Chapter 10

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Syler

Madds had refilled the shot glass three times without a word. Each time Syler let the alcohol burn down her throat, she fell more into a drunken stupor. Inhibitions lowered, but eyes wide open. Every thirty seconds she reminded herself to focus, to fight the inebriation. For Trace. Though her vision swayed, her mind hadn't.

"What do you want, Madds?"

"You drunk." He tipped the bottle and refilled the glass as he planted his free hand on her knee. "With me. Drink."

He glided his hand upward, and she could have hurled all the alcohol. Instead, she took a deep breath, told herself she'd get through this, and let the fourth shot slither down her throat with a burn. The drinks were hitting her. More and more by the second. His face doubled then snapped back together. She planted a flat hand on the bar top to keep from falling off the stool. "I am drunk. What do you want?"

"You. I want you." His brows tipped up as he downed another shot. "I should have never let you go. Remember when we got drunk here last year?"

There was a spark of hope shining in the back of his dark eyes. Like he truly believed blackmailing her was the way to her heart. His charm would never compensate enough for the presence of that loose screw. Once she noticed it, she couldn't unsee it.

"We had the goddamn time of our lives." He poured her a fifth shot. "Drink. I'm trying to remind you how much fun we are together."

Her trembling fingers wrapped around the glass. She downed it and took the moment to remind herself again. For Trace. For... Her eyes darted to all the spaces of the bar, searching for why she was drinking again. The reason was getting harder and harder to grasp. Squeezing her eyes shut and focusing helped as she uttered, "Blackmail doesn't bode well for your case."

"I know. But what other option did I have? That football player has his sights on you. And it worries me to all hell."

Football player. Trace. For Trace. Why though? His gorgeous green eyes flashed in Syler's mind with a powerful intent, a siren that called her to those photos in Madds's phone. "Delete the photos of him."

"Syler, that guy is bad news. He has a bad temper-"

"Delete them, Madds."

He shook his head. "No. I need to save you from him."

"Delete..." she whispered in a soft breath. Her lungs clenched as the alcohol constricted them. Tears tried clawing their way to her eyes at the thought of having left Trace last night. All she wanted was to crawl back to him, cuddle up to his side, and have him take care of her. Her stomach lurched, and her skin felt clammy. The alcohol was turning to poison that wreaked havoc in her blood. "This is over."

"Oh, kitten, it's barely started." He stood abruptly, came close, and slammed his mouth onto hers. His hands tightened around her waist, digging into her skin.

A vicious shudder spread through her body like a jet slicing through her skies. As she leaned back to get him off her, she fell.

Madds's hand caught her by the small of her back, bringing her closer. His mouth then moved to her cheek, her throat, her collar bone, marring the places where Trace had kissed, and it felt like her bones were shifting to all the wrong places in her body.

He roughly grabbed her arm to pull her closer, enough for circulation to cease. Syler pulled away, his nails dragging down her forearm and breaking the skin. Bloody red lines marked her from her elbow to her wrist. She let a loud yelp flee from her lips just as the alcohol drowned her mind, overwhelming it with haste and love and happiness. For... Madds?

"Let me remind you of how good we were together." With gentleness, his touch caressed her cheek, smearing her blood over it. "I'm a mess without you."

She was a mess too. But she couldn't remember exactly why.

Quickly, she wedged her arms between them and shoved him away to lean across the bar. In a swift motion, she grabbed another bottle of rum, slamming it down on the counter. "If I recall, we were a lot drunker than we are now."

She poured more rum into both their glasses and shoved one into his hand with a wide smile. "Drink."

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