Chapter 6

Ollie's POV

“Listen, buddy, Meghan and I were just having a chat,” the guy says, voice coated in that fake calmness people use right before they get aggressive.

Like he thinks if he smiles while saying it, it somehow changes what I just saw.

I glance down at her.

Just for a second.

Enough to actually see her up close.

The tension pulled tight across her face. The discomfort she’s trying to hide behind a neutral expression. The way her body had subtly leaned away from him before I stepped in.

And the second she realizes I’m looking at her, her eyes flick up to mine.

Not panicked.

Just… startled.

Like she’s trying to figure me out as quickly as I’m trying to figure out why every instinct in me is screaming over a stranger.

I look back at him.

“She doesn’t want you touching her,” I say simply.

My tone stays even. Controlled.

Which somehow makes the silence around us heavier.

The guy’s expression shifts instantly.

Offended.

Then irritated.

Like he’s embarrassed someone interrupted whatever game he thought he was playing.

He takes a small step forward. “I think she can answer for herself.”

Behind me, I feel Shane move closer automatically. I don’t even need to look to know he’s there now, reading the tension rolling off me. Somewhere across the bar, Luca and Adrian have probably noticed too. The noise around us dulls strangely at the edges, the music fading under the sudden sharpness in the air.

But I don’t move.

My arm stays firm around her waist, protective before I can stop myself from being protective.

And that realization should concern me more than it does.

Because I don’t know this girl.

I don’t know her favorite color or what her laugh sounds like outside of drunken karaoke or why she looked sad even before this guy walked over.

But my body already acts like losing sight of her would be a problem.

The thought lands hard in my chest.

The guy scoffs, eyes dropping briefly to where my hand rests against her side before snapping back up to me. “You her boyfriend or something?”

No.

But the word still sparks something dangerously possessive in me anyway.

I feel her shift slightly against my side, warm despite the chill rolling through the bar every time the front door opens.

And suddenly the only thing I know for certain is this:

She was uncomfortable.

And now she isn’t facing him alone anymore.

And then suddenly—

She’s gone.

One second her warmth is pressed against my side, grounding something feral and restless inside me.

The next, cold air rushes into the empty space she left behind.

My arm drops instinctively as my eyes snap through the crowd searching for dark hair, for movement, for any sign of her.

Nothing.

The loss of her presence hits harder than it should.

Hard enough that I realize, with a jolt, just how warm she’d felt against me. How quickly my body had adjusted to keeping her there.

The prick in front of me notices immediately.

“Now look what you did,” he says with a mocking little frown, like he’s somehow amused by this.

Something in me goes dangerously still.

I take one slow step forward.

The guy’s smirk falters slightly.

For a long second, I just stare at him. Not speaking. Not blinking. Letting the silence press down heavy enough to make his confidence crack around the edges.

Then finally, low and controlled, I say,

“Don’t bother her again.”

The protectiveness in my own voice catches me off guard.

It’s not anger anymore.

It’s something deeper. Sharper.

Mine flashes through my head so quickly it nearly makes me recoil from myself.

The guy mutters something under his breath, but I’m already turning away from him.

Because her friends are moving now.

Fast.

The blonde one practically shoves through the front doors first, panic written all over her face while the others hurry after her into the rain.

Worried.

About Meghan.

My chest tightens again at hearing her name in my own head.

I glance toward Shane. “Should we help?” I ask, the hesitation in my voice unfamiliar enough to irritate me.

Usually I trust my instincts without question.

But this girl has turned every one of them inside out in less than ten minutes.

Shane studies me for half a second too long, like he’s trying to piece something together.

Then, without answering, he heads for the door.

I follow immediately behind him, the cold city air hitting my face the second we step outside.

“We were having SUCH a good night and you— YOU—”

She points directly at me like I personally ruined her life.

“YOU caused her to run!”

Another girl quickly grabs her arm before she can fully storm at me. “Okay, relax—”

“No!” the blonde snaps. “Men are literally exhausting!”

I open my mouth, then close it again.

Because maybe she’s right.

Maybe grabbing that gir— Meghan, like that overwhelmed her more than the creep inside ever did.

And weirdly, that thought hurts.

A lot.

“She looked uncomfortable before any of that happened,” Shane says calmly beside me.

The blonde scoffs. “And then your friend went all protective psycho!”

“I wasn’t—” I start, then stop.

Because I don’t actually know what that was.

The brunette holding her friend back sighs tiredly before looking at us properly. “Ignore her. I’m Eliana.”

She gestures toward the blonde. “That’s Anya.”

The quieter girl beside them gives a small wave. “Kylah.”

I nod once automatically, eyes already scanning the street again. “I’m Ollie. This is Shane.”

Eliana notices immediately. “You’re looking for her already.”

The fact that she’s right annoys me more than it should.

“We just want to help,” I say, calmer this time. “She looked uncomfortable the second that other guy walked up. Where do you think she went?”

The girls exchange a glance.

And for the first time since we stepped outside, their anger fades into something closer to concern.