"Jamie, are you okay?" Nate's hesitant, as he should be. I'm coiled so fucking tight, I'm not even sure if I'm breathing.
A flare of rage jolts me from my trance, but I keep my body very still. I'm afraid that if I move, I'll lose control of my fisted hands.
My eyes drop to my phone, and I know without checking that my voicemail caught everything Ellis said and sent to Violet. She will know what they did. Her heart will be broken, and she will run from me. She'll hide away from me again.
"Violet will listen to that voicemail," I murmur, trembling with fear of the consequences.
Then Nate bolts forward. "See if you can delete it. Call her again. Something!"
My fist flies before the bastard can evenreachfor my phone. The crack of my knuckles hitting his cheek is so fucking satisfying, I could groan in delight. Cassidy's cry of fear is theonly thing stopping me from grabbing the front of his shirt as he crashes to the ground and nailing him with another.
"Fuck!" Nate curses, one knee on the ground, face etched in pain. Ellis scrambles forward and pries Nate's hand away from his cheek.
"You'll be fine," Ellis whispers, as if he's trying to be as small as possible. "Cass, do you have ice?"
The devil on my shoulder wants to deny them a cold compress, but my heart weeps seeing them in distress.
How...just fucking how could they want to hurt someone intentionally? Their actions will ruin the progress Violet has made to open up and grow. Yet, here I am,hatinghow I punched Nate.
Ellis peeks up at me, and I meet his red-rimmed eyes. To my surprise, he climbs to his feet and squares his shoulders. "If you want to hit someone, hit me. It was my idea. The revenge, keeping it a secret, all of it."
I'm vaguely aware of Cassidy giving Nate a bag of ice. He moves behind Ellis and tries to pull his partner away, but to Ellis' credit, he doesn't move. He's facing me head-on, ready for a beating. One he deserves. They both deserve it.
I would absolutely let my feral side out and punch him in the gut if he weren'tbeggingfor it. No. I'm not giving him what he wants. A punch would make him feel better. The victim should never be the one to make the villain feel better.
I'm the fucking victim here. Violet and I. They're on their own.
My pain, thoughts, and fears for Violet are enough for me to deal with. "You need to leave," I growl, physically stepping back from Ellis.
I watch, feeling sick to my stomach, as his face crumples. The devastation is back. He craves any form of my attention, but I'm not the one who can make him feel better about his choices.
"I—" Ellis croaks, and once again places his hand on his chest. He's one of the most closeted, vulnerable men I've ever met. And because of the ignorance of his extreme feelings, he's broken something special.
"We're not going anywhere," Nate declares resolutely.
I'm already bypassing their tense frames and heading for Cassidy. She's crying quietly and trembling in the kitchen. I need to help her before I do anything else. I scared her, and that'snotokay.
I don't care what the hell the other two do. As far as I'm concerned, Violet and Cassidy are my main concerns. The other two are just guilty noise.
"Hey, hun," I coo, bending a little so I'm not towering over her. "You okay?"
"I—what?" She blows out a breath and shakes her head. "Areyouokay, Jamie?"
Giving her a sad smile, I grab her hand gently and pull her to the stool at the kitchen island. "Not really. But you're shaking, so I'm going to make you some food. Pizza rolls?"
Her eyes light up at the mention of her beloved snack, and I breathe a sigh of relief.At least I'm good for something.
"Do me a favor and call Violet again, please?" I request as I pre-heat the oven. I keep my voice steady like I'm not scared out of my mind. Cassidy doesn't need me to make things even more tense.
She does as I ask, but is sent right to voicemail. When I turn around, I see Nate walking away from Cass, who now has a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
She looks at me with a frown. "Why didn't you punch him harder?"
A ball of emotion gets lodged in my throat when I see he also left my phone on the counter by Cassidy. "I may be hurt andangry and visually seem like someone who would want to kill them, but I have a soft heart. I care."
As I'm reaching a trembling hand for my phone, Cassidy whispers, "You're a good man, Jamie."
I just hope Violet feels the same way after listening to that message.
