All the Pretty Lies by M. Leighton Read Free Book Online Page A

wheel? I think not.”
He starts to walk off, pushing me through the crowd in front of
him.
    “Let go of me!” I struggle against his hold,
but it’s useless. He’s just too strong.
    “No. You’re coming with me. Right. Now.”
    “Steven—”
    “I suggest you take your hands off her.
Right. Now,” a familiar voice says from behind us. My stomach does
a happy little flip and I look back to see Hemi standing a few feet
away, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl marring his
gorgeous face.
    “Stay out of this, asshole,” Steven replies,
undaunted.
    “I won’t ask you again,” Hemi says.
    Steven stops dead in his tracks. He’s already
mad, and he’s the brother with the worst temper. As he turns, his
fingers bite into my arm.
    “Shit, Steven! That hurts,” I say.
    “How about this?” my brother begins, his
voice calm but hard. “How about you take your nose out of my
business before I feel like I need to do it for you?”
    Hemi takes a step toward Steven, obviously
unconcerned. “Do what you have to, man. I’m not going anywhere
until you take your hands off her.”
    “You really don’t want to do this,”
Steven warns.
    “Oh, I think I do,” Hemi says, a smile
playing at the corners of his mouth.
    Oh shit! Where’s Sig when I need him?
    I step in front of Steven, facing him.
“Steven, I’m fine. I’m not driving. Just go back to what you were
doing. Don’t start trouble.”
    Cops don’t start trouble in cop bars. Other
people start trouble in cop bars. And that’s the story every cop in
the place will stick to. It’s just the way it is. If Hemi gets in
the middle of this, there’s only one way it will end. With Hemi in
the back of a squad car.
    Steven doesn’t even look at me when I speak
to him. He’s focused on Hemi and Hemi alone. Purposely, like he’s
making a statement, Steven puts his hands on my shoulders and moves
me behind him.
    “You can consider this your one free pass.
You won’t get another one.” As if to punctuate his control, Steven
grabs my arm again and propels me in front of him.
    I hear Hemi say the words, “Man, I asked you
nicely…” and then all hell breaks loose.
    I feel Steven’s fingers disappear and I turn.
I see him pivot on his heel and swing his fist right at Hemi’s
face. My breath catches in my lungs. Steven is a big guy, and he’s
trained to take down criminals. Just the thought of what his fist
could do to Hemi’s wonderful bone structure…
    My thoughts are curtailed when Hemi easily
ducks Steven’s fist. He does it with light grace and comes up
smiling.
    “That’s a little more like it, big man. What
else you got?”
    Ohmigod, he’s taunting my brother!
    Holy shit, this won’t end well.
    Steven brings up his fist and catches Hemi in
the stomach. Hemi steps slightly to the side, the blow glancing off
for the most part. He uses the momentum of Steven’s punch to roll
out beside him and push Steven into the crowd.
    Steven goes stumbling for a few feet before
he stops himself and turns on a dime. I see hell on his face when
he starts back toward Hemi. That’s when the true nature of the
situation really sets in.
    I’m drinking. For the first time. In a bar.
With my brothers. And a fight breaks out. Over me.
    This will forever be my first impression upon
them as an adult.
    Impulsively, I yell at the top of my lungs as
I step in front of Hemi. “Stop!”
    I’m not sure if it’s my presence between them
or my voice that does the trick, but something brings Steven up
short. And before he can continue on his warpath, I hurry to
continue.
    “Steven, before you can take all your
ridiculous anger out on a perfect stranger, know this. I’m turning
around right now and I’m going home. Sig is driving me. You were
way out of line and you can expect this same kind of shit every
night for the rest of our lives if you don’t stop treating me like
a child. If that’s how you want to play it, fine by me. But I will do what I want to do,