Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

His jaw clenches, and he doesn't hesitate to step in closer, lowering his voice to appear intimidating. But after having to send Colton away, I’m more than ready to take down dickheads like this. “Those are some real big words for a bitch in your position.”

“Who’s the fucking bitch around here?” I laugh. “I’ve been here for less than ten hours and can already tell that you're Russo’s ‘yes man.’ Tell me, does it hurt being shoved so far up his ass?”

He growls, and I can practically see the steam puffing from his ears like some ridiculous animation. “You’re going to regret ever walking in here.”

“Why? You think you can hurt me? You think I’ll ever give you that kind of power over me? Keep dreaming. While you lay awake tonight, thinking of all the ways you could get to me, I’ll be sleeping like a fucking baby.”

I laugh as I turn on my heel and walk away, straight back to the bar to where Jaren is busy filling glass after glass.

Snake remains behind me and luckily keeps his distance. He stalks off, pissed that the pregnant seventeen-year-old has probably seen more shit than he has.

Jaren turns back and eyes me curiously. “Are you okay, kid? Was that your boyfriend?” he questions, watching me over his shoulder as he effortlessly continues to work.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I say, shrugging it off and feeling Colton’s phone vibrating over and over again against my left tit as it remains squished inside my bra.

“Just keep your head up around here,” he warns me. “You’re welcome at my bar anytime, but this isn’t the place you want to come to lose yourself. Keep your wits about you.”

“I will,” I tell him, straightening my back and trying to figure out his meaning, but it’s completely lost on me. What’s he trying to tell me? That if I turn my back for one second that someone is going to try and hurt me?

He gets back to work, and twenty minutes later, a plate slides down on the bar in front of me. “Eat,” comes a low, intimidating voice from behind. I whip my head over my shoulder to find the guy who had helped save me from Scarface settling into the vacant barstool beside me.

He drops down and silently places his own plate on the bar. He gets comfortable and not a second later, digs into his meal.

I gape in confusion. What the hell is this about?

“Eat your fucking food, Oceania,” he warns, pointing at my plate with his knife. “You're pregnant, and you haven’t eaten a single thing since you got here. It’s not good for the baby.”

I raise a brow, unable to stop staring at this over-protective stranger. “Who are you?”

He lets out a sigh and focuses back on his plate. “Eat.”

I glance down at the food, assuming I can trust him. My stomach constantly grumbles, taking in the steak and veggies that have been thrown together on the plate. It’s definitely not restaurant-worthy, but it smells damn good and has me reaching for my knife and fork.

I dig in, and the second my fork hits my tongue, I groan in satisfaction. I should have eaten hours ago, but my day has been an absolute mess. Seeing that I’m being a good little girl and doing as I’m told, the perfect stranger beside me lets out a relieved sigh. “I’m Christian,” he mutters into his plate.

I glance over at him while forking another bite into my mouth. “Um … well, thanks. You know, for this and for before.” He nods and gets back to eating, but I’m not quite done yet. “I’m Ocean.”

“I know,” he says. “You’re the princess of Breakers Flats and Bellevue Springs. Even before you walked your stupid ass in here, we’ve all known who you were. We’ve been watching you since you were just a little girl.”

My brows drop. “What? What do you mean?”

“You’re Big Lou’s baby girl. It was our job to keep you safe, and then Nic and his friends moved into your life, and you became a priority.”

I stare, my mouth hanging open in surprise. “You’ve been watching me for that long?”

“Mmhmm. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but we’re family here. When it comes down to it, we have your back.”

I scoff and start working on my dinner again. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Christian nods, knowing that was a fair call. “You’ll understand soon enough. There’s a lot to learn about being a Wolf.”

“You mean, figuring out the best method to hide your joint up your ass before getting strip-searched and frisked?”

A smirk pulls at his lips, and he shakes his head in amusement. “Just stick with me, and you’ll be alright.”

I can’t take my eyes off him as he focuses on his dinner. “Why are you being so nice to me? No one else around here gives a shit about me except for maybe Jaren, but I think he’s just talking to me out of boredom.”