CHAPTER THREE
TROY
A ll of the sexy time thoughts I’d been having after that kiss faded away when I put the pieces together.
Mercedes had been wrong. Her brother was a fucking abuser.
Anger licked through my veins. Sure, I’d love to kiss Maddie a thousand times over. But seeing this—bruises left behind by a weak man, the fear flitting through her eyes—had me only thinking about fucking up her ex.
“He got upset,” she said quietly, her gaze occasionally darting over my shoulder, as though keeping an eye on something. “I took Grace over to see him at his parents’ house after we got back from New York. But he didn’t like that we didn’t stay long. And then he started bitching about the whole entire trip to New York. When I tried to leave, well…”
I balled my hands into fists beneath the bar. When she looked across the room one more time, I asked, “What is it? Is he here?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, nodding. Her gaze remained stuck on some point past my shoulder. “He just showed up with Mercedes’ ex-fiancé, Caleb, and two of their friends.”
She picked nervously at a cuticle while she gnawed at her lip. I angled myself toward her, reaching for the worrying hand. “Hey. You’re with me. You’re safe.”
Her hazel eyes connected with mine in a spark as she nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. And we’re in public, so…”
“Will you show me which one he is? Who did this to you?”
“He’s the one with the blue jacket.” Her voice came out a whisper. I twisted to look behind me, barely able to pick them out across the restaurant. A group of men sat at a table in the middle of the room, but one glance at their faces told me they hadn’t come for a meal. They were here to find her .
Maybe they’d already spotted her. Maybe they just knew she was somewhere inside. Either way, I didn’t want to take the chance.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, reaching for her hand. I swiped my thumb back and forth, hoping to console her. She didn’t know it yet, but she had no reason to worry while I was with her. I had no problem taking down four douchebrothers in full view of the public. I’d gotten myself into—and out of—far dicier situations than this one. And from the looks of it, her ex Jericho would crumble with one well-placed punched to his nose.
Maddie’s worried gaze searched my face. “I didn’t even get my food yet.”
“We’ll go somewhere else,” I promised her. “I just need you far away from that guy.”
“Okay,” she said, but she didn’t look convinced. I leaned forward, cupping the side of her face in my hand.
“What did I tell you before? You’re with me. You’re safe.”
She rolled her lips in, nodding. “He’s just a piece of work. He and Caleb ruined Mercedes’ life. He barred Mercedes from going to their grandmother’s funeral. He and Caleb sent bomb threats…” Her voice broke and she shook her head. “I don’t want you getting involved—”
“Too late,” I said with a smile. “You kissed me. I’m involved. And for what it’s worth, a bomb threat isn’t enough to get me to back down. Now, are you ready?”
A small smile curled at her pretty pink lips. It was a small sign of progress, at least. I held her small hand in mine, surging to my feet. I was now the human shield between her and those idiots.
I dropped a $100 bill on the counter and led the way toward the door, keeping her close to my side. Given where the men sat, it was impossible to hide her fully without drawing even more attention. I kept an eye on the guys as we navigated through the crowded restaurant. Her ex scanned the room with a dark, shifty gaze. He just looked like he was up to no good.
We slipped out the door, leaving the dull roar of conversation behind. Outside, the crisp, late January air prickled through my lungs. I wrapped an arm around her slight shoulders as we walked to the parking lot.
“Do you want to go somewhere else? So you can get that dinner you were waiting on.”
“Yeah…” Her face fell. “I hate that he ruined this. I know it probably sounds like a pity party, but I’d been looking forward to this place.” She huffed as we approached what I assumed was her car, a simple silver sedan. She paused by the trunk, pulling something out of her purse. “I was telling Mercedes that all I wanted to do was go someplace nice and read this book at the bar by myself.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Except I’m coming with you. I don’t trust that prick. So just think of me as a mute companion. I won’t even talk to you so you can read.”
She grinned up at me, a dimple in her left cheek flashing. That pretty grin and the wisps of brown hair escaping from her loose braid had me ready to follow her wherever she wanted to go, for however long she’d let me. I stepped closer, reaching for her hand again. It was a natural move, one that felt more intimate than protective.
“My paperback bodyguard?”
“Something like that.” I reached up to cup the side of her face but caught myself before I could. She’d kissed me out of sheer panic, that didn’t mean she wanted me moving in for more. It was too easy to play that part with her though; I’d felt the pull the second I met her.
But I didn’t want to think about that right now. I was here to make sure she stayed safe. Then I was heading to Ecuador to hopefully start the next chapter of my life.
“ Maddie! ” The rough bark of a male voice cut through the night air.
She gasped as her gaze connected with somebody behind me. I didn’t need to guess who it was. I turned to find Jericho storming out of the restaurant, his three friends close behind.
I registered the most important things first: the aggression leaking out of his closed fists. The fire in his eyes. The speed with which he approached us. All of these were signs to get Maddie to safety.
“Maddie, get in my car.” I fished my key fob out of my pocket and clicked to unlock. “Black Jeep, two spots down.”
She opened her mouth to say something but then nodded and hurried off.
“Why you running?” Jericho taunted, course correcting to follow her. I strode behind her, angling my path so I’d intersect Jericho before he reached my Jeep. “Just want to have a conversation with my wife, is that too much to goddamn ask?”
My steps thudded on the asphalt as I intercepted Jericho’s path. He barreled right into me, so laser-focused on Maddie that I wasn’t even sure he’d seen me yet. His green eyes snapped up to me, brows a hard line across his face. In my peripheral vision, I saw Maddie slam the door shut. Success.
“And who the fuck are you?” Jericho’s voice came out rimmed with knives. He had to tip his head back to look up at me, bless his heart, but that didn’t stop him from puffing out his chest. His friends came to a stop behind him like the good little minions they were.
“Doesn’t matter. All I know is that you’re a nuisance, and you need to step away.”
Jericho’s eyes narrowed, a bonafide creepy smirk tugging at his lips. “She’s my wife. I think you’re the one who needs to step away.” He called out toward the Jeep, “Is this who you’ve been cheating on me with? You’re probably knocked up already, aren’t you?”
The slur in his voice was subtle. But the whiskey wind coming from his mouth was not. I rolled my neck in a slow circle, sizing up my possible plans of attack.
“I’m going to ask you one more time to leave,” I said succinctly. I held his gaze, not missing the way he signaled something to one of the friends. The dark-haired one peeled off, hurrying away to a nearby SUV.
“I’m pretty sure you don’t get to decide who’s in this public parking lot,” Jericho said with a sneer.
“Maybe so. But there’s one thing I do get to decide,” my voice was nearly a growl as I stepped forward, erasing the distance between us as I used my full height on him, “and that’s whether you ever lay a hand on Maddie again.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw his friend returning to the group. But this time, he had a baseball bat in his hands.
It was cute how he thought that would be enough to scare me away.
“From here on out,” I spat out, “if you see Maddie, expect to see me too.”
A bitter laugh escaped him, but I could tell he was struggling to keep his confidence. When I stepped forward again, he stepped back.
“You don’t fucking scare me,” Jericho said. “And if you come one step closer, we’ll make sure you can’t walk out of here.”
His tone pushed me over the edge; or maybe it was the flash of remembering the fingerprint bruises I’d found up and down Maddie’s forearms. Whatever it was, I’d had enough of looking at his sorry face. I snagged Jericho by the collar of his coat, bringing him closer so that I could deliver a swift punch to his rib cage.
I moved so fast he didn’t have time to respond, but his friends reacted.
“You’re gonna regret that,” the one with the baseball bat said before he swung. He hit me in the hip, a dull thwup that didn’t register at first but I was sure I’d feel later. For now, it only irritated me. I had inches on all these guys and the panic in their eyes told me I had far more experience in various types of combat than they did put together.
While Jericho gasped for breath, I lunged for the guy with the baseball bat. He got one more hit on me, aiming for the back of my knees but clipping my left kneecap instead. Ouch . I grabbed the bat before he could hit me again, ripping it out of his hands.
“Get the fuck out of here now before I bash all of your dumbass skulls in,” I growled, stepping forward. My knee screamed with pain, but now wasn’t the time to think about a potential injury. I towered over them. Jericho backed up, glaring at me as his friends retreated alongside him.
“Have a great night,” I called out jovially, popping on a big ol’ sarcastic smile. “Thanks for the new sporting equipment, pals.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Jericho snarled.
“It’s been a real pleasure,” I went on.
They grumbled further, piling into their SUV. I watched as they peeled out of the parking lot, only smiling and waving as they pelted me with middle fingers through the safety of their rolled up windows. I popped the baseball bat in the backseat of the Jeep, and then slid into the driver’s seat. Maddie had her face buried in her hands, her whole body shaking.
“Hey. They’re gone.” I reached across the console to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “You okay?”
She sniffed, dragging her head up. “I should be asking you that question! Troy, he hit you!”
“It was a love tap,” I said, though I knew that was false. My knee burned while bent, and that wasn’t a good sign.
Her shoulders hitched with a sob. “This is so messed up. I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t want for any of this to happen. I just wanted to come out for a nice meal—”
“Hey. This isn’t your fault. You’re not the one chasing dudes with a baseball bat. He is. There’s nothing for you to apologize for.”
She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes, sadness pouring out of her. “You don’t have to be doing this.”
“I want to make sure you’re safe.” I reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze. “That’s all I care about.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you, Troy.”
“You’re welcome, Maddie.” My chest swelled, reminding me of the persistent ache that throbbed there. While I was aware of how much I cared for Maddie, pretty much from the second I laid eyes on her, I didn’t know how to process it. My life didn’t have room for someone like Maddie. “Where should we head to next? Plan B dinner?”
“I’m not even hungry anymore. He scared the hunger right out of me.” She rubbed her forehead. “I guess I should go back to my parents’ house. I just hope he doesn’t show up there again. He was sending me angry texts earlier about how I wasn’t at my mom and dad’s house when he stopped by.”
My insides tightened at her words. Multiple alarms were going off inside me, and I wasn’t sure if she realized how dangerous this guy could get.
“I don’t think you’ll be safe at your parents’ house either.” The bodyguard in me was already hatching a protection plan. And it involved me staying glued to her side. “It sounds like his behavior has been escalating. He went from manipulative to leaving bruises to showing up with a gang of friends with baseball bats. Maddie, I know he’s Grace’s dad…but this guy is officially a threat.”
She drew a deep breath, her chin trembling.
“I know it’s not what you want to hear, but we need to get you out of here. Someplace safe .”
“But where?” Her voice sounded so small, so afraid.
I started the Jeep, enjoying the rumble of the engine.
Lucky for her, I had a plan.