Chapter 27 THE UNINVITED PARTY
Her gaze met mine for a second before she immediately looked away. I could tell she saw us but wasn't ready to acknowledge it. What on earth was she doing here? And why was she dressed like that?
She quickly picked up another tray and began walking away through the crowd, but I wasn't about to lose her. She was definitely trying to disappear into the chaos.
"Jax, where are you going?" I heard Troy calling after me, but all my attention was on her. I stood still, watching her serve the last drink on her tray. But as she turned to leave, one of the men-clearly drunk-blocked her path and started moving closer. She backed away, bumping into the table behind her, but the guy didn't seem like he was backing off.
I wanted to step in, but something held me back. I needed to see how she would handle it.
"Sexy... Why don't you have fun with me, sweetie? I promise to make you feel good," the guy slurred. Miss Carter's face instantly twisted in disgust, her hands balling into fists.
I found myself moving before I could stop, rushing toward her before she did something she'd regret.
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Nancy's POV
I tried my best to ignore the idiot in front of me until he grabbed my wrist, yanking me toward him with such force I lost balance. The tray slipped from my hands, crashing to the floor as he stared at me with pure lust in his eyes. A wave of disgust washed over me-I felt like my skin was crawling.
A low, angry groan escaped my lips before I could stop it. His breath reeked of smoke and stale booze, his presence so repulsive I could barely breathe. And now, he had the audacity to touch me? My hands curled into fists. I was ready to knock this bastard out cold.
But then someone grabbed my arm, startling me. I yanked my hand free from the drunk and turned, fist flying toward whoever else dared touch me. But it didn't land.
He caught it mid-air.
My eyes widened in shock as I stared into the familiar face of Mr. Lennox. He looked straight at me, calm but unreadable, while I tried to catch my breath and make sense of what I was seeing.
What was he doing here?
I thought I'd gotten away from him.
"You little bitch!" the drunk's angry growl yanked me out of the trance I was in, breaking the hold the blue eyes had over me.
I immediately yanked both my hands away from him, creating a reasonable amount of distance between us. I needed to get out of here. Picking up my tray, I set off to leave-only to have the drunk guy block my path.
"Do you think I'm going to let you get away after you ruined my dress? After humiliating me!?" he barked. It was only then I noticed his clothes were stained with wine and food. Turning to my left, I saw the crashed table with the glass of wine and food scattered on the floor.
I hadn't even realized I'd pushed him hard enough to send him crashing into a table.
"Maybe you should learn how to keep your hands to yourself," I snapped, already having enough of this. I needed to get away from here.
"You have some guts talking back to me like that. Who do you think you are, you little whore?" he sneered. That only fueled my rage. I marched toward him, but Mr. Lennox beat me to it, stepping in between us, facing the guy.
"That's enough. I advise you to find a bathroom and clean yourself up," he said calmly, but there was steel in his voice. The guy immediately backed away, glaring at me with a dangerous look in his eyes-but those eyes didn't scare me. Not anymore. Once he was gone, Mr. Lennox turned to face me, but all I wanted was to get away-from there, from him.
I was beginning to feel sick.
"Fucking ass dick," I cursed under my breath, wishing I had beaten that motherfucker to a pulp.
"Care to explain what you're doing here, Miss Carter?" Mr. Lennox asked, his voice firm and demanding.
"And who the fucking hell are you to ask me that?" I fired back.
"Well, if you must know, you're at my party-one you weren't invited to-and how on earth did you get tangled up with these girls to be wearing that?" he replied. I was more angered by the fact that he just admitted to throwing this God-forsaken party.
"Do you know I could get you arrested right here and right now?" I barked, but he smirked, taking two steps closer.
"Get me arrested? You practically stepped into my territory unarmed," he said, leaning in, leaving little to no space between us. "What makes you think I'll let you leave here alive? I mean, take a look around. First, you're dressed like that," he said, gesturing to my dress.
"Which makes you a slave, Miss Carter. Take a look around you-every one of these girls dressed like you is here to serve and obey. And you are no exception." His eyes left no room for teasing-this was cold, calculated business.
I immediately took two steps back, hating how his breath had heated my face. And with that, I let my eyes wander the room. The girls weren't just here to serve food and drinks.
They were here to satisfy every desire. I had been so immersed in trying to find Mia and Ravyn Vale that I hadn't even noticed what was going on.
Most of them were being forced to strip naked as men sat and watched. Some were already pinned down, men forcing themselves on them while others drank and smoked casually like nothing was wrong.
A lump formed at the back of my throat as I tried to swallow it down. The scene in front of me brought tears to my eyes. But what hit me most was that I couldn't do anything to help.
My heart shattered into a million pieces as I imagined what Mia must be going through. These people were monsters-and they didn't deserve to get away with this.
"How could you? How could you people be so inhumane?" I questioned, turning to face Mr. Lennox, who stood there with nothing but ice in his eyes.
Jaxon's POV
The amount of anger I saw in her eyes was incomprehensible. Then came that intense emotion I'd first noticed at the sheriff's office-hate. It was there again, raw and unfiltered. But I just couldn't understand why I could see through her or why I was able to read those emotions so clearly.
They were personal. I could tell. But I still didn't know why they existed.
"You shouldn't have come here. Do you even realize the risk you're putting yourself in?" I asked, waiting-wanting-to know what on earth brought her here. What was so important that she had to risk her life?
"None of your fucking business. I came here of my own will, and I'll find my own way out," she snapped, her voice dripping with venom and fury as she turned to walk away.
"Do you actually think you can do that? Or are you just going to get yourself into more trouble?" I called after her. I'd already seen the guy she'd whispered to a moment ago. He was now talking to the leader of the Shadows who immediately called Scorpion over to us.
I saw him moving toward us just as Miss Carter started walking off. But somehow, she was smart enough to notice the drunk guy with Scorpion heading straight for her. She froze as she spotted them, her steps faltering as she began backing away.
A deep sigh left my lips. I took off my suit jacket and strode up to her, placing it over her shoulders. My hands rested there, firm, guiding her back toward me.
She looked up at me with a glare full of confusion and anger-her eyes silently questioning everything.
"Do as I say if you want to get out of this," I whispered, though it didn't stop her from shooting daggers with her eyes.
I let my hands slide to her waist, pulling her gently against my chest, ignoring the rage in her expression.
"Get your hands off me while I'm still being nice," she growled, furious.
"Would you rather deal with me for a few minutes-or go with them?" I asked, watching her closely. Her mouth twitched, faltering before she answered.
"Fine," she said, dragging the word out like it took every ounce of her energy to say it.
"Good. Then we might need to start by softening those glares and angry stares if we're going to make this look convincing," I murmured, peering over her shoulder. Scorpion and the other guy were closing in.
"I wonder how I'm supposed to do what's impossible," she muttered, annoyed.
And without another thought, I did the only thing I could to save her from the trouble she'd walked into-
I pulled her closer and crushed my lips to hers, kissing her.