Fred smiled, and the expression was a little lizard like. “Women scorned, no doubt. My client is a wealthy doctor and has often been the target of unscrupulous women.” His gaze flicked toGemma and back.
Jethro stiffened.
Her hold tightened on his hand.
Monty smiled. The guy was probably handsome to most, but Jethro could see beyond the veil. The guy had beefy hands. The idea that he’d used them on Gemma had Jethro’s chin lowering. It would take very little effort for him to crack the doctor’s hands and maybe just a couple of fingers.
Gemma elbowed him.
Monty watched the action and then turned his full attention on Jethro.“Who are you?”
“I’m the guy who’s trying really hard not to break your neck,” Jethro said, adding a smile at the end.
Gemma sighed and turned toward him. “What happened to my British professor who never lost his temper?”
He looked at her, seeing that her eyes were clear and determined. Her true blue eyes. “I’m trying. He’s still breathing, right?” Then, miracle of all miracles, she chuckled, shook her head, and looked back across the table.
He’d done that. He’d made her laugh when facing a true monster. Finally his shoulders relaxed.
Monty frowned. “I would like a moment alone with the mother of my child.”
“No,” Gemma said before Jethro could jump in again. “You do not get a moment alone. In fact, you do not get anything. We’re done.” Her voice was strong, with more than a hintof anger in it.
Monty leaned forward. “I will take you to court and get partial custody at the very least. You know I will.”
His attorney waved him back. “We’d like to make this as comfortable for the minor child as possible. The courts favor both parents being involved in a child’s life, and my client is a successful doctor who is engaged to be married. His life is stable and we will have witnesses lining up to testify as to how wonderful a father he would be.”
Scott tapped his fingers on the case file. “Your client is a woman beater who deserves to drown, and we’ll line up witnesses to say so.”
Monty turned his full focus on Gemma. “Is this what you want? A constant fight over a kid? Do you want me to have custody? I don’t care how long it takes. They’ll certainly give me supervised visitation, and someday you know I’ll be granted partial custody. Unless…”
Scott kept control of the room.“Unless what?”
“You and me, Gemma,” Monty said, his voice lowering. “Just one month together to see if we could work out.”
Her burst of laughter lifted the tension choking the space. “You have got tobe kidding me.”
“No,” Monty said, glowering.
Gemma chuckled. “You are batshit crazy, Monty Cameron. Aren’t you engaged?”
“She’s only a substitute for you,” Monty said, his gaze freakishly intense.
Jethro sighed. “Now can I break his neck?”
Scott shot him an irritated look. “My client is joking to dispel the tension in the room. Please disregard that last statement.”
“It was a question, not a statement,” Gemma said primly.
Jethro grinned.
Montyglared at her.
Jethrolost the grin.
Gemma sighed. “Here’s the deal. You are not going to be in our lives.” She freed her hand, partially stood, and planted both hands on the table, facing him squarely. “As of an hour ago, I have your brother on video admitting that you’ve beaten women and he’s patched them up on a regular basis without doing his legal duty to report the harm to the authorities.”
Both Jethro and Scott swiveled to watch her.This was news.
