Page 20 of Burned & Bound

I muttered… something.Maybe. Words were so fucking heavy in my mouth.

“Come on, West. Look at me, boy.”Mickey?I tried to say it out loud. Maybe I did. Nothing seemed to work. “Yeah… yeah, that’s right, West. Look at me. Ain’t no one goin’ to hurt you, you hear me? Ain’t no one goin’ to hurt you.”

Words fell out of my mouth, incoherent babbling even to me.

“You’re safe, West. You’re safe,” he said, soft and soothing. I wasn’t safe. My heart pounding erratically in my chest was a surefire sign of that. It galloped hard enough to fall out of my fucking ribs. I couldn’t breathe.I couldn’t fucking breathe.“Say it with me, West. Tell me you’re safe. Ain’t no one goin’ to hurt you, boy, I promise.”

My gaze flitted around the swaying room, desperate for something—anything—to help.A beer bottle on the table next to Mickey was my only option.I grabbed the bottle and smashed it on the table. Before he could stop me, I shoved the biggest piece of glass into my palm and closed my fingers around it.

The burst of pain was mind-numbing, and I groaned.But I squeezed harder until I felt the blood dripping between my fingers.The buzz in the room softened and the hazy darkness seeping into my vision began to creep away.

I squeezed hard enough to make me gasp.

But it fucking worked. The pain took over the panic, erasing the violent chaos crashing through me. I clung to that stupid piece of glass as tight as I possibly could, letting it cut deep. It was the only lifeline I fucking had.

“You’re safe, boy,” Mickey said again. I blinked at him.I wasn’t safe. I wasn’t ever safe.I just shook my head. “You are. You’re goin’ to walk right out that door, you hear me? Right out the door and ain’t no one goin’ to stop you. Go, West. Go.”

I was numb head to toe. My legs were heavy and uncomfortable. My body barely cooperated as I stiffly walked toward the door. I ignored the deafening silence and the looks. I didn’t have the answers they wanted.

Hell, even I didn’t know what was wrong with me.

CHAPTER 13

jackson

Clean this shit up,”I barked to my guys and gestured to the mess. “Everyone gets overtime and another round on me.”

Fuck.Like I needed to be putting money in that direction, but it was the only way to smooth this shit over. I turned, ready to handle the bartender, but Mickey was already on it. Thank fuck. I wasn’t even sure what the hell I’d say. What could I say?

What the fuck had happened?

I stared around the bar, purposefully ignoring the questioning looks shot in my direction. No one here was getting Jackson Myles the gay bull rider right now, and Amy would have a fucking field day if I started yelling at locals. My best bet was to fucking avoid them all.

Instead, I studied the entire bar and tried to make sense of it.Blood, broken chairs, flipped-over tables, and glass shards.Jesus fucking Christ. And that wasn’t including Craig and his guys.

West had done a number on everyone. Craig would have a crooked nose for the rest of his life. There was no good way to fix that shit. His face was a pummeled mess—there had to be more broken bones on that man thanjust his nose. And the other two? Despite having ganged up on West, they weren’t looking any better.

Jesus fuck. What the hell was wrong with him?

This wasn’t a fucking bar fight over a girl—and I wasn’t getting started on how scared Marley looked. Unscathed but fucking terrified.Not that anyone blamed her.This was fucking chaos.

This was a wild fucking animal let out of its cage. I was having a hard fucking time reconciling this animal with the West I’d grown up with. They were polar opposites.What the hell had happened to turn him into this?

When Mickey walked out of the bar, I stormed after him.

“What the fuck is wrong with him?” I demanded as soon as we were outside. He rounded on me fast and planted a hand on my chest. The expression on his face was unreadable.Guilt? Anger? Worry?I couldn’t make sense of it.

“Get your ass inside, boy, and you let me worry about West,” he snapped.

“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!”

“Lower your voice!” Mickey exclaimed

“Now, Mick,” I growled. “He could’ve killed one of them.”

“He didn’t.”

“He could’ve.”