Him and Varsha are sitting on a bench a few feet away from me, enjoying protein bars that they didn’t pay for, and watching me get my ass kicked by Jayce.
I swallow and run a hand over my sweaty face. “I didn’t…” I sigh. “I didn’t fuck her.”
“So what, you just took a whiff of her cunt and wished her goodbye?” Varsha bites out.
“Careful,” I warn her, and watch as shock takes over her features.
“Ledge, come on,” Alex urges. “You can literally haveanygirl in Riverside – one who’s way prettier than Cignette; one who comes with zero target signs aimed at your back. Have you even thought about that?”
I glare at him. “Fuck pretty,” I tell him.
“We don’t want your head served on a silver platter, asshole,” Jayce says. “We fucking care about you. Unlike Cignette, who won’t give a single shit if you disappear from her life, we can’t lose you.” He swallows. “Because we’ll be damn near aimless without you.”
“So you know her well enough to know what she does, and doesn’t, give a shit about,” I state.
“I don’t,” Jayce seethes, “but neither doyou, Ledge. Where the hell’s your commonsense?” He throws a punch at me, but I duck and pivot to the side.
“That woman isknownfor fucking around with random men,” he adds. “We saw proof of it yesterday – with Gavin. She doesn’t even care that he’s in a relationship. Do you really wanna risk your neck for someone like her?” He goes in for another punch, and I lean back to avoid it. But, as I move forward again, he uses his other hand to clock me right in the nose.
I taste blood before I actually feel it dripping down my nostrils. I press the back of my wrist over it, and groan when that action results in pain to course through my septum.
Jayce smirks at me, which makes me clench my jaw.
I put my left foot forward and drive a punch in his direction, and it connects – quite perfectly, if I do say so myself – with his mouth.
I grin, then spit blood on the ground, just as Jayce does the same, hissing at the fresh cut on his bottom lip.
“Punch him in the dick, babe!” Alex calls out to Jayce, which makes him chuckle.
“Choke on your damn protein bar, Alex,” I say to him.
“With pleasure,” he chimes, then pretends to deep-throat his half-eaten protein bar.
Varsha rolls her eyes at him, whereas Jayce simply shakes his head.
I’m about to do the same, but end up stumbling when Jayce hits me again.
“Fuckinghell, man.” I cup my jaw when it throbs from the impact. “Are you trying to break my face or something?”
He shrugs, then moves again, but I parry his blow with a jab to his stomach.
He coughs, but doesn’t stop to catch his breath. He’s in my personal space so quick, that I have to get out of his way haphazardly in order to avoid getting hit by him again.
Back and forth we go – punch, duck, parry; jab, crouch, evade. But I’m out of breath, and so is Jayce. My body hurts, and I know for a fact that his does, too. So, when he comes at me again, I use what little strength I have to knock him in the face, which results in him to fall to the ground.
He’s on his side, already trying to get up, but I slump onto the floor in front of him. “Don’t even try,” I all but pant, then close my eyes for a brief moment, take a slow breath, and then glance at Alex and Varsha.
The former is staring at his husband in concern, whereas the latter is looking at me with disappointment on her face.
Jayce sits up and brings his knees in front of him. He then places his forearms on them and shoots me a glare.
I mimic his position and wipe my bloody nose again. “I thought you guys, of all people, would get it – getme.” I push my damp hair away from my forehead. “It’s not like I go ‘round chasing chicks on a daily. Hell, I wasn’t even looking for any of this, but it just happened, and now I can’t fucking stay away from her.”
“We’ve got no issue with you chasing chicks, Ledge,” Varsha tells me. “But what wedohave a problem with is the fact that the one you’re after, is a walking, talking death trap.”
“And, need I remind you that Chase Adler is one of our clients – a top-tier one, at that. Fucking around with his family will cost you your life,” Jayce adds.
I clench my fists and sneer at him. “My life, oryours?” I regret saying those words the second they leave my mouth, especially when I see the hurt on Jayce’s face.
