30. Jaxon
CHAPTER THIRTY
Jaxon
I’d always thought I was the calm one.
I was the guy who could handle chaos with a steady hand and a level head, no matter how bad the situation got. But standing there, staring into Rick’s twisted, self-righteous face as he spewed lies about Lila, I felt every shred of control I’d ever had slip through my fingers.
“She’s just a desperate little girl who needed saving, and I gave her that! She wouldn’t have anything if it weren’t for me!” Rick’s voice rose, full of venom and misplaced pride.
My chest burned with a rage I couldn’t contain. The way he looked at her—like he owned her, like she owed him something—lit a fire in me I couldn’t put out.
Had this asshole not caused enough damage?
Why the hell was he back here now?
“She’s mine!” Rick shouted, jerking against Colt’s grip, his wild eyes darting between us. “You think she cares about you? She’s just?—”
I didn’t think.
I didn’t plan.
I just moved.
Before I knew it, my hands were fisting the front of his shirt, yanking him out of Colt’s grasp. I slammed him against the side of the house with enough force to make the wood creak. The thud of his body hitting the wall echoed in my ears, but it wasn’t enough—not even close.
“What the hell did you just say?” I growled, my face inches from his.
Rick coughed, twisting in my grip like the weasel he was. I pressed him harder against the wall, my knuckles aching from how tightly I held his shirt.
“She’s not yours,” I spat, my voice low and shaking with anger. “She was never yours. And you’re going to regret every single word that just came out of your mouth.”
Rick’s lips curled into a weak sneer, though I could see the fear flickering in his eyes. “She was going to move in with me. Why do you think she gave me everything?”
My fist connected with his jaw before I even realized I’d swung.
The impact jolted through me, satisfying in a way that scared me. His head snapped to the side, and he let out a groan as his body sagged against the wall.
“Jaxon!” Ryan’s voice rang out from somewhere behind me, but I barely registered it.
Rick spat blood onto the ground, coughing weakly before lifting his head to glare at me. His sneer was crooked now, thanks to the punch, but his eyes burned with that same unhinged fury.
“She was supposed to keep fighting for me,” he snarled, his voice hoarse but growing louder. “Do you hear me? She wasn’t supposed to move on! Not like this… not with you three ! What the hell does she even see in you?”
I felt Ryan step up beside me, his presence a steadying force even as Rick’s words kept coming, like a dam had burst.
“She was supposed to come back to me!” Rick yelled, his voice cracking. “She was supposed to panic about the house move and think that she’d done something wrong. That’s what always happens. She was supposed to offer more money… but instead, she just cut me off,” Rick spat, his voice trembling with disbelief and rage.
His bloodshot eyes darted between me, Ryan, and Colt, as though searching for someone to blame.
“She was supposed to keep chasing after me! Groveling, apologizing, begging to fix things—like they always do. And then she just stopped.”
“Because you conned her,” Ryan snapped, his voice cold and sharp as a blade.
He stepped closer, his body coiled like a spring, ready to strike. “Because that’s all you ever did, wasn’t it? You manipulated her, took her money, and kept her hanging on while you lined your pockets. You didn’t love her—you used her.”
Rick’s face twisted into an ugly snarl.
“Shut up,” he hissed. “You don’t know anything about me or what we had.”
“Oh, we know plenty,” Colt interjected menacingly.
He folded his arms across his chest, his stance wide and unyielding. “We know you’re a leech who preyed on her kindness and turned her life upside down. But you’ve already got what you wanted. So why the hell are you here?”
Rick’s sneer faltered, but only for a second.
“I’m here because she’s mine,” he said, his voice rising again. “She was mine before you came along, and she’ll always be mine. You think I scammed her just for the money? You think that’s all this was?”
I tightened my grip on his shirt, pulling him closer until our faces were inches apart.
“Then why?” I demanded, my voice a growl. “If this wasn’t just about the money, why are you still here? Why can’t you just crawl back into whatever hole you came from and leave her alone?”
Rick’s expression darkened, and for the first time, I saw something flicker in his eyes… something more dangerous than greed or desperation.
Obsession.
“Because I can’t,” he said, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
His gaze was distant now, as though he was lost in his own twisted thoughts.
“You don’t understand. She was the only one who ever believed in me. The only one who saw me as something more than a failure. She was… everything. And then she just left . Like I didn’t matter. Like I was nothing.”
“You are nothing,” I snarled, my voice full of disgust. “She saw you for what you really are—a selfish, manipulative coward—and she got out. You don’t get to stand here and act like she owes you something just because she made the mistake of trusting you.”
Rick’s eyes snapped back to mine, the desperation in them giving way to something colder.
“You don’t get it,” he said, his voice low and trembling. “I needed her. I still do. And I’m not just going to let her walk away like this. Not when she’s with you. Not when she’s with all of you.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Ryan said firmly, stepping closer. “She’s done with you, Rick. And if you think for one second that we’re going to let you anywhere near her again, you’re even crazier than you look.”
Rick laughed bitterly, shaking his head.
“You think you’re protecting her?” he asked, his voice dripping with disdain. “You think she’s safe with you? She doesn’t even know what she wants. She’s just using you, just like she used me.”
That was it.
That was the moment I snapped.
I shoved Rick hard against the wall again, the wood groaning under the force. My hand trembled as I held him there, torn between the primal urge to pummel him and the small, rational voice in the back of my head telling me to stop before it got worse. But Rick wasn’t done running his mouth.
“She’s confused,” he hissed, his lips curling into a twisted smirk despite the blood trickling down his chin. “She’ll realize eventually. She’ll come crawling back to me. You can’t compete with what we had. You’re just a placeholder. All of you.”
A sharp crack filled the air before I even realized Colt had stepped forward. Rick’s head snapped to the side, his cheek sporting the angry red imprint of Colt’s fist.
“Shut your damn mouth,” Colt growled, his voice like thunder.
“Enough!” Ryan barked, stepping between us and Rick. His usually calm demeanor was long gone, his jaw tight and his fists clenched. “We’re not doing this. He’s not worth it.”
But Rick, the cockroach that he was, just laughed—a grating, hollow sound that sent my blood boiling all over again.
“Oh, I’m worth it,” he sneered, wiping his bloody lip with the back of his hand. “Otherwise, why are you all so worked up? Face it, she’ll always belong to me. No matter what you do, you’ll never get rid of me.”
And then everything happened at once.
Ryan grabbed my arm, pulling me back just as I lunged for Rick again.
Colt, now beyond reasoning, shoved Ryan out of the way and grabbed Rick by the collar, dragging him toward the porch steps.
Biscuit barked furiously from inside the house, scratching at the door as Lila’s voice rang out, panicked and pleading.
“Stop it! All of you, stop!”
Rick struggled, flailing like a caught fish, but Colt was too strong. The commotion must have drawn the neighbors, because I caught sight of someone peeking through their blinds, phone pressed to their ear.
“Let him go, Colt!” Ryan yelled, trying to intervene again.
“I’ll let him go when he’s six feet under!” Colt snapped, his voice raw with rage.
I stepped in, grabbing Colt’s arm before he could drag Rick any farther. “Enough, Colt! You’re gonna kill him!”
Rick, ever the opportunist, used the distraction to twist free. He stumbled back a few steps, breathing heavily, before pulling something from his pocket.
“Stay back!” he shouted, brandishing a small knife.
His hand shook so much that it was clear he had no real control over it, but the sight of the blade was enough to make us pause.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ryan muttered under his breath.
“Put that down before you do something even dumber than you already have,” I warned, my voice low and steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me.
Rick didn’t listen.
His eyes darted wildly between the three of us, his grip on the knife tightening as his breathing grew more erratic.
And then, as if on cue, the sound of sirens cut through the tension, growing louder with each passing second.
“Great,” Ryan muttered, his shoulders sagging slightly. “This is about to get a whole lot worse.”
The police cars screeched to a halt at the curb, their lights flashing in a chaotic dance of red and blue. Officers Davis and Hall stepped out, their hands hovering near their weapons as they took in the scene.
“What the hell is going on here?” Davis barked, his sharp gaze darting between us and Rick, who still held the knife.
“He—” I started, but before I could explain, Rick dropped the knife and threw his hands up in mock surrender.
“They attacked me!” he shouted, his voice hoarse but loud enough to carry. “I was just trying to talk to her, and they jumped me!”
“What?” Colt roared, stepping forward, but Hall quickly moved to block him, his hand resting on the holster of his gun.
“Everyone, calm down,” Hall ordered, his voice firm. “We’re going to figure this out, but you all need to back up. Now.”
Davis gestured to another officer who had just arrived. “Cuff them all. We’ll sort this out at the station.”
“What?” Ryan exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You’re arresting us? He’s the one who showed up here uninvited and pulled a knife!”
“And you’re the ones throwing punches,” Davis shot back. “Everyone’s coming in until we get this sorted out.”
Before we could argue, we were all being cuffed, the cold metal biting into our wrists. Lila’s voice broke through the chaos, frantic and tearful as she tried to explain, but the officers barely acknowledged her.
Rick, of course, had the audacity to smirk as he was led to a separate car, his busted face belying the sick satisfaction in his eyes.
As we were shoved into the back of the police cruiser, Ryan let out a heavy sigh. “Well,” he muttered, his tone dripping with sarcasm, “this is going to be fun to explain.”
I didn’t respond. My jaw clenched, my mind racing with a million thoughts—most of them centered on Rick and the damage he’d already done.
This wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.