Fuckface, now drunk as a skunk, stumbled out of the bar.Alone. There was a lack of lighting in the parking lot, except for a run-down lamppost that pulsed every few seconds, but I recognized his chin-length hair and ugly red sweater.
And his car was parked right behind mine.
It’s like the universe was giving me the greenlight to teach him the most important lesson:don’t touch my girl unless you want a new face and your spleen ripped out.
He hadn’t seen me yet as he swayed to the driver’s door. I took that as my cue. Not only did he deserve a beating for touching Ella, but the moron was about to drive drunk.
I pushed off the brick wall, put out my cigarette, and asked him, “What do you think you’re doing?”
His head snapped up and he swivelled around. It wasamusing watching him search for the source of my voice in the darkness. “W-Who’s there?”
Your grim reaper. “I asked you a question, asshole.”
I stepped out of the shadows and his eyebrows comically rose to his hairline. “Who the fuck are you?”
“If you don’t answer my question in the next five seconds, I’m the man who’s about to drive his fist through your face.”
Fuckface’s expression morphed from shock, horror, and then to pure disbelief. Despite his obvious drunkenness, he had gall, throwing his hands up in a fighting stance like he actually had the skills to take me on. “You don’t want to mess with me, bro. My daddy is a lawyer.”
I grinned savagely. “Andmydaddy is a murderer.”
Then I punched his jaw, sending him flying backwards on his ass. His body hit the ground with a sickening crunch. I yanked him up by his collar and planted a few more hits.
Every time my fist connected against his face, my bloodthirst ramped up. Hearing his loud whimpers go mute and seeing his skin split into a crimson mess was instant gratification.
No one touched my girl without permission and walked away as a free man.
No. Fucking. One.
My reputation preceded me and after tonight, he and his so-called lawyer daddy would know to never mess with a goddamn Remington. We liked to hold vendettas and we were not afraid of getting revenge on those who wronged us.
Wrapped up in my task, I heard Ella’s familiar gasp.
The red haze surrounding me slowly evaporated.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw her standing to my right.
Expression blank. Eyes unreadable. Stunning as ever.
Fuckface’s body went limp in my hands and I dropped him like a sack of potatoes. Touching two fingers to his pulse confirmed he was still alive. Just unconscious. Good enough fornow.
I straightened and dusted my hands over my suit jacket to remove any wrinkles. “Ah, princess.” I smiled. “Fancy seeing you here.”
There was nobody outside except for us. Our steady breaths broke the dead of the night.
“What are you doing?” Ella enunciated, trying her utmost best to hide her emotions from me.
It was futile when I was so attuned to her. I knew what made her sad, what made her laugh, what made her cry, and every little thing in between.
And right now? She was practically vibrating with rage despite her mask. The tightening of her knuckles was a telltale sign.
“We were practicing our fighting skills.” I gestured to the idiot’s unconscious body. “Naturally, I won.”
Ella grabbed my arm and pushed me aside, wedging herself between me and fuckface to inspect the damage.
“Have you lost your mind?” she bit out. “What were you thinking beating the shit out of him, Cade?”
The only thing I could concentrate on, in this split second, was that my ex-girlfriend was touching me. Willingly. And how my heart pumped faster with joy.
