Thrasher

by K. S. Smith

  Thrasher

  by

  K.S. Smith

  Thrasher

  by K.S. Smith

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  THRASHER

  Copyright © 2015 K.S. SMITH

  ISBN: 978-0-9910279-4-1

  Cover Art Designed by MG Book Covers & Designs

  Formatting by Brenda Wright

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  This book is dedicated to my amazing Street Team! You all are simply the best. I cannot thank you enough!

  Kristy Guzman-Torres, words cannot express how thankful I am for you! You have been an incredible PA and I truly lucked out when you agreed to take me on. Thank you for putting up with me, I don’t know how you do it, but I am so glad that you do!

  To my Partner in Crime, there are not enough words to express my thanks! You are there every step of the way and there is no one else I’d rather have by my side!

  Lastly, to anyone who has bought this book – THANK YOU! I cannot do what I do without each and every one of you and for that I am eternally grateful.

  xoxo

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  EPILOGUE

  UPCOMING RELEASE

  About the Author

  More Books By K.S. Smith

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Get off me, you asshole!” I screamed angrily in the face of the utterly inebriated frat boy who’d almost knocked me over for the second time while dancing with my girlfriends. He was way past drunk, and the bouncers were clearly not doing their job.

  “I swear to all that’s holy, if he touches me one more time, I’m going to shove my knee so far into his balls he’ll never be able to get it up for another sorority girl, ever again.”

  Megan laughed uncontrollably at my comment before she began dancing with me again. Our favorite song, Katy Perry’s dance remix of “Roar” was blaring through the speakers and over the sea of people; our bodies swayed sexily to the beat.

  The DJ was fading into the next song right when his body came crashing into mine, ten times harder than it had the previous two times. His giant body collided with my tiny frame, and before I could catch myself from toppling over, I was slammed into the side of the bar, falling to the ground, taking a few other patrons with me.

  Startled, I shook my head to assess my whereabouts before jumping back up to my feet, anger surging through my body as I flew after the douchebag that had tipped me over the edge.

  Megan saw the fire in my eyes and instantly threw her arms around my waist, stopping me just in time for me to see the frat boy’s pretty face being pummeled by a total stranger, a beautiful stranger.

  “Let me go. I swear I’m going to kill him,” I screamed over the thumping music, but she held me tighter.

  The beautiful creature smashed the kid’s face as a sea of men tried to yank him off.

  Finally, the bouncers were doing their job; bodies were being pulled from one side of the club to the other, and the beautiful stranger was yelling at the top of his lungs as his friends tried to pry him away, “I swear to God, if you fucking hurt her, I’m going to kill you, you arrogant little prick.”

  Looking around, I saw the frat brother was bleeding profusely from his face. Serves him right. What a dick.

  “Ma’am, you’re going to need to come with us,” a stern voice roared over the music.

  I looked at the script on his shirt that read SECURITY, and I knew this night had just gone from good to horrible in a matter of a few songs. Furious and still a bit out of it, I took Megan’s hand and dragged her behind me, not wanting to follow the bouncers all alone.

  We both followed him down a long, dimly lit hallway before he pressed through a door that dumped us into the back alley of the club. There were already four police officers and an ambulance, all with their red and blue lights brightly shining, along with sir douchebag, a few of his frat brothers, and the group of guys that included the gorgeous specimen who’d been pummeling Sir Douchebag.

  The first police officer to speak directed his question at the frat brothers; he was talking loudly enough for everyone to hear, but the pounding in my head drowned out his voice. My legs began to shake beneath me, and I saw white specks flashing in my eyes right before my body went sailing to the ground for the second time that night. A set of thick masculine arms caught me just before I face-planted onto the concrete.

  The crowd rushed to me, and I heard a deep voice speaking to the paramedic.

  “She’s bleeding. She must have hit her head when that motherfucker slammed her into the bar.”

  I could feel the heat radiating off this stranger's body as he held me snugly in his arms while the paramedic began to check me over. “We need to get you to the hospital. Do you think you can walk to the ambulance?” he asked loudly like he thought I spoke a foreign language.

  I nodded my head and tried to stand, but the lights were flashing in my eyes again, and before I knew it, the strong arms hoisted me up — his masculine scent filling my nose — and proceeded to carry me over to the ambulance before he climbed inside the small space and sat down with me on his lap.

  My eyes frantically searched for Megan. “Meg... Megan, where are you?”

  Relief washed over me as I heard her voice, and she quickly jumped into the ambulance with me, looking up at the stranger and then back down at me. “I’m right here. Apparently, we’re going to the hospital. Do you want me to call your parents?” Her face looked concerned.

  I swiftly shook my head no before reaching up to the hairline of my temple to feel if I was really bleeding. I felt hot liquid on my skin, and when I examined my fingertips, the sight of dark red blood caused me to pass out… in the arms of the giant stranger.

  When I woke up, I glanced around the white, sterile-looking hospital room. Where am I? Where’s Megan? I thought to myself before I spoke, semi-panicked. “Megan.” My eyes darted around the room, but it was empty. I called for my best friend again, this time louder. “Megan!”

  The door swung open, and standing there was the beautiful stranger I remembered from the club. I stared at him, fully able to see him for the first time, and wondered. Who is this man?

  His body was tall and muscular. I could tell, even through his clo
thing, he was cut in all the right places. He reminded me of someone in the military. His dark brown hair was incredibly short, and the only hair on his face was obviously what had grown back since he’d shaved last, which was probably first thing this morning.

  I noticed he’d lost his blue button-up shirt and had been left wearing a white undershirt that clung to his chiseled upper body. Dressy blue jeans hung perfectly on the V of his hip bones, and a detailed tattoo ended just above his right elbow. I couldn’t help but stare at him, unable to speak, and hoped he’d tell me where I was.

  “Megan had to run. Apparently your other girlfriends didn’t have a ride home, and none of them had cash for a cab. She promised she would hurry. I offered to have some of my buddies pick up your other friends, but they weren’t too keen on that idea, being that we’re total strangers and all.”

  A smiled tugged at the corner of my mouth, and a whisper rolled off my lips, “Good, they know better than to get into a car with strangers, obviously unlike myself.”

  He laughed, and the sound sent a bolt straight down my spine.

  “Actually, you got into an ambulance with me, Megan, and the paramedic, so I’d say you were pretty safe.”

  I did my best to jog my memory as I replayed the earlier events of the evening. “What happened to that frat bastard?” I asked curiously.

  His eyes filled with anger, and fists clenched at his sides, veins bulging from his arms. “The cops took him to jail, but I’m sure daddy will have him bailed out in no time, which is fine with me. It’ll give me a better chance of killing that prick.”

  Confused by what he was saying, I darted my eyes to his. “Kill him? Isn’t that a little much? He must have really roughed up your girlfriend or something before he sent me to the ground.”

  I watched on as his giant body paced in front of the hospital bed and he ran a hand through his too-short hair. “Girlfriend? No, kill him for hurting you. I’d been sitting at the bar with my buddies the first couple times he bumped into you. You were handling him pretty well on your own, but when he knocked you down, that was it. My only reaction was to beat the fuck out of him.”

  I giggled softly, and he looked over at me, his eyes angrier. “What’s so funny?” he snapped, obviously ticked off by my laughter.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t even know you. Why in the world would you want to kill someone on my behalf? I can’t imagine jail time over a perfect stranger is high up on anyone’s to-do list.”

  His eyes narrowed in on me while he walked over to the side of my bed, crossing those huge arms over his chest. “Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I’m Duke Thrasher, and I don’t take lightly to a man who knocks women around. That fucker is just lucky my buddies got ahold of me before I killed him.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh again as I pushed up on my arms, adjusting myself so I was sitting up in bed. “I highly doubt he’s a wife beater. He was just drunk. Granted, I didn’t appreciate him knocking me down, but I really don’t think that warrants you killing him. Besides, I can take care of myself, but I appreciate the chivalry.”

  I could tell he was looking for the right words to retort back when Megan burst through the door. “Is she awake?”

  I smiled and waved to her. I could tell she was worried; it was written all over her face.

  “Is there a reason we are still here?” I asked, sliding my legs off the bed and looking for my clothes.

  Megan grabbed my legs and plopped them back onto the bed. “Yes, you hit your head pretty hard. They had to give you twelve stitches and think your fall may have given you a mild concussion. Now lie down. You aren’t going anywhere until the doctor gives you the okay.”

  I glared at her before crisscrossing my legs and folding my arms over my chest. “I need a mirror.” I pouted, hoping the stitches weren't too bad.

  Megan shuffled through the drawers in the room but came up empty-handed. “I’ll go see if they have one at the nurses’ station.” She hurried out of the room, and Duke stepped back up to my bedside, handing me his iPhone.

  I pushed his hand out of my face. “Thanks, but I don’t need to call anyone. I need to see how bad these stitches are.” He took in a heavy breath and held the phone closer to my face, making sure I was fully aware that he’d turned his camera on so I could look at myself.

  “Oh…” I flushed. “…sorry, I didn’t even think about that.” Reaching for his phone, I smiled up at him, noticing his blazing green eyes. Quickly averting my stare, I lifted the phone and studied the stitches that were sewn into my hairline, right above my temple. Thank goodness these won’t be noticeable once I’m fully healed, I thought to myself.

  Megan was back in the room quickly with a pocket-sized mirror. “Here, I found one.”

  Duke tucked himself back into the corner, which I noticed he’d done earlier, the first time Megan had come into the room.

  “Thanks.” I took the mirror and set it down in my lap, continuing to look at myself through the iPhone camera instead. I studied myself briefly when the phone began ringing in my hand, the noise startling me.

  Duke stepped back up to my bed, swiped the phone from my hand, and walked out into the hallway.

  Megan got comfortable on the edge of the bed. “What is it with this guy? He won’t leave your side. Do you know him? I swear, if you do, I’m kicking your ass for not bringing him around more often, because he is hot as sin, and so are his friends.”

  I laughed at her comment then thought about her question, as I felt my eyebrows furrow together. “I have no idea who in the hell he is. I’ve never met him before. At least I don’t think I have.”

  His voice echoed from the hallway, and we both went silent, trying to eavesdrop on his conversation. He must have been on to us, because our silence was followed by his, and a few seconds later, he reappeared in the room, backing himself straight into the corner.

  I glanced at Megan, giving her that best-friend stare, and she just grinned, all the while shrugging her shoulders. He was hot, so she was obviously not going to get rid of him.

  “So, Duke, thanks for sticking around, but I’m fine. Megan isn’t going to leave my side. I think we should be able to handle it from here. You can go on home, or back to your buddies, or wherever it is you came from.”

  I stared at him as he leaned his head back against the wall. His eyes locked on mine, and I could feel the intensity that was radiating through them.

  “Not going anywhere. Blame it on the job, or whatever you’d like, but once I start something, I have to see it through until the end.”

  I looked back at Megan, and she had a wicked grin on her face. I knew where her head had gone with that one, and I kicked her under the covers. Her body flinched as she erupted with laughter.

  She turned to face Duke after calming herself down and started in on him. “So, G.I. Joe, if you aren’t going to leave, then at least answer a few questions for us.”

  His eyebrow rose, and he shot a quick glance over to me then back to Megan.

  “Who are you, and what do you do?” she quizzed.

  His response was gruff. “I’ve already introduced myself, and as for what I do, I do whatever I want.”

  Her smile grew wider. “Well, maybe instead of G.I. Joe, I shall call you The Grouch.”

  “Megan!” I snapped.

  Her head went flying back with laughter. “Okay, okay, I won’t call you The Grouch. I’ll just think it. Anyway, why didn’t you take off with the rest of your friends when they all left?”

  He ran this hand through his hair again, and I caught a glimpse of his sculpted abdomen. My lips parted slightly as I admired his muscles.

  “She needed help, so I helped. Like I said, I see things through.”

  I could see the agitation in his body as he tensed with each question.

  “Are you single?”

  Oh my gosh, she didn’t just ask that, did she? “Megan, I’m starving, would you run down to the cafeteria and see if they have any fruit or a bagel?”r />
  She scooted off the edge of the bed and sauntered toward the door, pointing at Duke. “Don’t think I’m done with you, buddy.” And on that note, she slipped down the hall.

  “Sorry about that,” I whispered. “She gets on a roll, and there’s no stopping her.” I watched his frame relax when he stepped out of the corner, back up to the edge of my bed. “So, you aren’t much of a talker?” I questioned, looking down at my fidgeting fingers.

  He sat down in the chair next to me and took in a deep breath. “I’m just selective. I don’t like people in my business, especially people I don’t know.” His eyes glanced at the door, and I knew he was referring to Megan.

  “Well, what about me?” I asked, grinning from ear to ear.

  Duke rested his elbows on his knees and wiped his hands over his face. “I’m still thinking about that one.”

  My eyebrows furrowed together, and I looked angrily at him, waiting to see if he was messing with me, but he wasn’t. “That’s bullshit. I have no idea who you are, other than your name, and you think you have the right to tell me you aren’t leaving because you always see things through? I don’t give a damn who you think you are. If you don’t start answering some questions, I’ll have security throw you out on your ass.”

  He scoffed, “I don’t think you want hospital security ending up like the other asshole who fucked with you tonight, do you?”

  “Oh please, you aren’t that reckless,” I blurted out, calling his bluff.

  He stood out of the chair and leaned closer to my face, gripping his hands around the bedrail. His breath caressed my lips. “Try me.”

  Just then, the door flung open, and Megan was standing there with a bowl of fruit, grinning from ear to ear. “Well, well, I see you’ve made some progress since I’ve been gone.”

  Duke released his hands from the bedrail and retreated to his corner, his arms flexing over his chest for the umpteenth time that night.

  My hands reached out for the bowl of fruit. I began to pluck out all of the melons, only to be left with a few strawberries and grapes. Popping a grape into my mouth, I scanned the room for a clock. It was three in the morning, and I was tired. “Look, I’m thankful to both of you for wanting to stay here with me, but I’m tired, and if they are going to force me to spend the night, then I want to do it in peace and quiet. Megan, why don’t you head home, and I’ll call you in the morning when they release me. And as for you, well, I’m not sure where you have to go, but you aren’t staying here.”