“You were supposed to be my friend. I trusted you. I took thefallfor you.”
He casually shrugged, like what I did for him hadn’t costed me our friendship. My family. My life. And now, he was here to take more. My reputation. My career. And possibly, Sadie.
The last one had me hurling myself at him. My feet kicked up grass as they dug into the ground. I tackled him down. A grunt escaped his gut at the impact. Sadie’s audible gasp got lost in the shouts of the nearby crowd gathering.
Anderson’s hands shoved at my shoulders, pushing at me. I kept my weight on him, trapping him. He thrust his knee up, pushing me off him. I rolled to the side as he clambered over me, his fist raised in the air before it came crashing down to my mouth. The impact made my teeth rattle. Immediately, the metallic taste of blood trickled against my tongue.
Sadie’s screams filled the air.
“Stop it! Get off of him!” She lunged forward, grabbing for Anderson’s jacket. She tugged at him, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Sadie! Go!” I commanded her. The last thing I needed was for her to get hurt. For the baby to get hurt.
The crowd around us had grown, gathering closer to see what was going on. Some were even cheering. Egging us on. Some had their phones out, no doubt taking pictures and videos for their own entertainment. Some looked terrified.
With my eyes on Sadie at his back, Anderson raised his fist again. I turned my head quickly, taking the impact with my jaw. A crack sounded through my skull as I bit back tears. Sadie clutched her stomach, backing away.
Anderson went for another strike, but I was ready this time.
Before he could land another blow, I blocked his hand with one arm as my other hand pounded into his stomach. His breath escaped him in one whoosh, as he fell into the grass beside me. He tried to roll away from me, holding his stomach, but I quicklyrose to my knees. I lifted my fist and pummeled his face into the grass, a crack sounding. The sound reverberated through my ears like a dull melody I had been longing to hear for years. I wanted to hear it again.
My fist met his eye, leaving his body writhing in the grass at the impact. The impact sent pain vibrating from my knuckles up my arm, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t done.
Sadie’s shrill, pleading screams met my ears. “Jeremiah! Stop it! Please!”
If only I could stop. My anger fueled me and nothing could put out the fire. Anderson looked up at me, blood dripping from his nose. The left side of his face red and the right covered in green grass. There was no remorse in his eyes. Just pure evil. And a small smile across his lips.
I knew then he would stop at nothing. He would never stop coming for me. For my job. For Sadie. I wouldn’t let him take everything away from me again. I wouldn’t let him takeheraway. I couldn’t lose her.
I raised my bloody knuckles for one final blow of redemption, but before I could deliver it, strong arms wrapped around mine, pulling me to my feet.
“All right, boys. Break it up,” a deep voice grunted, struggling to pull me.
I suddenly had flashbacks from that night all those years ago, when we came out of the alley to find the cops waiting for us. Was history repeating itself all these years later?
“Let go of me!” I yelled, trying to wriggle free. I looked on either side of me to see two men, grunting as they tried to hold on to me. Hold me back. Another pair of men held Anderson to the ground, in case he tried to retaliate. I spat blood in his direction as he was pulled to his feet. He shrugged the two men off of him and put his hands up in surrender. Watching me with that same smile, he brushed the grass off his suit.
“You stay the hell away from me!” I yelled, still struggling to get free from the solid grasps that held me.
He just chuckled before pushing his way through the crowd and disappearing behind the onlookers. I was shaking with adrenaline and rage. After a moment, the men let me go, backing away carefully. I took a long breath, running my hand through my hair. My mouth pulsed in pain and my knuckles hung sorely at my sides.
The crowd began to dissipate. The show was over. It was a wonder the cops hadn’t shown up. As the area emptied out, I looked up to see Sadie looking at me with a tight expression on her face. My eyes fell to the hand she had placed protectively over her stomach. My heart sunk to the bottom of the lake behind her. Had I just scared her away?
Meeting her unreadable green eyes, I drug my hand over my mouth, blood following its path. I winched slightly, pulling it away. She took a few worried steps toward me.
“Are you okay?” she asked, reaching up and touching my chin. Her eyes inspected my busted lip closely before she took my hand in hers, then inspected the bloody knuckles that would surely be bruised by tomorrow.
I nodded slowly.
“Let’s get you home,” she said softly, taking my other hand and intertwining her fingers with mine. Maybe I hadn’t scared her off after all.
Chapter 41
Sadie
Iled Jeremiah through the park, his arm draped over me as I supported him. His breathing was heavy and he limped slightly, but I kept carrying his weight the best I could. I kept a watchful eye out for Anderson as we weaved our way through the plush greenery, sticking to the winding sidewalks. We didn’t speak a word.
When we finally emerged from the park, the mid-afternoon sun beat down on us. People looked at us with a worried curiosity. I looked up at Jeremiah, his face bruised and caked with dried blood. We had to get out of here. I adjusted his arm around me and pulled him toward the curb, where I frantically held out my hand. A few cabs passed before one eased its way beside us.
