Page 43 of Yes, Love

And in nearly every photo I’d ever seen of her, she wore her curls piled on top of her head… And she had beautiful arms.

That fucking asshole was abusing her. Dominic was right.

I headed straight for their table, pasting my perfect smile in place. I didn’t quite know my game plan yet, but I had to get her out of there.

“Oh my gawd! Lucy!” I gushed. I slid into the booth next to her and flung my arms around her neck. She stiffened and started to pull away. I whispered in her ear, “Hug me back if you’re scared to leave with him tonight.” Lucy paused, and then her slender arms wrapped around my waist.

I pulled away and continued chattering. “It is so good to see you, girl! You look stunning!”

Will watched me with narrowed eyes, so I turned to him next. Ugh. He looked exactly like the kind of attractive asshole I would have picked up at a party. Fuck. This could so easily be me in Lucy’s place. “Will, right? I’ve seen your Tik Toks, and I love them! Oooh! Love your shirt, too!” I batted my eyelashes and tried not to gag on my next words. “Damn, Lucy is a lucky woman.”

Will gave me a cocky little smile and let his gray eyes greedily roam my body. “Who are you?”

“Emma Drake.” I gave him the name of another semi-famous blonde beauty blogger in case he decided to look me up. If I told him my real name, he’d find the connection to Dominic, and things could turn ugly before I got Lucy out. “Can I borrow Lucy for like five seconds?” I pushed my lips into a pout and gave him puppy-dog eyes.

“What do you need with my girl? Why don’t you both stick around?” He leaned over Lucy and slid his hand up my thigh.

I giggled and batted my eyelashes again. “It’s a super embarrassing girl problem.” I bit my lip and mouthed to Lucy, “Do you have tampons?”

Will grimaced and withdrew his hand from my leg. “Ugh. Go.”

“Thank you!” I wrapped my hand around Lucy’s and slid out of the booth, tugging her with me. We headed straight for the women’s room with Will’s eyes glued to our asses. As soon as the door closed behind us, I turned to Lucy. Her eyes were wide with terror, and her hands trembled. “Okay, Dominic’s waiting in the car. We’re taking you back to my place tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Lucy whispered, wringing her hands together. “I shouldn’t have asked Dom to meet me today. It was stupid, so stupid! Will’s going to be so angry when he sees the photo! I’m so stupid!”

“Hey, look at me.”

Lucy’s eyes drifted over to meet mine.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, and you did the right thing reaching out to Dom today.” I gently squeezed her hand and forced the reassuring smile again. “Okay, I just need to get you out of the bar without Will seeing. If he gives us any trouble, though, Dominic and his friend, Noah, are willing to commit murder. I probably know a few guys that could bury the body, too, but let’s hope that’s the last resort.”

Lucy gave me a half-smile, and I pulled open the bathroom door to get eyes on Will. He still sat in their corner booth, scrolling through his phone. “Okay, now.” My heart pounded as I took Lucy’s hand and hurried toward the exit. What would Will do if he caught us? What if he’d just seen the photo of Lucy and Dominic? What if he’d looked up Emma Drake and seen that it wasn’t me? How unhinged was this guy? Maybe I shouldn’t have forced Dom to stay in the car. This was terrifying.

The big green exit sign was right above us. We were almost free when an angry shout rang out across the bar.

“HEY!”

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Will shoving his way through the crowd looking like the fucking hulk. Lucy froze and wouldn’t move another inch.

“Lucy!” I hissed. “Babe, we have to go!” I tugged on her hand, my heart practically bursting through my chest. Shit. Shit. Shit. “Lucy!” I yelled this time, and she snapped out of her trance and rushed out the door with me.

Dom’s car was right around the corner, and Lucy was in tears by the time we reached him. He paced back and forth in front of the car, hands buried in his hair.

“Keys!” I snapped at him.

Dominic turned with an expression of pure relief and rushed over to us. Lucy immediately collapsed into his arms, sobbing. “Get her in the car and give me the goddamn keys, Dom! The asshole is hulking out, and he was following us!”

Dominic dug the keys from his pocket and tossed them to me while he helped Lucy into the back seat. I took off the second the door closed with my heart racing out of control, expecting to see something huge, green, and angry in the rearview mirror.

Once I reached the freeway, and it was clear that Will was no longer following us, I glanced back and saw Lucy sobbing into Dom’s chest. “It wasn’t like that at first, Dom! I can’t believe it’s happened this way. I can’t…”

“Sh, it’s all right, Luce.” He gently patted her back and caught my eye in the rearview mirror. I tore my gaze away and focused on the road. Getting Lucy away from Will wouldn’t mean much if I killed us all in a fiery car wreck.

When we made it back to my place, I got Lucy all settled in the guest room on the main floor, where she promptly fell asleep.

Dominic leaned against the wall in the hallway, watching me with something indiscernible in his eyes. “Ava.” His voice was so soft, and he reached for my hand.

I folded my arms and turned away from him. “What?”