Chapter 24
Memphis knew better than to follow this Eric guy back to his car, but he wasn’t about to stop himself. He hadn’t finally scored the woman of his dreams only to have her ripped out of his arms by some jerk from her past. Who cared whether that jerk happened to be Lucas’s bio dad? At this point, he was nothing more than a sperm donor.
Guys like Eric sailed through life with their own selfish agenda, not sparing a thought for those who might drown in their destructive wake. This guy had snake written all over him.
And just how long had he been trying to weasel his way back into Ty and Lucas’s life? Weeks? Months? Had he been calling and texting her on the side? It didn’t seem like Ty to hide such a thing from him, but perhaps she’d want to spare Memphis the worry about her ex barreling back into her life and disrupting everything.
Memphis let out a short, high-pitched whistle as the guy slowed beside a rented BMW.
Eric stopped short, spun around, and glanced about until he spotted Memphis closing the gap between them in the lot. Enlightenment spread over his face with the lift of a brow and an amused grin. “Hey there,buddy. What can I do for you?”
Heat burned in Memphis’s chest. “Just what kind of game are you playing here?”
Eric’s face scrunched. He glanced from one side to the next before setting a perplexed look back on Memphis. “I don’t…know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do. How long have you been talking to Ty?”
Something flickered over Eric’s face, maybe confusion? But he wiped it off quick. “None of your business.”
“Did she tell you about me?” Memphis took another step closer. “Because if shedid,you’d know that itisin fact my business.”
“She didn’t even mention you until today,” Eric quipped. “Just a minute beforeour soncame running up to us.”
Memphis balled his hands into hot fists at his side. Why hadn’t Ty told Eric about him before he came all the way out here to Haven Hills?
“Just man up and tell me what your intentions are. You’renotgetting Ty back, that’s for sure.”
Now Eric was the one to shuffle forward the slightest bit while he held Memphis’s gaze. “How can you be so sure?” he said, putting an edge on his voice. “Tell me something, have you ever…spent time on her massage table before?”
Memphis gave him a slight head shake. Lips tight. Eyes pinned on him.
“Ihave. Just a few hours ago, Ty had her hands all over me. And let me tell you, it washot.”
Rage roared through him so hard it hurt. And suddenly, Memphis was doing something about it. Or at least, his fist was. The action was so fast and furious, it took evenhimby surprise.
Memphis wasn’t the fist-throwing type. He’d spent his adolescent years frowning down on the chest-puffing, hall-brawlers who picked fights. Likewise, he looked down on the kids who’d rise to the slightest offense or instigation. But every once in a while, he witnessed an uprising. A kid who’d been bullied one too many times. Someone who’d been pushed a little too far. Those were the fights Memphis could get behind. Justice. Retribution. Some good old fashioned payback.
This creep abandoned Lucas before he was even born. He left Ty in her greatest time of need—after he’d sworn to care for her forever. And now he was trying to march back into their lives? Not if he could stop him.
Half satisfied, half shocked by his own fury, Memphis tuned in to each part of the action as he decked him.
The jarring impact of Eric’s cheekbone against his knuckles.
The sharp rotation of Eric’s head as it flew back from the impact.
Eric stumbling to regain his footing.
Adrenaline surged hard through Memphis’s form as he prepared for Eric’s retaliation.
Eric braced himself on his car and looked up at him, a spark of triumph in his eyes. He coughed out one hard chuckle and smeared a hand over his cheek.
“Touchy, touchy.” he tsked. “I get it. You’re pissed because you’re probably not getting any. Trust me, if anyone knows how Ty is, it’s me. I had to put a ring on it first. By the looks of your pent-up frustration, I’d say you’re dealing with the same thing.”
“You don’t know anything about me, and you don’t know anything about Ty.” He looked him up and down. “Heck, you don’t even know your own son. What kind ofmanare you, anyway?”
Now it was Eric’s turn to lunge.
Memphis ducked, hard and fast, just missing the left hook Eric had coming for him. A lefty; he hadn’t expected that. But he’d spent a lot of time throwing punches with Maverick in the boxing ring. He could handle—
