Free Devil's Girl: Dust Bowl Devils MC by Britten Thorne

vision - everything tilted and swam in front of me. Everything but Dawn's tiny glass.
    "Do it," I taunted, "Bet you can't. You look done." They didn't sound like real words, they sounded like nonsense. She mumbled something back, eyes unfocused.
    "Twelve!" Bill insisted. I didn't throw it back so much as poured it into my mouth and let it trickle down my throat. When I looked back down, Dawn's had was still tilted back. I wrapped both hands around my glass and slammed it down twice like I was trying to hammer through the table. "Thunder!" I announced. I'm sure it sounded more like "Thurrrr."
    Dawn stared at the table, then stared at the glass in her hand, then back at the table. She lifted the glass, took aim, and missed completely, tumbling out of her chair and to the floor with a heavy thud.
    The bar exploded in cheers. Money changed hands above my head as Bill announced, "Twelve shots! Ivy wins!" He gathered up the remaining drinks for himself and clapped a hand on my shoulder.
    The bar felt like a washing machine - too hot, and spinning, and I was damp with sweat. I mumbled something and stood, using Bill's am to support myself as I rose. Mistake . I could barely register anything I saw in front of my face.
    I made my stumbling way to the front door, shrugging off the shoulder claps and back slaps as best I could. The crowd let me pass through easily. Probably they thought I was about to puke.
    I body-slammed the door open and teetered onto the porch. Thinking fuck the gravel , I kicked off my heels and weaved my way out into the parking lot. The night air felt glorious on my overheated skin. I threw my hands up in the air and waved them to a tune that only I could hear.
    The song in my head was interrupted by a loud, echoing BANG. Gunshots? Was that a gunshot? My arms dropped to my sides and I froze. What do I do . Another shot rang out, and then another. I duck? I slowly lowered myself to the ground, right there in the open air in the middle of the path through the parking lot, and calmly placed my hands over my head. There. Safe.
    Then all hell broke loose. A barrage of gunshots came from both directions. I thought I heard someone call my name, but I couldn't hear over the chaos. Booted feet went pounding past me, around me. I just lay there, ignored, figuring maybe no one could see me at all. Good. Good job. I'm not so drunk.
    Strong hands grabbed my shoulders and rolled me onto my back. "Ivy! Shit, are you hurt?" The owner of the voice brushed the gravel off my face that I couldn’t even feel.
    I looked up into a pair of the deepest brown eyes I'd ever seen. Wait. I've seen them. "Theo." I giggled. "You smell good." He did - like all sorts of manly things. I wanted to bury my face in his neck.
    He glowered. "What were you doing out here alone?" The gunshots had stopped. Some motorcycles revved and took off into the night. He cursed again. "We've got to get you inside. Ready?" The world spun in all directions. I lost my basic sense of gravity as he lifted me over his shoulder and carried me back inside the bar.
    The place was chaos. The bikes were all gone, and the rest of the patrons were ducking beneath the tables.
    "All's clear," Theo said to the frightened crowd, "Give the guys another twenty minutes to chase 'em out and then head on home."
    Then he carried me to his room. My heart did a little backflip of glee - but my drunk brain shorted out.
     

 
     
    I woke up in a warm bed as the sun just started to peek over the horizon. Where am I? I felt hungover, but not nearly as bad as I should have. I turned and realized I wasn't alone - Theo was in the bed next to me, wearing only his dusty jeans.
    Memories came back in bits and pieces. Theo depositing me in his bathtub with a big bottle of water and some advil, making me take them and drink while he was on his phone. He said something and rushed out.
    Theo returning, tired and dirty. A little blood on his shirt. Lifting me up and making me drink more water before