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"She thinks she’s better than us because of all her degrees," Mikkel says in his heavy Swedish accent, which oddly is more understandable when he’s drunk

Claude nods his head vigorously and almost falls over from theat Mikkel "It’s why I want to knock that look off her face I bet she wouldn’t look so high and hty if I shoved hten up to s Claude on

"She may not know shit about hockey, but darabs on to the bar for stability

The back ofon end andto me but it really doesn’t penetrate

It doesn’t penetrate becausedark and ugly filter into his eyes His voice doesn’t sound so slurred and he practically snarls with menace "I should take that fine ass of hers and fuck it hard Make that bitch learn her place"

Fury such as I have never known see the peripheral edges of ularly disgusting noise of Claude laughing darkly over his procla super slo-h co filtered through ed step until I’m on him He sees me…eyes confused for a moment and then round with fear as I lower my shoulder and plow into him

Then everything speeds up

I drive into hiht over the top of the bar stools that are behind him and down onto the hardwood floor One of the stools topples over and hits me in the temple I feel a war my jaw and that actually titillates runt of pain as his lungs deflate fro down on top of hiet in one, two, three quick punches--right hand to left cheekbone--and I actually laugh with evil malice when his skin splits open on the third strike I raiseto see blood splatter, but then I’ pulled backith a solid arm locked around ain,in my ear, "You need to calm the fuck down"

Mikkel helps Claude fro from the bartender and presses it to the cut on his face Claude glares at me "What the fuck, Evans?"

I raise a hand and point a shaky finger at hie and it hasn’t been properly expelled, and the only thing holding me back is the throat-lock Alex has on uttural voice My words come out measured…laced with the promise of retaliation I don’t need to say her name We all knoho’s the subject of the conversation

"What’s it to you?" he sneers, leaning forward, but I know he feels brave because Alex is holding ns your paychecks Do you think that’s acceptable what you just said?"

"I’ soet so bent out of shape"

And that right there sets rasp so quickly he can’t react I break his grip and lunge at Claude, grabbing hiives a terrified squeak as I pull hi more than ain, you better hope there’s an alares atto show me he’s not inti down his throat underneath my palm I don’t wait for an answer that he understands ive it, because I knoon’t He may have just had his ass handed to him, but it doesn’tfucks like hi You add on fame and fortune because he’s a professional hockey player, that makes him feel invincible I can see it in his eyes…even at this moment He thinks he’s better than Gray He thinks he’s so valuable to this team that she’ll bend to him and not the other way around

I can see in his eyes that he is going to be trouble down the road

A hand touches o," Alex says calive him my back and alot a lot of ass whooping left inside of h the lobby and into the elevators He follows ht in behind me

"You need to have that cut sealed," he says as I throw the room key down on the bedside table

I reach my hand up and it comes aith blood I don’t respond to Alex but walk into the bathroo it to my temple I don’t even bother to look at it in theon rave look on his face I find that in the few et up to my room, I’ve calmed considerably I also know I overreacted and probably wouldn’t have done so had I not been inebriated