“Go check on the kids,” I tell Shanice while staring at Joel. “I’ll come get you all when he’s gone.”
Instead of waiting for my daughter to listen, I nudge her back inside and then slide my feet into the pair of tennis shoes, before closing the door behind me.
“You’re Jake, I assume,” Joel says as I slowly approach him as if he’s a wild animal who’ll snap the neck of his prey if I move too quickly.
“G-G-Get o-off m-me,” Jake pleads.
Who’s stuttering now?I should be ashamed of my thoughts, but then I remember the vile way he just yelled at Shanice and I can’t work up the energy for shame.
All I can wonder is,Has he ever spoken to her like that before she found him in bed with another woman?The thought causes my heart to ache for my baby girl.
“Answer the question, boy!” Joel shakes Jake’s broad five-foot-eleven body like he’s nothing more than a piece of hay.
“Yess, J-Jake,” he replies.
“Good.” Joel nods. “I like to know the names of the people I kill.”
That’s when my eyes go wide and I step forward. But a hand on my arm stops me. I look up to see Micah staring down at me. His eyes are hard, unyielding.
“No,” he says between clenched teeth. “Let him.” It’s not quite a question but not quite a command. I can tell he’s holding himself back.
A glance between Micah and his brothers reveals the same level of anger. They all want a piece of Jake. These are the boys Joel, my Joel, raised into men.
I know they, themselves, would never speak to a woman the way Jake just did, let alone put a hand on one. And they would kill for their wives.
I turn back to Joel just in time to watch him lower his face to Jake’s, which puts a halt to his squirming and trying to break free of the hold he’s in.
“The one thing you’ve got going for you is that my lady is standing right here and the last thing I want her to see is for all of these pretty Christmas decorations she’s put up to be stained with your blood. Not on Christmas Eve.”
“It might match the decorations, though,” Gabe says, his tone just as cold as his father’s.
Joel responds to that with a grunt.
“My youngest might be on to something,” he says, and then grabs a handful of Jake’s hair and none-too-gently yanks his head back.
“What do you think? Would your insides match the decor my lady and her girls put up? Should we find out?” He yanks Jake’s head again, almost giving me whiplash.
“N-N-No, please,” Jake begs.
“Please? Now you want to beg when just moments ago you were asked to leave this house and you decided to get violent instead. What happened?”
Another yank, and this time Jake cries out.
I look around the neighborhood, wondering if anyone else is seeing what’s happening. Most of our neighbors are inside of their homes.
“Is it because you were talking to two women and you thought you could intimidate them?” Joel asks.
He doesn’t reply.
“Answer me, boy, before I snap your neck right here and now.”
“N-N-N-N—” Joel gives him another violent shake. “No!”
“Fucking liar. But since I don’t want my lady or her daughter to waste any more time on the likes of you tonight, let me tell you what you’re going to do. My eldest has already called one of his team to come pick you up.
“Don’t shake your head,” Joel orders. “All you need to do right now is listen real good. Is that clear?”
Jake nods.
