Ashes - Book 2 (New Adult Romantic Suspense) by Leslie Johnson

know my dad and will either love him or hate him. If he hates him, I’d be back with Stephanie and the girls in just a few minutes. But if he loves him, I’d never get rid of him. He’d be asking me a million questions and wanting me to take him home to meet the infamous Samuel Richards.
    “What do you do?” he asks me before I have a chance to decide.
    “I’m a nurse.”
    He has the grace to look embarrassed. “That’s cool. Which hospital do you work at?”
    “I don’t. I work at the HEAL center.”
    His mouth twists a little bit, like he’s smelled something bad. Then the glass is at his lips again, draining the crown.
    “You don’t approve?” I ask him, curious as to the look.
    “Doesn’t matter to me. I’ve just known too many girls who cried rape and the guy gets a sex offender tag for the rest of his life.”
    I bristle again and open my mouth to set him straight on a few things, then the waitress is back and sitting down the new round. I snap my mouth shut and slide from my chair.
    “Thanks for the drink. I’m going to get back to my friends.”
    He grabs my arm and pulls me back to him. “Wait. Don’t go. We’re just getting to know each other.”
    I yank my arm away. “Yes. And what I’m getting to know, I don’t like.”
    His lip curls up. “Fine. Go. Be a tease. Just like the little rape victims you probably cry with and hold their hands. Bet they are just like you.” His eyes scan me to my toes and back again. “Dress like a slut. Get drunk. Grind on some random guy’s dick all night at a club. But the moment their very obvious yes turns into a little whisper of no, they cry rape. Yeah, you go on back to your friends. Bitch.”
    I toss my drink into his face, then punch a fist into his gut. I’ve turned on my heel and am making my way through the crowd before he’s breathing again.
    I’m furious. I’ve never been this angry. And I have to fucking pee.
    I make a left and weave through the thrashing bodies, deflecting the hands that try to pull me into a dance. The music is like walking through water, the heavy vibration of the bass clinging to me, pulsing through my system, slowing me down.
    I break free from the crowd and almost trip over a dude who’d decided to breakdance unexpectedly. I don’t fall, but lose my shoe. Dammit. I bend over to grab it, but some guy with a huge afro grabs it first. He holds it out, just out of my reach. Grinning. He thinks he’s being cute.
    I give him a ‘you really don’t want to do that right now’ stare and his eyes widen and he tosses it to me within seconds. I turn on my heel and limp to a wall, bracing against it and lift a leg to replace the shoe. Then I see him. No them . And my breath leaves my body.
    It’s Gage and a gorgeous, tall blonde woman in a silver dress.
    I flatten myself against the wall, but I didn’t need to worry. Gage’s eyes never leave her ass. She has him by the hand, leading him somewhere and he is grinning, looking mighty fine in a white button up shirt and black trousers.
    They disappear into the mouth of the hallway. Where are they going? I limp over and look around the corner, my shoe still in my hand. They pass the long line of women waiting for the ladies’ room, then pass the two guys waiting for the men’s.
    Where are they going?
    Curious, I follow, stopping long enough to take off the other shoe. I jump into a doorway when the woman turns and begins to walk backwards. My stomach twists as they stop and she pulls his head down for a kiss.
    I should go.
    I should turn around and leave.
    I know I should.
    But I don’t. I peek around the corner and watch. Jealousy stabs at me and I stab it back. I don’t have a right. We’re not in a relationship. We’re both free to see anyone we choose. Hell, I was thinking of screwing another man just a few moments ago.
    I hear the woman laugh and then her heels click on the floor again. I step out of my hiding place, intent to go back to Stephanie, but find myself