Indulge by Angela Graham Read Free Book Online Page B

was of
age. He was a stickler for checking IDs, his job or not.
    “Answer me, you son of a bitch,” he growled. “What were
you doing with her?”
    Caleb strolled down the hall. He appeared unaffected by
the scene, but I knew better. “Hey, everything all right back here?”
    Marcus held onto his angry sneer while his young friend turned
around, blocking Caleb from intervening.
    “No, no problem at all.” I held up my hands in simple defeat.
“I apologize if I offended your sister in any way.”
    “You didn’t!” she called back.
    I shot her a sidelong glance. She was all smiles again.
    “There, you heard her. So if you’ll excuse me, I have
somewhere to be,” I said with a smirk, rattling his cage as I turned my back. I
knew his type: He wasn’t leaving without a fight, and I wasn’t one to scare
easily.
    “You got a sister?”
    I closed my eyes for a brief moment, fully aware of what
he was getting at. There was only one way I was leaving the bar and it wouldn’t
be quietly, so I played it up.
    “I do, actually,” I said, twisting back halfway. “She’s a
real pain in the ass.”
    “Bring her by. Let me fuck her in this shithole bar, and
then we’ll be even. Fair enough?”
    It made sense in theory. “Unfortunately, I’ll need to
decline that well-thought-out offer.” Taking the upper hand, I whipped around
fully, my fist connecting with the side of his face. “Doesn’t work for me,” I
growled.
    He stumbled back, blood gushing from the point of impact.
“You’re dead!”
    He reared up and came at me. Adrenaline coursed through
my veins, readying my system. I simply waited, watching the scene play out in
slow motion. His sister bounced around in the background, her screams incoherently
hysterical. Caleb was in front of her now, holding the other guy back, his arms
locked around the guy’s neck and under his arm.
    Only one thing crossed my mind when Marcus’s body rammed
into mine: I couldn’t take a hit to the face. I wouldn’t let Oliver see me
injured. I wouldn’t let him worry for me.
     

Chapter 4
    Significance
     
    “ O h my God!” Katherine shrieked, her hand flying to
her mouth after she opened the back door. I’d texted her to meet me there.
    I shot my hand out to quiet her and peeked inside. “Where’s
Oliver?” I whispered.
    Her alarmed gaze scanned down my body and back up,
searching for answers. “In the front, waiting for you. He knows you’re late.”
    My mood lifted at how perceptive he was. It wasn’t even
half an hour, but our routine was set and he noticed any changes. It was the
sole reason I hadn’t detoured home to clean up before I came over.
    “Get in here, its cold out there,” Katherine demanded
suddenly, opening the door further and ushering me in.
    Glancing around, I followed her into the laundry room. “Stay
here,” she said. “I’ll get the first-aid kit and one of Lawrence’s shirts.”
    “Thanks.”
    She stopped at the door, looking back hesitantly to ask
the obvious. “Should I even bother asking what happened?”
    I shook my head. “No, you shouldn’t.”
    She nodded once. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
    Once she’d sneaked away from the small room, I slid my
coat over my sore shoulders, kneading the pressure away. Marcus had some
strength behind his fist, but luckily I’d gotten in enough blows to put him on
his ass before he did any real damage. I looked down at the blood on my white
dress shirt—mostly his—and had begun unbuttoning it when the door reopened.
    It was Lawrence who strolled in instead of Katherine. He
shut the door behind him quietly, studying me for any obvious injuries with his
familiar calm-yet-scornful expression.
    “Let me guess,” he said, tossing a clean shirt at me.
“This was courtesy of your dick. So was it a wife or daughter you defiled this
time?”
    I ground my back teeth, insulted. I’d never touched a
married woman, and didn’t plan to. I held his repulsed glare, matching it with
my own of