“What?” He shrugs, feigning innocence. “I’m just saying if his father learned that sooner, he might still be here.”
“Jeff!” She gasps.
I taste blood on the inside of my cheek from how hard I’m gnawing on it.
Don’t take the bait. Don’t take the bait.
Someone can talk about me all they want, and I won’t flinch. But if you talk about my family, nine times out of ten we’re fighting. Just thisonetime, I’m trying to be good. I agreed to let Jay handle this.
Tyler made no such promise. With a growl, he lunges.
I catch him in time, stiff arming his chest to hold him back. “Hey, hey, easy, easy. Calm down. He’s not worth it.”
Tyler’s shoulders heave in fury at Jeff’s disrespect of his fallen alpha.
“Hey! Focus on me,” I say as an alpha command.
Tyler rips his gaze from Jeff, and the stinging lasers of his eyes tells me exactly how much he hurts.
With a calm voice, I acknowledge the hurt and with a heavy heart, I mindlink him,“I know. But we have a unique opportunity to see where our prisoner on probation handles herself. Let’s see how she does with it.”
For half a second, he squints in confusion, but ultimately, like a good beta, he resigns and trusts his alpha.
“Keep it together.”
Tyler takes a deep breath and nods vigorously.
Once he’s calm, I remove my hand from him, and he collects himself.
“Aw, man. My bad, that wasn’t cool,” Jeff says sarcastically. His friends snicker behind him. “I’m sure you miss him.”
My nostrils flare. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. When I open them, I tilt my head to Jay. Jay has about five more seconds before I take matters into my own hands. I send an impatient growl her way, and she nods, receiving this message loud and clear I won’t tolerate another infraction.
Jeff’s voice drops low in a suggestive threat. Dipping his chin, he grins sinisterly. “Are you seeking a reunion?”
That’s it.
I lunge, then skid to a stop as Jay spins and cracks him in the chin with a vicious right hook.
His head whips to the right at the impact and a tooth flies out of his mouth.
Based on how hard sheaccidentallyhit me earlier, I’m not surprised something cracks when it’s on purpose.
“Ooh!” Tyler’s fist flies to his mouth, and he jumps for joy. “I know that hurt.”
Jeff’s hands don’t fly to his face like a normal would after withstanding such a blow. His eyes are wide from the shock to his system, and his body goes limp. Unconscious, he falls.
Holy shit. I think I’m in love.
His men rush to his side, slapping his face, trying to wake him up. “Shit, Jay. You’d hit your own?” one says, judging her.
“Ah,” she exhales loudly, inspecting her reddened knuckles and then shakes them out. “Don’t start with me, Brett. He had it coming.”
Brett instructs, “Come on, let’s stand him up.”
“Take him and go. I don’t need rescuing.”
With a right hook like that, I’m inclined to agree with her.
