Chapter 28 Ryan
RYAN
Marcus turns the pickup into the wide driveway of the Huntingtons’, and I peer out the window at the lush lawns and shaped shrubbery, wondering how much of it is Paige’s work.
“Thanks for this. I appreciate it.”
If Marcus was surprised to get my call in the middle of the night, he didn’t show it. Tracing the license plate confirmed that this Chad asshole is the guy. Marcus also traced the IP address of the online trolls back to him.
He’s just an amateur asshole who needs to be stopped before he does some real damage.
“No worries. Anytime, I mean it.” And I believe him. I’m starting to like this community, where people look out for each other. It seems like a nice place to be.
We park outside the three-story brick house in front of a wide concrete stairway with Corinthian pillars that leads to the front door.
“You want me to come in with you?”
I shake my head. “I got this.”
When Paige told me about what Chad had done—slapping her ass and calling her a whore—she had to stop me from coming out here in the middle of the night to deal with him. I would have dragged myself here on my hands if she hadn’t held me back.
Luckily, I calmed down and took the time to think about the best way to deal with an entitled asshole like Chad.
I push open the door and ease my leg onto the gravel. It smarts as I shift the weight onto it. I overdid it yesterday, and my stump is swollen and painful. I’ll be back in the chair for a week to recover, but I need to do this first.
“I’ll wait here.”
I grab the file Marcus hastily put together for me and slam the passenger door.
Once I’m walking confidently, I’ll need to learn to drive again. We’ll need a family car. Something more robust than Paige’s work van and big enough for the other kids we’re going to have. The ones whose lives I’ll be a part of from the start.
I shake the thought out of my head. I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t even know if that’s what Paige wants. But I’m damned sure it’s what I want.
I ring the bell, and it’s answered by a stern-looking man in loose chinos and slippers.
“Mr. Huntington?” I ask, not in the mood for niceties.
He frowns at me. “Who wants to know?”
“I’m Ryan Burke. Sorry to bother you so early. Can we have a word in private?”
I’m clinging to the door frame, and his gaze travels down my sweaty face, red from the effort of climbing the stairs with a stump that really needs a rest. When I move my leg awkwardly, his eyes go wide in understanding.
“You’re a veteran?”
“Yes, I am, sir. Recently out of the Navy.”
“You better come in.”
Twenty minutes later, Peter Huntington is seething. The photos and screenshots from the folder are spread out before him on his mahogany desk, and he stands staring at them with his hands on his hips and a thunderous expression on his weathered face.
“He’s had it too easy.” He shakes his head. “I started with nothing, you know. Built my business up from the bottom. But Chad has never known anything but the privileged life we’ve given him.”
“Don’t blame yourself, sir.”
Planting his knuckles on the table, he leans forward, his steely expression pinned on me. I almost feel sorry for Chad and what he’s got coming to him. Almost.
“I do blame myself. He’s had everything too easy. He needs to learn discipline and hardship.”
I press my fingers together, and when I speak, it’s as if the thought has just occurred to me.
“Like they teach in the military.”
Peter’s eyes find mine, and he nods. “Exactly. Chad was never interested in the military, and my wife convinced me we should let him choose his own path.” His expression softens when he mentions his wife. “But I’m convinced that’s exactly what he needs.”
I try not to smile. I hope it’s exactly what a kid like Chad needs too. To learn discipline, to serve, to come back a better man. But he’s eighteen, and it has to be his decision.
“Will you be able to convince him that’s the best path?”
Peter’s lips curl up in a half-smile. “I will when I tell him he’ll be disinherited if he doesn’t sign up.”
I like his way of thinking. Hopefully, it’s not too late to turn him into a decent human being, and the military will do that better than jail time.
“But all this.” Peter indicates the images in front of him. “There has to be consequences.” He lets out a long sigh. “It will hurt my position on the council, but if Paige wants to make an official report, I’ll support that.”
My respect for the man jumps up a notch. He’s prepared to do the right thing, no matter what the personal cost.
“I appreciate that, sir.” But I don’t think Paige wants to press charges. She’s concerned about the effect this will have on her business and doesn’t want people talking about her, even if she has every right.
“Do you mind if I keep these?” Peter indicates the papers.
“Of course.”
I pull myself out of my chair and lean on my good leg to shake the hand Peter offers.
“Thank you for coming to me with this. I know just how to handle it.”
“I knew you would, sir.”
He holds open the door to his office. “Do you mind seeing yourself out? I want to speak to Chad right away.”
“Of course.”
I walk to the entryway, only mildly limping, and pull the heavy door open. As I shut the door behind me, a black SUV pulls up in the driveway, and a young man leaps out of it. He’s got floppy blond hair and wears a crumpled polo shirt.
My fists clench at my sides as anger surges through me.
Chad jogs up the steps and looks me up and down, frowning. “Can I help you?”
I lurch toward him and, in one quick movement, have him pinned against a pillar. Pain jolts up my thigh, fueling my anger.
Chad’s eyes go wide. “What the fuck?”
My forearm pins him against the pillar, and I get up in his face. “You mess with my woman or child again, and you’ll regret it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he splutters.
“I’m talking about Paige. You stay away from her and her property. You don’t look at her, you don’t speak to her, and you don’t troll her online.”
“It was just for laughs. Can’t she take a joke?”
“It was beyond a joke. And if you try anything like that again”—I roll my forearm up his chest so it presses against his neck—“I’ve got an entire team of ex-Navy SEALs in my corner. And we’ll come for you.”
His eyes bulge out of his head, and his face goes red. I apply more pressure as he gasps for air. His arms flail by his sides, and a surge of rage courses through me.
But then I think of Paige and Noah. I’m no good to them if I let my anger get the better of me.
I release my hold on him, and he sags against the pillar, clutching his throat. Then I hobble down the stairs, not sparing him a backward glance.
Marcus is leaning against the pickup waiting for me. “You good?” he asks.
I walk toward the car, holding down the pain. I’ll need a few days in bed, and I’ll be back in my chair for a while, but it was worth it. “Yup.”
As Marcus gets in the driver’s seat, I ease myself into the passenger seat. “You look like you took care of business.”
As we pull out of the Huntingtons’ driveway, a smile spreads across my face as I respond, “I did.”
I can still protect my woman and child.