"Hey, what the fuck, dude. You don't hit a lady like that," I yelled as I stumbled out of the truck. Before I had a chance to throw a punch at the fucker, two guys grabbed both my arms.

Fuck. The beast had brought back-up. This was not going to turn out well.

"Woo hoo. Hallelujah. So you were going to defend the lady's honor. How heroic. Only problem here is, she is no fucking lady. She is nothing but a stupid whore and when I am done with her, she will be so messed up in her face, no guy's ever wanna fuck her again."

The Hairy Beast was a psycho lunatic. The arrow on the pain-o-meter in my brain arched to the "high level" mark when they pulled hard on my already sore arm, attached to my already sore shoulder. I think I may have squealed like a girl. Both brutes had a solid grip and stood me up in preparation to be a human punching bag for Beast Master number one. I figured my life was pretty much over now. No need to worry about not being able to race ever again. Now I could be a whiny bitch about not being able to breathe ever again. Shit. What have I gotten myself into?

Chapter Two.

Niki "American woman, stay away from me..." blasted out in a high wailing chest voice. No one other than Lenny Kravitz could sing with such a, "in your face" style. He was just oozing tone. I turned my head to my best friend Kat and gave her an approving nod. The entire crowd was on their feet, screaming and singing along to the lyrics of the legendary tune we all knew. A monumental smile was spread across my face as we all bobbed up and down, hands up in the air, to the music at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. I was psyched to be here with Kat in Vegas. It was Spring break and after studying hard in the last semester of college at UCLA, I needed to blow off some steam before finals rolled around.

"This is so cool," I shouted, trying to be heard above the music.

"I know," Kat shouted back.

"Lenny is so passionate when he sings." Lenny had the crowd dancing and singing along for the entire set.

"...hot. He's so hot," Kat shouted again.

"Yes, Lenny is hotter than hot. He is-"

Kat gave me a sharp elbow in my side and leaned over so I could hear.

"Not Lenny. The guy over there...check him out. Cute and hot."

"Where, where?" I craned my neck and stood on tippy toes. I don't know why I paid for the seat. I hardly used it the entire concert.

"One row up and to the right."

"Your big head is in my way. Get out of the way." I laughed as I pushed down on her shoulders, bobbed and ducked looking for an opening in the crowd so I could get a view of this, supposedly hot guy.

"Don't be so obvious. Act like you're not looking." She turned her back towards him while I peeked over her shoulder. The light show was pulsing deep indigo blue, along with Lenny's next song, making it hard to see.

"See any cute friends with him? We need one for you and one for me," Kat said. "Here, I know, take a sneaky pic of him." She gave me her iPhone.

"Kat, no. I can't. He's gonna see us." I was too embarrassed to try such a move, but this was right up Kat's alley. "He'll think we are stalkers."

"No, he won't. Who cares anyway? He's cute," Kat yelled. The sound of her voice was battling with the loud music and she grabbed the phone out of my hand, holding it high in the air to shoot over the heads of the people in front of us.

"Oh shit." I reached up and pulled her arm down, as I saw "cute guy" turning in our direction. "He's looking, he's looking." Kat and I grappled with her phone trying to keep it from falling to the floor. We both fell down into our seats laughing, as Lenny launched into a new song. The epitome of cool, he rocked the place for two hours. The climax of the concert came during an encore jam session when Lenny came down into the crowd, walking the entire perimeter of the arena, singing on a wireless microphone and hi-fiving screaming fans in the audience.

The concert ended, leaving us energized and wanting more.

"I wanna dance. Let's hit the clubs." Kat said, still pulsing to the imaginary beat in her head.

"Sure, we're in Vegas baby. Let's party." We pushed our way out the exit doors and followed the flow of the crowd into the wide hallway that lead to the casino area. I was on the last leg of my life as a college student and although my dad had a plan for my future, right now I just wanted to be spontaneous and live for the moment. The words of another Lenny hit song were churning in my mind. I wanted to "Fly away" just like the lyrics said.

"Kat, it is always such a blast hanging with you. Hey, you know what we should do?" I turned to her, walking sideways for a moment, as best I could in my strappy black high heels. "We should get an apartment together...this summer. You know, on our own, be free. I'm so fucking tired of living at my dad's house."

"Niki, I'm shocked. You're usually all, "I gotta be Miss Logical thinker." That's the best, crazy idea you've had in a long time," she said, clicking along in her heels and swinging her small silver sequined purse by its chain strap.

"I know...right? Let's frigging do it. I can't wait. We should start looking for a place when we get back home."

Kat stopped abruptly and with a serious face she grabbed hold of me. "Just promise me one thing...No PINK walls." She burst out in laughter.

I shook my head laughing. "Okay, I promise. No pink walls, Miss Fancy Pants."

Just the thought of moving out of dad's house felt refreshing. I was doing better at not hyper focusing on the negative side of things. I had a history of letting my anxiety sour my happiness in the past, but things were looking up. Tonight, I shoved all the worrisome thoughts away. I felt stronger in my determination to make this time of my life a new beginning.

We cut through the casino floor, weaving our way between the slot machines with all their colorful lights and binging noise. In between the Blackjack tables, on a raised stage, a girl in black mesh tights danced seductively to the pulsing beat of a DJ. Wherever you are, there is always a party in Vegas. Two young men in dark suits were handing out free passes to one of the clubs in the casino.

Kat took the passes and handed me one. "Woo hoo. This looks like the place for us. The coupon says, free Jello shots."

"Jello shots, what are you...in high school?"

"I just want to have fun, Niki girl. Its Spring break and I don't need an excuse to let loose."

I rolled my eyes and followed her through the door, showing our ID to a very stern looking door attendant. Standing next to him was a handsome young guy, attaching red colored wrist bands to everyone's wrist as they entered.

"Left wrist, please," he said and showed a beautiful charming smile.

I stood there in front of him, my mouth hanging open, gaping at the dimples in his cheeks. I wondered if one of the Chippendale dancers had gotten loose, as I stood mesmerized.

"Um, thank you, you can go in now," he said, trying to get me to move it along. Kat shot me a glance and smiled coyly, giving me a little shove. Oh no, she's up to something. I could practically see the gears turning in her head.

Kat was very alluring with her petite body and long blonde hair. She had the typical California girl look, was very social and a notorious flirt. I moved aside and she stepped up in front of Mr. Handsome staring him in the eyes.

"Can I have your wrist?"

Without breaking her stare she said, "Which one? This one, or this one?"

She held each petite wrist up in front of him, still staring.

"Left please," he said with a smile.

Kat held her left wrist up in front of her chest, while Mr. Handsome proceeded to do his job. As he fumbled to attach the paper wristband, she said, "Here, let me help you. Sometimes it helps to hold it up against something."

She pulled her wrist into her chest, the guy still working on attaching it, until his hands were up against the bare skin of her cleavage. Slowly she moved her wrist up and down, taking his hands along for the ride. Without batting an eye, she said, "Thank you," in a breathy voice. Flustered, Mr. Handsome seemed to exhale a sigh of relief when I pulled at Kat's arm to make her stop.

"Oh my God, Kat. Leave the poor guy alone."

"What?" she squeaked in a high pitched voice, following me into the interior of the club. "I was just messing with him. Besides, he's' my future husband. He just doesn't know it yet."

"I thought Adam Levine was your future husband."

"Him too. The two of them will have to fight it out over me, but you need to loosen up, have some fun once in a while. I think college fried your brain, girl."

Chapter Three.

Jesse "You are gonna fucking die, dude," The Hairy Beast barked, as his horrid looking face moved away from where he had knocked down the girl.

"Hey man, wait. You don't want to do this. I had no fucking idea she was your girlfriend. We were just partying. Saturday night and all. We have all done that once or twice, right?"

The two gorillas at my sides didn't find much interest in my remark and tightened their grip on my arms.

In one swift move the Beast stepped towards me and punched me hard in my abdomen. Luckily I had anticipated his move and tightened my six-pack just hard enough to withstand the majority of the blow. I leaned forward pretending to be in severe pain. Hairy Beast was gloating right in front of me. I hammered my right booth up with a direct kick to his groin. The silence of the night air was shattered from his scream of pain as he stumbled to the ground.

Next, I stomped my right heel hard on the top of a boot worn by one of the gorillas in anticipation of him letting go of my arm...but nothing happened. He didn't let go. What the fuck...

He must be wearing work boots with steel toed protection.

They both slammed me into my Truck and I was kneed hard in my stomach, this time knocking the wind out of me.

In my haze I noticed Hairy Beast was getting back on his feet and I caught the glint of polished steel in his hand. The blade of a knife reflected red, then white, then red, then white in the lights of a car...the lights of a car?

I figured I was about to become the Pillsbury Dough boy, poked with a carving knife, when the headlights of a car shone onto the scene of all five of us. The red flashing light on top of a patrol car had never looked so sweet before. The Beast Master and his goons paused like animals frozen in fear for one split second. The car tires ground to a stop, crunching the loose gravel, as the car door flew open.

"Drop the knife and get down on the ground. Now..." someone yelled from the patrol car.

The goons let loose of my arms and took off running in every direction into the cover of the trees and bushes behind the bar. The officer slammed his cruiser into park and jumped out intent on pursuit but halted when he noticed the girl cringing and crying, hovering near the truck. He had to let the fuckers run.

Oh my god, I was still alive. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and stepped over to see if Carrie was alright. The officer came up next to me. "Is she okay?" he asked.

"Not sure. She was hit pretty hard."

"Don't worry, Miss, they are gone. Are you hurt? Do you need assistance?" Do you need any medical help?" The officer spoke slowly to make sure she would understand his words.

"I'm okay," she said in a small voice, as she got up on her feet. Carrie sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She had a large red bruise under her left eye. That would be one hell of a shiner tomorrow.

"I saw this girl getting in trouble, so I tried to help, but they grabbed hold me. Thank god you arrived when you did." The officer threw me a cold hard glance that told me, he would deal with me later. I swallowed hard, knowing what that stare meant.

"He didn't do anything to me." She pointed in my direction. "We were just having some fun, you know..."

I gave her a wide eyed hint hoping she wouldn't tell what we were doing in the truck. The officer glanced at me, like shut up, though I hadn't said a word and then turned his attention back to the girl.

"Thank you, Miss. I need to get your statement. I assume you would like to press charges to the guys who did this? Do you know who they were?"

"No. No, it's okay, I don't want to press charges. I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Miss. You seem pretty badly beat up. You shouldn't let them get away with something like this."

"It's okay, really. It was my own fault. I just fell and hit my head on that rock there. I'm so clumsy." She pointed to a rock far away from where she had landed.

"Well, suit yourself," the officer said with a groan. "I will need to see some identification on your two, just routine."

He ran his usual procedure of checking both of our ID's, per regulations. She seemed to had calmed down to his satisfaction and I feared his wrath would be turned on me next.

"Do you need a ride home, Miss? I can take you to your residence." He was interrupted by the scratchy voice on his police radio. He went back to his car, pulled out his transmitter and reported his location in code to the dispatch, then returned.

"Yes, please officer, I could use a ride home," Carrie said as she toddled towards the patrol car.

"Alright, take a seat in the back of the car," he said and guided her by the elbow while opening the back door of the patrol car. "You can wait in the car while I talk with your friend here." He shut the doors, then turning his attention on me. With the lights still flashing and the headlights of his cruiser shining on me leaning against my pickup truck, he closed the distance between us in a few purposeful strides.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Jesse? Are you trying to get killed? Who is the girl?"

His eyes were glaring with anger. His voice was strained as he tried to yell at me through clenched teeth. He struggled to keep his voice low so the girl wouldn't hear.

"Hey Jimmy," I said trying to play it off. "How about a hug for your ol' brother?" I swayed forward like I was gonna give him a bear hug. He shoved me off angrily.

"Get the fuck off of me. I'm so sick of you always pulling this crap. You need to get your shit together, man."

"But hey, I was just here minding my own business and-"

"You're fucking drunk, Jesse. You fucked up again and I'm sick and tired of saving your sorry ass. You need to get your shit in one bag, dude. Seriously, I can't always be there for you. You can praise yourself lucky that Manny called me earlier and told me you were in trouble. Otherwise I would pick you up in pieces from that ditch over there tomorrow. You are a fucking embarrassment to me and my job."

He was now pacing in front of me in his sharp uniform, wearing his gun and with the radio squawking at his shoulder. I leaned back against the cold hard metal of the truck. "The deputy sheriff bails out his drunken ass brother. There is one for the local newspaper," he continued. The humiliation on his face could have been devastating to me if I hadn't been too high and too drunk to realize it. But I didn't give a rat's ass right now. All I wanted was another Jack Daniels to burn in my throat, to burn away any semblance of a feeling I might have left in my cold heart.

He reached into the cab of my pickup and snatched the keys from the cup holder, then slammed the door shut. "Get in the patrol car." He fumed. "You are too drunk to drive. I'm taking you home after I bring the girl back to her place. Don't think this is over either. We will talk later."

Chapter Four.

Niki Inside the O'Hara club in Vegas, the music was loud, pumping and thumping. The DJ was making his own mixes of the latest house and trance music. We were dressed in typical club style dresses, short, sassy and tall shoes, a vice of mine. I am addicted to shoes and I secretly think that the real reason Kat is my friend is because we wear the same size shoe. One of the things I loved about Vegas was the parade of hot shoes these girls wore. Every time I turned around there was another bachelorette party of girls with their magnificently hot, "fuck me" shoes. Black, red, zebra stripe, glitter, you name it, nothing is too over the top for Vegas heels.

Kat made a beeline to the bar and picked up her free Jello shots. Balancing a beer and four little plastic cups, each filled with cherry flavored gelatinous blobs, she pushed her way through the crowd to where I had perched my rear end on a red velvet covered bench seat. Not surprisingly, Kat had flirted her way into a couple of extra shots. She made that move girls with long hair always make when their hands are full, flinging her head so her long blonde hair flipped to her back. She set the shots down on the chrome and glass coffee table. These low tables were situated in between the seating sections that jutted out into the room. Everything was dark with red lighting. The bar itself was opposite the velvet bench seats and the dance floor was partitioned off from the bar area with reserved tables, available for bottle service paying customers only.