bruised knuckles, bare heart
DUKE
A scream slicesthrough the night like a damn rifle shot. The table goes silent and every muscle in me locks up. For a second, my mind refuses to accept what I just heard.
Then the sound hits me again—raw, desperate, and it’s Roxanne.
My shoes hammer against the gravel, heart jackhammering in my chest. I round the corner of the kitchen, and the outdoor light throws everything into sharp relief.
Garrett’s got both arms around her middle, dragging her toward the tree line. Roxanne’s fighting like hell, kicking, shoving, clawing at his hands. For one heartbeat, she’s weightless as he lifts her clear off the ground.
“GET OFF HER!” I roar.
Garrett sets her down on her feet just as I launch a full-speed tackle, shoulder-first, straight into Garrett’s ribs. He hits the ground hard, and I’m already on top of him, fists flying. He tries to block me and though my vision blurs from anger, I still get in a few cracks. Garrett swears and lands a punch in our scuffle, but all I’m seeing is red.
“Duke!”
Rusty’s voice thunders in the air and suddenly, arms are pulling me back. Topper. Rusty. Maybe Leo. I barely register what’s happening. My fists are still clenched. My chest is heaving.
Garrett’s sprawled out in the dirt, gasping with his nose bleeding.
Topper yanks him up by the collar of his shirt. “What did you do? What the fuck did you do?”
Topper shouts while I wipe the blood from my cheek. Rusty and Stedman both pull Topper away and grab Garrett by each arm.
“Call his parents,” I rasp as I cross the lawn to Roxanne. “I want him out of here, now!”
Allie and Millie comfort Roxanne and give me space when I wrap my arms around her. “Are you okay?” I ask. Every part of me is still coiled tight, but my pulse calms slightly when she hugs me. Her breathing starts to slow as I fold myself around her.
My heart’s still pounding so loud I can barely hear anything else. The whole world narrows down to the sound of her voice, the smell of her skin, the heat of her beneath my hands.
“I’m okay,” she says, her voice shaky.
I release her and frame her face between my palms. “What did he do?”
“Nothing. I might have a bruise or two, but?—”
“That’s two bruises too many,” I say. “I’m so sorry, Roxanne.”
“Don’t be. I’m alright.”
“You sure?”
She nods, and something clicks in my chest, like a lock turning. Like a door I didn’t know was closed, just swung wide open.
Fuck, Iamin love with her.
Officially, maddeningly, and stunningly.
That doesn’t even make sense, but I don’t give a damn if it doesn’t, that’s how I feel.
Man, this woman has got me, and I will burn the whole goddamn world to the ground before I let anything touch her again.
I blink when Thatcher checks in on us. “Stedman, Millie, and I will wait with Garrett until his parents get here.”
I nod. “Yeah, thanks.”
Roxanne pulls away when Leo and Allie touch her back softly. “I’m going to head back to the house.” She catches the look on my face and reaches for my hand. It feels like a gut punch to be away from her for a second at this point.
