“You think you’re smart?” he snarls. “You think you have me figured all out?”
“I think you’re a coward. Otherwise, you would have broken his hand yourself.”
Jeremiah’s hands land on my chest so fast I don’t have time to react. I stumble backward and catch myself against a van, parked on the street, then step forward again.
“I’m right,” I say through gritted teeth. “Only cowards hire thugs.”
He shakes his head slowly. I swear there’s murder in his eyes, and I worry that I calculated wrong and that he’ll just beat me without admitting what he’s done.
But I also know bullies. They can’t handle having their ego attacked.
Jeremiah looms over me and drops his voice to a growl. “Yeah, smartass, I had my boys break Stone’s hand. But that doesn’t mean I won’t break your own hand myself.”
My heart jumps, and I almost pump my fist with joy right there. He’s admitted it, and that means my plan has worked.
Then Jeremiah shoves me again, knocking me against the van. The joy rattles out of me as I gasp for breath, dull pain thudding against my back.
Okay, maybe I didn’t think the plan all the way through.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I gasp. “Not in front of the shop.”
Jeremiah glances around with a smirk. “Everyone’s gone home.” He spits on the ground beside us, then stares right into my eyes. “No cameras.”
His fist draws back. It’s like everything is in slow motion as he rears up to punch me. Countless fights from when I was in high school come surging back, and all my senses jump to full alert. I know I can’t take him, but as his fist comes down, I dart to the side, dodging just in time so his hand smashes against the van.
“Fucking hell,” he growls as I stumble to the side. “Now you’re dead.”
“We’ll see who’s fucking dead,” Stone declares.
I look up and almost burst into tears. My boyfriend is standing on the sidewalk behind us, more pissed off than I’ve ever seen him.
Jeremiah scoffs. “This skinny motherfucker with a broken hand.” He turns to face Stone and takes a fighting stance. “You think you can take me?”
Stone curls his lip into a snarl. “I don’t want to fight you, Jeremiah. Just get the hell out of here, and this can all be over.” He lifts his good hand, curled into a fist. “But if I do have to fight you, I’ll fucking win.”
I suck in a terrified breath as Jeremiah charges forward, swinging with both of his arms. Stone dodges to the side but still takes a fist to his chin. The force is enough to knock him off balance, but he bounces back, driving his good fist into Jeremiah’s gut.
Jeremiah grunts and stumbles back. Stone turns and spits blood on the ground, then steps between me and Jeremiah, protecting me.
“I told you, prick,” he tells Jeremiah, his voice steady and low. “I don’t want to fight.”
Jeremiah lurches forward, throwing his weight at Stone. Not able to move fast enough this time, Stone stumbles backward to the hard pavement and lands on his back with a grunt. Jeremiah raises one of his feet, and I realize he’s about to stomp his boot down onto my boyfriend’s good hand.
Panic shooting through me, I jump up. With all my strength, I kick the back of the leg Jeremiah stands on. There’s a loud popping noise I didn’t expect, and Jeremiah stumbles forward, collapsing on the pavement with a howl of pain.
Stone jumps up and takes me in his arms. He pulls me close, holding me to his chest.
Jeremiah struggles to his feet, all of his weight on the leg I didn’t kick. “Kill you,” he growls. A wild look in his eyes, he stares at the two of us, then winces and grabs his injured leg to steady himself.
I think he’s going to attack again, but before he can, Stone growls.
“Fuck you,” Jeremiah spits. Instead of fighting, he turns and hauls his big body away.
My heart is pounding, and I can barely process what just happened. Stone turns me and cups my cheek, then pulls me into a kiss. “Babe,” he whispers. “Babe, babe, babe. What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” I say, tears running down my cheeks. “I’m okay.”
“Thank god I forgot my wallet. If I hadn’t come back…” There’s pain in his eyes, and I kiss him all over his face, desperate to make him feel better.
