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I feel it. My chest is tight and breathing is impossible.
    I don’t make the decision. My feet just hit the floor. They weave me through the audience and up the staircase.
    There are two VIP rooms. I hear the bass streaming through one of the doors, and I turn the knob.
    It’s a second in time. A mere moment.
    His hand is sliding up her thigh.
    I see red.
    Suddenly, my hands are on him. My fist connects with his face, and the crunch is the most satisfying sound I’ve ever heard.
    I hit and curse.
    He groans and pleads.
    Somewhere in the fog, I hear her voice.
    Begging me to stop.
    Then suddenly, my arms are being twisted behind my back, and I’m being told to calm the fuck down.
    My vision clears.
    My heart pounds in my ears.
    Rick calls for a paramedic. The man lays on the floor. He’s bloodied and cut and moaning.
    I don’t give a shit, because at least he’s not touching her anymore.
    Her.
    She’s on the floor, kneeling and crying.
    Tesla should never be on her knees.
    She should never cry.
    I whisper her name, and she looks up at me with her wide eyes. They are big and teary and full of fear.
    And I know I’m the asshole who brought her to her knees.
    Me.

 
    Dawn arrives. Morning sunlight streams in through the blinds.
    My Chihuahua leaps into my lap, and I wrap us both in my blanket, holding him close.
    He knows I need love. Dogs can sense these things.
    I’m exhausted.
    I’m pissed.
    I’m all cried out.
    I’m unemployed.
    One thing I’m not? Alone. Because Kassidy won’t go away. She’s finally quiet, though. Sound asleep in my guest room.
    After the police and paramedics arrived, Kassidy insisted on bringing me home. It was, in my opinion, the perfect night to get drunk, but Kass just made me tea. She then led me to my couch and told me to cry. To purge my system and get it all out.
    All the sadness and fear and confusion.
    Just cry it all out.
    So that’s what I did.
    I can’t say it worked. I can’t really tell.
    Right now, I just have that numb headache you get after a night of crying. The kind where you’re just physically and emotionally drained and too tired to move.
    I’m so tired, but every time I close my eyes, I see that man. I see him bloodied and bruised, and while the paramedic promised he’d survive, and the man actually walked out of the room all on his own, I couldn’t help but feel responsible.
    But he’s not the only man I see when I close my eyes.
    I see Jax beating the shit out of that guy.
    Kassidy promises she’s seen far worse, and that Jax was only trying to protect me, but none of that makes me feel better. I don’t need protecting. I’m a stripper. It comes with the territory. This is the life I chose, and in doing that, I’ve had to deal with a lot of pervy guys who can’t keep their hands to themselves. But I deal with them. I handle it. And I was two seconds away from handling it when my knight in shining armor came charging in with fists flying.
    Minutes later, Jax was in cuffs and escorted out of the VIP room.
    Is he in jail?
    The possibility terrifies me.
    Rick stopped by a few hours ago. He was sweet to me, but this is business. This is why we have rules that boyfriends stay away from the club. This is why he has to let me go. I told him I understood, and I do. This kind of publicity isn’t good for his club, and I get it. Rick doesn’t owe me anything besides a paycheck, and he promised to mail it to me.
    Honestly, I’m not all that heartbroken to be out of a job. It will slow my progress toward my goal, and my down payment on a bakery will have to wait a while, but I can’t say I’ll miss working there. I have some money saved. I’ll be okay until I find something else.
    I know Jax must still be in custody. Otherwise, he’d be here, and I’m just not ready for him to be here.
    I jump when someone knocks on the door.
    My dog leaps from the couch, and I walk toward the door, tightening my blanket around me as I glance through the peep hole. At