Mr. Right Now: Vol. 1: Party Boys Who Get What They Want by HJ Bellus Page A

dent, a key scratch down the body, or a shattered side window are things you could continue to drive with. But not her luck.
    “Ethan, have you forgotten about your no contact order? Stay away, asshole. We’re moving forward, and I’ve already contacted the authorities about your little stunt and inevitable demise. Stay away.”
    “If you think I’m going to stay away, then you have another thing coming, sweetie. Harwells are above the law. This is our city, and our club will remain on top.”
    Chloe begins to speak as her body goes sailing into the passenger seat in front of her. She doesn’t have time to put her hand out to stop the movement. She turns her head at the right moment as her cheek meets the cool leather. Her phone goes sailing to the floor.
    “Are you fucking crazy?” the driver yells.
    Chloe can hear tapping on the hood between the driver’s shouts. When she looks, there’s a man at the front of the car who clearly stepped out to stop it. In three strides he’s on Chloe’s side of the car and opening the door.
    “Eli?”
    Covered in sweat and breathing heavily, Eli Sterling stands before her. He doesn’t ask as he nudges her to the side and scoots in next to her.
    “Sorry about that, man. My girl here left without me.”
    Chloe stares at him, wondering if he’s lost his fucking mind. Eli’s hand covers the top of her leg, half of it on the material of the skirt and the rest touching her bare flesh. The cab lurches forward, driving down 30 th Avenue. Chloe catches a glimpse of Dax smiling from a black SUV, and she knows she has officially entered the twilight zone.
    Eli slowly leans over, grabbing her cellphone. The screen has gone black, and he doesn’t move his hand from her leg. Chloe refuses to make eye contact with the man, focusing on the road ahead of her. Only three more blocks to her apartment. Now two blocks. Familiar buildings and stores flash by her peripheral vision, and she still refuses to look at the man holding her leg. His breathing has finally slowed down a bit. The cab comes to an abrupt stop. Chloe reaches for her debit card to pay the fee, but Eli beats her to it. He tosses the man some cash, and while he does, Chloe tries to take her phone from his hands. His knuckles go white as she tugs on it. With each tug, he grips it tighter.
    “Motherfucker,” she hisses as she slides across the seat and gets out of the taxi. Her phone is the one thing she can’t live without. It could have been her purse, wallet, or anything else for that matter, she wouldn’t have cared and kept stepping. Debit cards and all those other things can be replaced, but she can’t afford to live one moment without her phone.
    She slams the door to the cab and comes face to face with Eli. He’s holding her phone up in the air above his head.
    “I’ll nail you in the nuts,” Chloe says. “Give me my phone and leave me alone.”
    “No, no, and no.”
    “Eli, we’re over. Fuck, we’ve been over for five years. We fucked, and I can move on.” Chloe knows each word that just flew out of her mouth was a lie. A straight up, bold face lie. But if that’s what it takes to get over Eli Sterling, she’ll lie for the rest of her life.
    “I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I’m not leaving you.” Eli lowers his hand with the phone in it, but doesn’t offer it to Chloe. “I’m not like you, and I’ve slept around the last five years trying to burn you from my memory, and it didn’t work.”
    “Nice speech. Did your brothers help you write that?” Chloe crosses her arms across her chest in the hope of shielding her heart from any further damage.
    “It’s always been you,” Eli whispers. “I’m not leaving this time. Hate me for as long as you need.”
    Chloe’s phone lights up and vibrates in his hand, and she sees the unknown caller flash across the screen again. Her stomach twists in disgust because Eli can never find out what happened with Ethan. He’d probably kill him, and