His chest started heaving and his glare narrowed. “I guess it’s true then.”
I wasn’t going to ask what was true. That’s what he wanted. And my main goal was to tick him off as much as possible. Childish, yes. But I felt good about it.
He laughed and shook his head. “She kicked me out so she could move you in. Guess I wasn’t the only one cheating.”
I continued staring him down, laughing in my head. Let him think what he wanted.
He roared at my silence and stomped up to me until his dress shoes were kissing my boots.
I lowered my eyes to look down on him. All I could see was his thinning hair. “You’re getting some grays there, short stuff.”
He turned red all the way up into his receding hairline. Then he stepped back, the corners of his mouth turning up into an evil smile. Oh, he was changing tactics. Got it. The spoiled brat angle hadn’t worked, so that was probably a smart choice.
“You always did want Lemon, but you weren’t man enough for her.”
There was no way he knew that, nor had I ever done anything around Billy to make him think that. Until last night, I’d never, not once, slipped up and showed even a hint of my feelings for her. They’d always been completely under wraps. So this was just Billy building himself up.
I cocked an eyebrow, forced a yawn, and patted my mouth. “Whatever you say, Tiny Tim.”
I had to give him a point—eh, a half a point. Aside from his nostrils barely flaring, he kept his calm after that one.
His eyebrows flicked up, and he wore the cocky grin that probably won Clem over in the first place. I wanted to breakhis face.
“Enjoying my sloppy seconds?” he sneered. “Is that whore keeping you satisfied? She never did me.”
That did it. I clamped my hand around his neck, lifted him by the throat and sent him slamming onto his back. When he hit the ground, all the air wheezed out of his lungs like a popped balloon. I shoved my knee into his chest and hissed in his face. “Don’t you ever talk about her like that again! You think you’re a real man because you slept with the cashier at the Fast Mart? A real man doesn’t cheat on his wife during the funeral of her best friend! A real man makes a commitment to love a woman and keeps it his entire life, you pathetic twatwaffle! The only real achievement you’ve gained your whole pathetic life was probably catching every STD in the county.”
He gasped frantically, his eyes swimming.
I lifted him a few inches and slammed him back against the ground. His eyes widened, begging for mercy. He might get that from anyone else, but he wasn’t getting it from me. I dug my kneecap deeper into his collarbone, to make sure we were clear. “You didn’t deserve Clem when she married you, and you don’t deserve the quick divorce she’s trying to give you now. Youwillsign those papers or I will make sure she not only ruins your reputation, but takes half your salary for the next decade.” I squeezed his throat, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. “Do you understand me?”
He nodded vigorously. A tear rolled down his cheek and into his ear canal.
I lifted the pressure on his chest a touch, but not enough for him to get up. “And if you trespass again, we’ll get a restraining order.” I had zero right to make any of these threats, but he didn’t know that. I hoped he did think Clem and I were a couple now. Nothing could make me happier.
“Okay?” I shook him.
“Okay,” he rasped.
I stood up, enjoying watching him squirm and puff until the air filtered back into his lungs. My dad always taught me to fight fair. That was hard to do with a coward like Billy. The least I could do was help him up.
I reached down to offer him a hand. “All right, then.”
He shrunk back, suspicious and terrified. Then he rolled away, scampered to his feet, and tripped across the lawn until he got to his debt-mobile. As he drove by, his gaze flashed to me. I gave him a little wave and a toothy grin.
I stood there until I was sure he was gone, his taillights disappearing over the last hill as the sunset faded in the distance. Hopefully Clem wouldn’t be mad. I was just keeping a promise to my sister.
seventeen
CLEMENTINE
Silas held my hair back as I puked into the toilet. Super sexy.
Once I was done, I picked up the damp cloth he’d brought for me and wiped my mouth. “I really don’t want you to watch this.”
“You say that every morning.”
I inhaled carefully, making sure not to jolt my stomach. “And I mean it every morning.”
