by Franca Storm
Ollie couldn’t hide the shock on his face. He looked between us for a few moments as though he was trying to understand how the hell his sister could have such an effect on a man like me during the heat of such an intense rage. And then he looked away, seemingly satisfied with what he saw and murmured quietly, “I’m sorry, sis. If I’d known…I mean…he seemed like such a—”
“I know,” she said. “He manipulates people.”
Thinking that was the end of it, I could feel myself becoming tense again. I couldn’t allow her to let him off that easy.
But then she surprised me by glaring hard at him, while telling me, “Brad, can you give me a moment alone with my brother?”
“Sure,” I said, leaving the room.
I closed the kitchen door behind me.
Barely a second had passed when the real blow up started.
“How dare you do that to me?”
“I was trying to help you, Soph.”
“Help me? I’m happy, Ollie. Brad makes me happy.”
“Right now, maybe. But you’re young and naïve.”
“No. You don’t get it. You want to know why I came back here? Because I was lost, Ollie. Lost. Because of Jake, because of everything. But Brad helped me to get that back. To get me back. Without even knowing it. Why? He knows me, Ollie. The real me. He always has. And he accepts all of me—faults and everything. He doesn’t try to change me. He doesn’t try to manipulate me. He loves me—unconditionally. And I love him, too. We bring out the best in each other. We push each other. We get each other. And, most of all, we fix each other just by being together. You say you want the best for me? Well, I already have it—with him.”
“Soph, he’s not...he’s too much like me.”
“What?”
“He’s rooted here. If you stay together, that will happen to you. I want more for you, sis.”
“Is that what this is all about?”
“A lot of it, yeah.”
“No one will stop me from any of that, Ollie. Give me some credit.”
“So, you’re not planning on staying here with him then?”
“He hates this town and now you’ve ruined his reputation, I don’t see how he can stay now anyway.”
“Oh.” There was a pause, before he went on. “You know he almost killed his father, right? He’s violent.”
“He would never hurt me.”
“What about when you piss him off?”
“It’s already happened many times.”
“And?”
“And…we yell at each other, like any other couple.”
“Huh, well…I….”
I stepped back from the door and walked away into the living room.
I slumped down on the couch as I thought about everything that’d been said between the two of them, trying to process it all. I decided to put a pin in Ollie’s comments about me being violent. I’d deal with that another time. No need to get more worked up. My damn hands were still shaking as it was.
I sighed heavily and rested my head back against the couch.
Hearing her talk about me like that sent a warmth through me that I hadn’t felt since the first time she’d told me she loved me.
After her reaming me out months ago for being closed off, I’d been very open with her about how I’d felt from that day on. I had no reservations when it came to that.
But she had. She’d always been a little hesitant and out of her element when it came to all of that relationship stuff. But in the kitchen, she’d basically bared her soul to Ollie and confirmed how I’d thought she felt about the two of us. Finally actually hearing it soothed me in a way I’d never felt before.
I’d always been very aware of her being a few years younger than me and being far less experienced. But the way she’d discussed possibly moving away from the city and following her own path without being influenced by anyone—not even me—had me rethinking her level of maturity. Not to mention, that knot in my stomach that’d been plaguing me for the last few hours had now lessened considerably as I’d heard her talk to Ollie about her plans.
After the shit that’d gone down with Jake, though, I’d have to wait on telling her my big news.
Despite her bravado in the kitchen and acting like she hadn’t been the least bit affected by being cornered by that asshole in her own home, I knew her. It’d affected her all right. She’d probably drop her bravado later when I took her home with me and things were calmer.
Chapter 27
~Sophie~
“Closer,” Brad murmured, his voice rough with exhaustion.
I chuckled and scooted closer to his side of the king-sized bed and rested my head on his shoulder. He groaned in protest, apparently still not satisfied. He took matters into his own hands, wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tightly against his muscular chest.
“Better?” I asked, amused at his neediness for me. I wasn’t going to lie; I loved it.
“Much,” he said, kissing the top of my head chastely.
After my talk with Ollie earlier, the three of us had actually managed to sit down to dinner together. Ollie had brought back pizza after all. I’d thought he’d just made that up as an excuse to leave me and Jake alone, or something, but it’d turned out he’d been serious about it. Oddly enough, it’d been his suggestion for the three of us to have a meal together. I hadn’t been sure what his motive had been.
On the one hand, I wanted to believe it was his attempt at a peace offering and his way of demonstrating that he would accept mine and Brad’s relationship. But in reality, I highly doubted that idealistic notion. Judging by the way he’d barely spoken a word to Brad and focused all the conversation on me, it seemed his plan had been to feel out the dynamic between Brad and I. It’d seemed like he’d wanted to observe us together and make sure Brad was living up to what I’d told Ollie about him during our private conversation.
Well, even a fake peace was better than nothing. Beggars really couldn’t be choosers.
Brad had been amazing. If he’d been agitated or uncomfortable during dinner, he hadn’t shown it. Like Ollie, he’d focused his attention solely on me in a bid to avoid agitating Ollie in any way.
I still couldn’t believe that Jake had had the audacity to actually show up at my house like that.
I’d lied to the boys when they’d barged into the house. I hadn’t been fine at all. And I still wasn’t. But seeing the fear all over both their faces had forced me to lock it up in front of them and put on a cool and collected façade.
Yeah, I’d managed to fight back and actually come out on top with Jake. But it had still shaken me up; something that I could barely admit to myself. I hadn’t wanted it to affect me at all. I didn’t want to be weak like that. But taking my fists to someone and dealing with that much aggression and violence had been a lot to take. Being with Brad and Ollie right after and through dinner had done a lot to distract me from it.
But as I looked at Brad, who had fallen asleep, there was no distraction left to hide behind. I had no choice but to hear my own thoughts.
I carefully extricated myself from Brad’s hold and climbed out of bed.
I tiptoed down the hall to the bathroom and closed the door quietly. I breathed a heavy sigh as I lowered myself onto the closed toilet seat.
Flashes of that predatory look in Jake’s eyes assaulted me. His fist coming at me. The way he’d slammed me against the wall and threatened to teach me a lesson.
I was too tired and burned out emotionally to be able to fight back against the memories and they overwhelmed me with ease.
Before I knew it, I had my head in my hands as I sobbed like a damn baby. I couldn’t stop. Maybe it was the shock finally catching up with me, or maybe it was because I’d repressed it for too long and it was biting me in the ass.
I jumped as I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.
I looked up through my tears to see Brad kneeling in front of me.
I tried to move away. I didn’t want him
to see me in a state and I definitely didn’t want to talk about it.
To my surprise, he seemed to understand that.
He didn’t say anything.
Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and just held me quietly as I cried. It was like he’d expected it, or something. Unlike most guys, he didn’t seem the least bit put off by me blubbering right in front of him.
“I was scared,” I mumbled.
“I know, princess,” he whispered in my ear.
“I’m weak…pathetic….”
He pulled back and took my face in his hands gently, forcing me to look at him. His expression was pained as he shook his head. “You were brave. You used what I’d taught you and you stopped him.”
“But—”
“You took on someone a lot bigger than you, Soph. Someone who had hurt you before. Of course you felt fear. It doesn’t make you weak. It makes you smart. You, my little princess, are anything but weak. I knew you were shaken up earlier, but you were hiding it.”
“You knew? So, you weren’t really asleep then?”
He shook his head. “I was waiting.”
“For me to break down like a child?”
He wiped my tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “For you to let it out.”
A sudden thud coming from the front door downstairs startled both of us.
It sounded again and again, each one louder and more aggressive than the previous one.
I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I heard voices as well.
Brad got to his feet and took my hand.
His expression was blank and completely unemotional. I had no idea what he was thinking at all. He seemed completely calm as well.
He led me back into the bedroom.
“Go to sleep,” he told me softly, grabbing my hips and lifting me onto the bed.
He snatched his jeans up off the floor and pulled them on, along with his socks. He smiled at me reassuringly as he slipped on a white ribbed t-shirt. He crossed to his closet and pulled out a pair of black steel-toed boots. He slipped them on and then headed for the bedroom door. The pounding on the front door continued, but he barely reacted to it. He moved fluidly and efficiently, but he didn’t rush in any sort of panicked haste.
“Stay here. I won’t be long.”
“No! Brad, what are you doing?”
He held up his hand, willing me to stay where I was. “To deal with this.”
“No, we should call the cops.”
“The town is entrenched in a snow storm. It would take them a long while to get here. It’s nothing to worry about. Probably just some kids fucking about.”
“It’s happened before then?”
“Yep.”
Before I could analyze his expression to see whether he was bullshitting me or not, he turned away and walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
“Stay in here,” he called through the door. “I mean it, Soph. Do you hear me, darlin’?”
“Yes,” I called back.
***
Probably just some kids fucking about. That was the lie I’d told her.
Like hell, it was. The pounding on the door was too persistent for that.
I had a pretty good idea of exactly what the hell it was. But I wouldn’t know for sure until I opened the door.
I headed down the stairs and that was when I heard the cursing and shouting. I heard Soph’s name several times as well, before I made it to the lobby.
I unlocked the door and hauled it open quickly to find a guy on my doorstep being flanked by two others.
All of them looked like a bunch of trumped up frat boys. Khakis and overpriced sports jackets filled my vision. The one up front had a black eye and several blood-red scratches etched into his face. She really did a number on him. Wow. Good girl.
It was him.
“Jake,” I growled.
He glowered up at me. “Bartender,” he said, with as much disgust as he could possibly cram into that one word.
His gaze swept over me erratically and I saw a brief flash of fear as he took in my size. But he quickly bolstered himself by eyeing his two preppy backups behind him for reassurance. Fucking pussy.
I glanced past him briefly. Most of the lights of the houses across the street were on and several people were gathered on their porches watching the little performance. Great. More fuel to add to the fire of my already stellar reputation. It was around two in the morning and Jake and his buddies had been making a fuck load of noise by yelling and pounding on my door. No wonder half the street was awake.
I glared at Jake.
The strain of keeping my cool was already wearing on me and I’d barely been in his presence for a couple of minutes.
I had a fierce fucking hatred for men who beat on women.
I’d spent my entire childhood around my dad who’d been exactly the kind of asshole that Jake was—until I’d stopped him with my fucking fists and scared him off for good.
And the fact that the pussy in front of me had touched my girl, was ripping right through me and calling to the beast inside. I wanted nothing more than to pound him into the fucking ground. It was actually causing me physical pain to hold back and keep my shit in check.
But I knew if I didn’t, then I might not be able to pull it back.
Ever since that day with my dad I’d avoided all fights at all costs. With Crazy Claire’s husband, I’d let him beat the crap out of me just to avoid it. And when Ollie had attacked me at the fair a few weeks back, I’d barely responded. After losing my shit once with my dad and almost killing the prick, I was more than a little gun-shy. I didn’t trust myself. Despite my mom’s insistence that I wasn’t actually my dad—a man who reveled in violence and got off on it—I was still afraid that maybe I was.
And that was why, as I glared at Jake and his buddies, I said, “You have ten seconds to get off my property, before I call the cops.”
Expecting that to be enough to scare off a bunch of preppy rich kids, I was surprised when he laughed and said, “Cops? You think I’m gonna piss my pants over that threat? Do you have any idea who I am? Who my family is? No one can touch me, bartender.”
So that was why Soph had never reported what he’d done to her then? The asshole was protected.
“We’re not in your city now, boy,” I warned him.
He stood his ground. “I know she’s in here. Hand her over and there won’t be any trouble.”
“Judging by the state of your face, she’s already made it damn clear that she doesn’t want anything to do with you. Walk away.”
“She’s my fiancé!” he yelled, in an explosion of temper.
Wow, this guy really is a crazy-ass piece of work. I took a step towards him and growled, “She is mine.”
“She’s just slumming it with you. I guess she was craving a bit of white trash cock.”
I stepped further onto the porch, shutting the front door behind me, so Soph couldn’t hear his disgusting, crass comments.
The idiot wasn’t done though. He went on, “You can take the girl away from the trash, but you can’t take the trash out of the girl, right?” he said, smirking at me.
My fists clenched. I was losing control. “Go,” I snarled. Last chance.
“She’s mine, not yours. She’s my property.” He stepped closer and pulled the trigger, “And she’s got my marks on her to prove it. She’ll have more when I get her home and remind her of exactly who she belongs to and what’s expected of her in my world.”
And that was it.
I snapped.
Control shattered.
I smashed my fist into his face, a brutal right hook that sent him staggering back down my porch steps.
It wasn’t nearly enough.
The beast was out.
I strode down the steps and fisted my left hand in his expensive shirt. “You laid your hands on my girl! Hurt her! You piece of shit!” My right fist slammed into his gut. He tried to double over but I held him up by his shirt
. “You think you can come after her now, you fucker? You think that makes you a man? You’re a fucking pussy, just like all men who beat on their women! You wanna know how it feels?” I plunged my fist into his gut again. I released him roughly and he collapsed onto my snow-covered yard.
Having finally recovered from their shock at my sudden attack, his two friends lunged at me, trying to drive me down. I threw my elbow back, clocking one of them right in the fucking eye.
I turned into the other one and gripped his shoulders. With an incensed roar, I hauled him across the yard. He cried out as he crashed into the fence, tearing part of it down at his impact.
I was vaguely aware of the one I’d elbowed, coming at me again. I was too caught up in the throes of rage to give much of a crap about taking a couple of pussy-assed hits from him as I turned my attention back to Jake.
“Get up!” I bellowed. I didn’t hit guys on the ground. That wasn’t how real men fought their battles.
As he struggled to his feet, I took a hit to my ribs from his buddy. I barely felt it. I was on a fucking mission and his attack was more irritating than painful.
I was about to take the asshole out for good, when his weight was suddenly lifted off me.
What the fuck?
I turned to see Ollie hauling him across the yard. He gave me a chin lift. I’ve got your back.
The shock of Ollie actually backing me up, instead of telling me to stand down and giving me shit for beating on some guys, distracted me from the fight for a few seconds.
A white-hot pain burned my right bicep.
Instinctively, I threw my hands out.
My gaze snapped to Jake who was staggering back, clutching a blade in his hand. Some sort of flip knife. The psycho carried a blade on him? He was like a fucking gangbanger. Insane. He just fucking stabbed me!
His eyes were wild as he screamed, “She’s a slut! A slut who likes it rough! My boys and I are gonna beat you and her brother into the ground and then I’ll really mark her.” He waved the blade erratically. “You won’t be able to touch her again without seeing my permanent marks on her!”
I didn’t think it was possible to reach another level of rage until I heard his crazed rant. His despicable threats to my girl.
