by his drug-induced foggy state or something more.
“Okay. What about the release?” Regina asked.
“You know, I think I’ll just hang with Ellie. Between the drugs and the stitches, I’m not sure I’ll be up for it.” He stroked Ellie’s arm.
“Yeah, okay.” Regina put an arm around Ellie. “I’m glad you’re okay. It would have sucked if that guy hurt my new friend.”
Ellie leaned her head against Regina. “For me, too,” she said, but she was looking at Dex, and he knew she meant the both of them.
“All right, dude. Listen, you need me, I’m there. I’ll text you updates.” Mitch patted Dex’s back. “Man, you’ll do just about anything to get the girl, won’t you?”
“Just about.” Anything. Anything at all. “Thanks, you guys. I’m not blowing you off. I’m just really loopy.”
“No worries. You’re in good hands.” Regina grabbed the front of Mitch’s shirt. “Let’s go. I need a veggie burger.”
Mitch raised his eyebrows. “That’s code for you know what.”
Regina smacked him, and as they walked out of the curtained-off area of the emergency room, she looked over her shoulder and said, “In his dreams.”
Ellie turned a soft gaze back to him, her pupils dilated as she ran her eyes along his face. “Dexy. Look at you. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Do you believe me now? I’m chaos, Dexy. Bad news.” Her voice was soft, riddled with worry.
Sage came through the curtain. “How’re you doing, Dex?”
Dex arched a brow. “’Bout as good as can be expected.”
“Good. The police just left. This guy, Bruce, he has a history of complaints against him from other women.” Sage put an arm around Ellie. “You okay?”
“Yeah, thanks, but this is all my fault. I’m sorry to have gotten you involved with this.” She touched Dex’s cheek. “I’m so sorry.”
“You couldn’t have known. This guy’s MO is to turn on the GPS on women’s phones, so he always knows where they are.” Sage let out a breath. “He wasn’t married, Ellie. The woman who called you was some other woman he’d been seeing, who also thought she was his only girlfriend.”