“I’m not drinking tonight,” I tell him with a bit of ice in my voice, because I also don’t miss out on the fact that he didn’t offer Zach anything.

“All the more for me,” he laughs and shoots my tequila back, followed by the other one he was holding in his hand for himself. Reaching over, he slams both glasses down on the table and says, “That’s what I’m talking about. Let’s get this party started.”

I start to roll my eye, but I’m cut off in mid-roll when Michael’s arm shoots around my waist and he hauls me into the side of his body. Leaning over, he nuzzles my neck, and I can smell more than just those two tequila shots on his breath. “Any chance I can get you to come home with me?”

Squirming out of his grasp, which is giving me heebie-jeebies, I push away at him. “Cut it out, Michael. What is wrong with you?”

His arm snakes back out again to make a grab for me, a stupid grin on his face. “Come on, Moira. Lighten up.”

Just before he’s able to get ahold of me, Zach flies by me in a blur. Then it turns into slow motion as Zach cocks his right fist back and lets it fly at Michael’s face. It connects solidly with his jaw and Michael goes careening backward, landing hard on the concrete floor. Zach’s not finished though. In a flash, he leaps onto Michael, straddling him at his stomach and wrapping his hands around Michael’s throat. Bearing all of his weight down, he tightens his grasp, and Michael’s eyes widen in fear.

It’s all so surreal as I watch… Michael’s eyes bugging out in distress, his fingers digging into Zach’s hands to try to get him to release his hold. Zach’s face though is eerily impassive. No anger, no rage… just pure calm as he bears down on Michael and strangles him.

Philip finally jumps into action and tries to pull Zach off, but Zach’s too big and too strong for him. A few women nearby cry out for someone to get the bouncers, and Philip finally gets a chokehold on Zach from around his back.

It’s not working though. Zach merely tightens his grasp, and Michael’s face starts to turn red.

Oh, my God… he’s going to kill him.

Snapping out of my stupor, I run forward and grab onto one of Zach’s arms. “Zach… stop it. Right now. Let him go.”

Zach doesn’t even acknowledge me, just continues to stare calmly at Michael, who is now turning a heart-stopping shade of purple.

I tug furiously at Zach, tears now filling my eyes in panic. Leaning forward, I put my own face in his line of sight so he’s forced to look at me. When he makes eye contact, I implore him, “Zach… I’m begging you, please let him go. Please.”

As if “please” was the magic word, Zach releases Michael’s neck, but he’s not done with him yet. Even as Michael coughs and sputters, his one hand massaging his neck, Zach leans in closer to him and snarls, “If you touch her again, I’ll kill you.”

Two sets of meaty hands attached to two bouncers reach out and haul Zach off Michael, but he doesn’t fight them. Instead, he just stares at Michael, making sure he understands him clearly.

“What the f**k, Moira?” Michael rasps. “Look at what your freak of a jungle boy did to me. He’s f**king insane. I want someone to call the cops.”

My mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. I’m beyond appalled that Zach did that, and I know had I not intervened, Michael would probably be seriously hurt. All because he tried to grab me. A violent shudder runs through my body, and I feel nauseous.

“All right… you need to go, buddy,” one of the bouncers says and starts to haul Zach out of the club.

“I demand that you call the police,” Michael yells at the bouncers as he stands up from the floor. I can see purple marks starting to rise on his throat.

“Call the cops if you want,” one of the bouncers says over his shoulder. “But take it outside. We don’t want that shit in here.”

Looking around in a panic, I lunge for my purse and look at Kelly and Lexi, who are standing there with their mouths hanging open. “Make sure Michael’s okay, and whatever you do tonight, please talk him out of pressing charges. Zach does not need that right now.”

“Moira… I don’t think you should go home with him. He’s dangerous,” Lexi says with concern etched deep in her eyes.

“I’ll be fine. The situation just got out of control,” I tell her as I turn away.

Kelly is the one that reaches out and grabs me. “No, Moira. This is stupid for you to go home with him. Did you just see that? He would have killed Michael if you didn’t get him to stop. He could hurt you.”

I give her a tremulous smile and tell her, “I promise, I’ll be fine. Zach would never hurt me. Just trust me on that.”

I spin away from my friends and hear Lexi call out, “Call us when you get home, okay?”

I give a hasty wave over my head and run out of the club so I can find out what the bouncers did to Zach.

Chapter 9

Zach

Moira is silent on the ride home, but I can feel anger and confusion rolling off her in waves. I, however, have never felt calmer. I don’t even think my pulse sped up once as I tried to kill that motherfucker for touching Moira when she clearly didn’t want his attention.

He’d be dead too… right now, if Moira hadn’t begged me to stop. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a woman beg me to do something, and I didn’t hesitate for a moment. The terror in her voice, the panic in her eyes… I released my hold on that douche—another new, favorite word of mine—and it was over.