Forever We Fall: Broken #4 (The Broken Series) (31 page)

Lee

The minute Kyle and I stepped through the doors of Bobby's bar, my heart started thumping in anticipation. I hadn’t been to many bars in my lifetime and the thought of having some fun with my husband was making me dizzy with excitement – the fact that we were here as a favor to Derek was irrelevant. I was ready to have some fun with Kyle.

The sound of the live band crooning out their rendition of Kings of Leon's
Use Somebody
drummed through my ears and my body seemed to sway to the music without my brain's permission.

"I called Kelsie earlier," Kyle whispered in my ear as we made our way over to the bar. "She arranged for me to see Rachel tomorrow at noon." His hand was pressed against my lower back possessively. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," I said, stepping sideways to avoid a group of rowdy college kids. I'd never been to this bar, but according to Kyle,
Bobby's
was the place to be when he'd been in college. "I have an appointment with Dr. Michaels at eleven, but I can take the truck."

"Shit," he hissed, pulling me out of the way of a drunk man who was sloshing his beer. "I forgot you get your results tomorrow," he told me, guiding me towards the bar. "I'll cancel."

"No, you won't." Grabbing his hand, I pressed myself to his chest and leaned up on my tippy-toes. "You need to do this," I said, cupping his cheek. "I'll be fine."

"You're sure?" His blue eyes studied every inch of my face and I nodded. I was sure.

"Fine," he conceded, wrapping both of his arms around me. "But I'll take the truck and you take the car." Chuckling he added, "Otherwise you'll need a footstep."

"Smart-ass," I teased, pressing my lips to his.

"Short-ass," he shot back with a grin, his hands roaming dangerously close to the hem of my dress.

"You look fucking beautiful tonight," he husked. "But this…" He pulled on the fabric of my dress that was just about covering my thighs. "Is too short," he purred, stroking my bare skin.

The dress wasn’t something I'd normally wear –
ever wear
– but I'd bought it this afternoon as soon as Kyle had told me we were going clubbing. I knew I'd never win a beauty pageant, but I'd wanted to look sexy tonight, and the way Kyle's eyes had bulged when I shuffled into the kitchen in my neck-breaking heels and glued-to-every-inch-of-my-skin, royal blue, boobtube-style dress assured me I did…

"Thank god you're here," I heard Karen say seconds before I was pulled out of Kyle's arms. "I need to talk to you," she muttered as she dragged me off in the opposite direction of the bar.

****

Kyle

"How's the date going?" I asked Derek as I watched Lee strut out onto the dance-floor with Karen. Jesus Christ, she was fucking beautiful. I wasn’t happy about that dress, though. Not one fucking bit. The way every guy turned to leer at her as she danced caused my blood to boil in my veins.

"…at least I hope so," Derek muttered. "Dude," he snapped, clicking his fingers in front of my face. "I know you're all loved up and that's great, but could you give me a few fucking seconds of your time."

"You got it, precious," I chuckled, tearing my eyes away from Lee and focusing on Derek's face. "What's up?" I asked before ordering a beer and a half dozen shots from the overly-eager waitress leaning against the counter in front of me.

"What's up?" Derek shook his head and glared at me. "Well, let's see…oh, yeah, I'm a dad," he hissed.

"Thanks. Keep 'em coming," I told the waitress, handing her a couple of fifties, before tossing back a shot of whiskey and chasing it quickly with a sip of beer. Jesus, I hadn’t been out in months – years.

Smiling happily to myself, I downed another shot glass of whiskey, twisting my head to the side when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.

"Are you done getting reacquainted with Jack, you insensitive bastard," Derek demanded, red-faced. "Because I happen to be having a crisis."

"Calm down, douchebag," I huffed. Tossing back one more shot, I wiped the corners of my mouth and grinned down at him. "Okay, lay it on me."

"You know when you said I'd have trouble separating my feelings?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah," I lied, nodding eagerly. I hadn’t a fucking clue what he was talking about, but I decided to agree with him and see if that made him fuck off faster. "What about it?"

"Well, it's only been a day and I'm in trouble," he hissed, eyes wide and confused. "Big fucking trouble, Kyle."

"Hang on." I held up my hand and grabbed another shot, swallowing it quickly. It hit just the fucking spot. Lee's ass was the only thing in my vision when I spoke. "You said you're in big trouble?" Jesus, I couldn’t wait to get her home. "How deep?"

"Deeper than I've been in years," he choked out and the fear in his voice distracted me from my wife's bouncing tits.

"What's wrong?" I asked, taking a sip of my beer. "Tell me who's been hassling you, Der, and I'll sort it out."

"What the
fuck
are you talking about?" Derek demanded, his tone laced with disgust. "You haven’t listened to a word I've said, have you?"

"No," I chuckled. "I haven't. I'm here to enjoy myself, dude. I've had a bad fucking year. Give me one night off. I'll fix your mess in the morning."

"Don't bother," Derek muttered before stalking off. "Oh, Kyle," Derek called out, turning around to sneer at me. "Might wanna keep an eye on your wife," he taunted and pointed over to where Danny had joined Lee and Karen on the dance floor. "Or do you want the night off from her too?" he snickered before sauntering off.

Bastard…

I felt a shoulder brush against mine and tensed. Looking over at the person who had come to sit beside me, I could safely say I'd never been so relieved to see him. "I got your text," Mike said with a smile. "Thanks for the invite."

"No problem," I muttered, putting my hand on his arm. "Sit down, man."

The look of relief was obvious on my baby brother's face as he let out a sigh and sat on the bar stool beside mine. "Who's the dick?" he asked, inclining his head in the direction of the dance-floor and I snickered.

It felt fucking good that someone other than me held that opinion. "Danny Fucking Valentine," I snarled before ordering a round of beers.

Passing one to Mike, I clinked my bottle against his and took a sip. "He's more than a dick – stupid fuck has his eyes on what's mine."

Mike nodded as his eyes slipped past mine to where Danny, Karen, Lee and Derek –the turncoat– were dancing. My eyes landed on the raven-haired woman dancing in the middle of them and I groaned. Cindy.
Fucking great…

"It's a pointless attempt, Kyle," Mike said. "She's not going anywhere...well," he chuckled, pointing to Karen and Lee as they shimmied off in the direction of the restrooms. "Apart from the bathroom."

"Yeah," I muttered, tossing back another shot of whiskey before chasing it with a beer. "I know."

****

Lee

"This is so messed up, Karen," I groaned from where I was currently cornered in the bathroom, sitting on the closed lid of a toilet with a frantic Karen pacing the limited space. "You should have told me from the beginning who Jordan's father was."

"I know," she cried, chewing on her fingernails. "I screwed up, Lee.
I know
. He was drunk and I was in love. I thought…" She paused and she covered her face with her hands before plopping down on my lap.

"Make yourself comfortable," I chuckled, patting her on the back.

"Thanks," she sighed. "Did you see the way he was looking at me?" she sobbed. "Oh god, Lee, I still love him and he's only here because Jordan asked him to take me out, but then he says things that make me feel things, but he doesn’t…"

"He doesn’t what?" I asked, confused. The smell of alcohol on her breath was no doubt her brother's fault. Danny had been trying to feed us shots for the past hour and I was getting really annoyed with the 'come hither' looks he was giving me. And I was growing even more agitated with the way Cindy watched me out of the corner of her eyes. Ugh… This night was turning out to be a disaster.

I'd apparently become Karen's safety net and Derek's wing man, and all I wanted to do was cuddle my handsome drunk husband who was sitting at the bar sulking. I had no idea why Kyle was moping at the bar, but I planned on shaking him out of it…just as soon as I got out from under Karen's boney butt.

"He doesn’t feel things," she sniffled. "At least not for me." She exhaled a shuddering breath. "I've been in love with him since forever and he'll forever be in love with a ghost."

"They were broken up when she died," I told her, feeling like I was betraying Cam for saying this, but I was secretly rooting for Karen. Derek deserved to be happy. This woman could make him happy.
I just knew it…"
She cheated on him, Karen."

Karen's head snapped up. "What?" Wiping the smudges of mascara from under her eyes, she sniffed. "When?"

"Cam left him for Kyle's brother, Mike, a couple of months before the shooting," I whispered. "They'd been having an affair behind Derek's back for months beforehand."

"Oh my god," she whispered as she jumped off my lap. "I didn’t know that."

"He can heal, Karen," I told her as I stood up and straightened my dress before unlocking the cubicle door. "Don't give up on him," I told her gently. "He's not entirely broken. Just have patience with him. Derek will do right by you, I just know it."

"I guess you probably think I'm a head-case, right?" she mumbled awkwardly as we made our way back to the bar. "Chasing after a man and then hiding away because of a huge fear of rejection?"

"No," I chuckled. "Believe me, I understand."

"Where are you going?" she squealed when I moved towards the bar.

"Uh, I'm going to spend some time with Kyle," I said. "My feet are killing me, Karen. I can't dance anymore."

"No, no, no," she begged, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. "Lee, please. Don’t leave me on my own with him." She bit down on her lip and shivered. "I'm drunk. I could say
anything
…" She covered her hand with her mouth, her eyes wide, her expression anxious.

I sighed wearily and threw my hands in the air. "Ten more minutes."

****

Kyle

"Would you fucking look at that," I snarled, barely keeping my ass on my stool. Every instinct in inside of me demanded I crush every bone in Danny Valentine's body, starting with his neck. I was losing patience fast with the shameless fucking way he gawked at my wife every damn time she turned her back on him.

"Now you know how she felt with Rachel," Mike hiccupped as he made a clumsy attempt at turning on his stool. "Uh, Kyle, I think that last beer really fucked me, bro."

I shook my head. "Oh yeah, it was the last beer that fucked you." My words were dripping with sarcasm. "Nothing at all to do with the half dozen shots you just tossed back your throat."

Mike grabbed the front of my shirt, eyes wide and blinking. "Holy shit, Kyle, did he just touch her ass?"

I wasn't too entirely fucking sure, but he sure as hell was sitting too close to my fucking wife.

I slammed my bottle down on the bar and stood up. The blood in my veins was pumping so hard I could hear it roaring in my ears. I stormed over to their table, with Mike hot on my heels. If I wasn't so intent on drawing blood, I would have taken a few seconds to analyze the fact that my brother was having my back. But I had a bone to pick with the piece of shit trying to squeeze in on my girl. I met Lee's eyes first. She looked confused as if she didn't understand why I looked ready to kill.

"You," I growled, pointing a finger at Danny. "Up."

Derek, who was sitting on the other side of Danny, leapt out of his seat and squeezed in between us. "Dude, calm down. You're about to make a huge …"

"Got a problem, Carter?" Danny taunted as he stood next to Derek. "You got some beef with me? Fine. Come and play in the big boy's yard."

He curled his fingers in a 'bring it on' gesture and I saw red. I hurled my fist at his face, but the fucker ducked and swung back, catching me with an upper cut to my jaw.

I ran my tongue around the inside of my mouth, mentally taking a stock take of my teeth before spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Enjoy that," I told him, smirking. "Fucking savor it. You won't get another."

"Kyle," Lee cried as she pressed herself against my chest, running her hands over my chest. "Are you okay?" Her hands closed over my cheeks. "Baby, what are you doing? Talk to me."

"Get out of my way, princess," I warned. "Get the fuck out of here. Now." I didn't look at her when I spoke, I fucking couldn't. I was too drunk and out of control to be anywhere near her. Right at that moment, Lee was like petrol and I was on fire.

Danny smirked. "Yeah, Lee, be a good little girl and do what you're told."

"Move," I growled, trying to pry her off me as I kept my eyes locked on Danny.

She didn't move.

Not one fucking inch.

She kept her body glued to mine as if she could stop me from attacking. "No," she said in defiance. "Please, stop this. Come home with me."

When I didn't respond, she started to plead with Mike. "Mike, please do something."

"With pleasure," Mike smirked. Closing his fist, he punched Derek in the nose.

Blood sprayed from Derek's nose as he wiped his face with his sleeve and a wave of anger rolled through me.

Fuck.

Not Derek.

Shit.

"I took your anger and I took your fucking beatings," Mike roared, chest heaving. "Because I fucking deserved it, but you stepped over the line, Porter."

"It's done," Derek warned, looking nervous.
What the hell..?
I was so distracted by their weird confrontation that I felt myself calming. "We're even," Derek added, his tone held a hint of desperation.

"Even?" Mike roared, shoving Derek in the chest.

I was surprised as hell that Derek didn't retaliate.
Fuck, he looked guilty as sin…

"I broke up a relationship between teenagers because I was in love," Mike roared. "I loved her. But you," he sneered. "You broke up a marriage, Derek."

Oh shit.

The cat was out of the bag…

"What are you talking about, Mike?" Lee demanded angrily.

"It's not how it sounds," Derek muttered, eyes locked on Karen.

"It's exactly how it sounds," Mike interrupted, his tone furious. "He slept with my mother and now her marriage is down the drain. She's gone by the way," he spat. "Back to England. I hope your revenge was worth it."

"Anna's gone?" I asked Mike. "When?"

"She left after the funeral," Mike choked out. "Didn’t wanna worry you."

Fuck.
"Oh." Patting his shoulder awkwardly, I cleared my throat. "Sorry about your, mom, dude."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Karen climbing to feet and grabbing her bag. Derek also noticed her because he moved towards her quickly. "Karen," he begged. "Karen, wait."

"For what, Derek?" Karen demanded. "So I can hear more details of your lurid sex life." She shook her head. "I'd rather not." With that, Karen stalked off.

"You think that's lurid?" Cindy, who'd been keeping her mouth shut up until this moment, cackled. "You should hear some of Kyle's tales." She winked at me. "Isn't that right, speedy?"

"Speedy," Danny chuckled. "Good one, babe." Smirking at me, Danny continued to say, "I forgot you two had a thing."

"I wouldn’t know," I shot back quickly, eyes locked on Cindy's. "I can only remember one woman."

"You would say that," she spat and I made a mental note to myself;
Cindy was a nasty drunk
. "But you were the one who said I fucked you raw." She smirked. "Weren't those your exact words, Kyle?"

"Yeah, they were," I shot back and mentally kicked myself in the balls.
Stupid, Carter, Stupid…
"But I was sixteen, so what the fuck did I know then," I added lamely. "I forgot you
many
times since, sweetheart, so don't flatter yourself."
Dammit, shut your fucking mouth…

"Ugh," Lee groaned and jerked away from me. "I'd rather not hear this either," she hissed before stalking off.

"Good job," I snarled as I turned around to chase after Lee. "Thanks a fucking bunch, Cindy."

****