“Fuck you,” he spits at me.
I punch him right on the nose. He gasps and holds it as blood gushes out, spattering on the floor. “Fine with me. I’d rather fight anyway. Ready to go?”
My brothers cross their arms and stand there to make sure he doesn’t try to run off.
Roger holds his nose with one hand and raises his other in the air. “Fuck. Fuck. I think you broke it. I’m going to call my lawyer.”
I grip his hair so tight it makes him cry out, and I force him to walk behind the bar then drop to his knees. Jax moves over to flip the Open sign to Closed, his back to the door.
Roger stares up at me, blood streaming down his face in thick gushes, eyes watering.
“You aren’t calling anyone,” I tell him. “If you even think of doing so, I’ll fucking wreck you so hard you won’t be able to move, much less dial a number. Any man who would hurt a woman to try to control her is a fucking dog and deserves to be put down.” I squeeze his scalp tighter, and he whimpers. “You are never to contact Aubrey again in any format. You will never contact her family or friends again. You will go home quietly, and you will stay the fuck away from Rock Bridge for the rest of your life. And if you call anyone about what happened here today, I will find you, and I will fucking kill you.”
I tilt his head up to make sure he can see how serious I am.
“No one is ever going to hurt Aubrey again. I’m protecting her now. Do you understand me?”
He swallows and swipes a hand along the bottom of his face to wipe away the blood running.
I snap his head back and bend over him. “That’s not an answer. Do. You. Understand. Me.”
“Y-yes.”
I jerk on his hair to force him to standing. “Give me your phone.”
“What?” He blinks in surprise.
I raise and pull back my other fist, and he cringes away, fumbling in his jacket pocket.
“H-here, okay, fine, just take it.” His fingers are shaking so hard he can barely hand it to me.
I release his hair, then I drop the phone and stomp on it. Crush it beneath my boot. He groans, and Jax claps. “Just to give you a little incentive to not call anyone when you drive your sorry ass home.”
I’m so tempted to beat this man senseless right now. I want to unleash everything. But I’m trying to restrain myself. I don’t want to be a man Aubrey’s afraid of. I’m her hero, not another man who uses his strength to intimidate her. And while she hates and is afraid of Roger, doing any further damage to him will only make her feel bad.
“Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and do what I really want to do to you right now.”
Roger scrambles to move around the coffee bar counter, cupping his nose, then dashes outside. I see him struggle to open his car door. He backs out of his parking space and his tires squeal as he leaves.
“Do you think he’ll leave her alone?” Asher asks.
I sigh. “If he knows what’s good for him. Pretty sure he shit his pants when I threatened to punch him again, though.” I shake my fist out—decking him felt so good, but it did hurt my knuckles. I grab a wad of paper towels and clean the crime scene of his bloodied nose off the ground. Don’t need to freak the poor manager and baristas out when they come back. I toss the soiled paper towels.
This was supposed to be a business meeting, after all. And I suppose in some ways, that’s exactly what it was. Tying up some loose ends.
Jax yawns. “I’m fucking whomped. Watching you punch a douche made me more tired than I expected.”
Asher laughs, and I clap him on the shoulder as we move to the exit.
The door dings behind us, and we hop in Jax’s car. He drops me off back at the bar, and I make my way up the stairs to where my girl is lying on my bed.
She is my girl if I have anything to say about it. I need this woman so badly, would do anything for her. I don’t know how, but in the span of a few weeks, Aubrey’s flipped me upside down and given me life. She’s broken me out of my darkness, shown me hope, affection. Made me feel like I’m good enough as I am.
I want her to feel the same. I want her to be mine.
I kick my boots off and strip out of my clothes. Weariness makes my bones tired. I need sleep. But more than that, I need to curl against her warm, inviting body and find my solace, my salvation, in her arms.
Aubrey is the one who saved me, who changed me.
I crack open the door. She’s breathing softly, my gray sheet tangled in her limbs. Her breasts are bare, moving in an even rhythm. Something in my heart cracks wide open. I move to her, unable to pull away. I slide against her body and cup her breasts, feel their weight in my palm.