Page 36 of Double Take

“I did no such thing.” He jerks his shoulder, trying to dodge my grip, and winces when I don’t let go.

“You did.” My teeth grind together as my grip intensifies.

“Fuck.” His eyes flash with pain and anger. “Let me go before I call the cops.”

“Call them.” I shrug but drop my hand from his shoulder. Axel would frown on me, escalating the situation unnecessarily.

He rubs the spot I gripped while trying to act like it isn’t going to leave a mark. It will. “You need to stay out of it. You don’t know this woman.”

“Who am I, really?” Rylee stands and braces her hands on her hips. “Because I’m done being your punching bag.”

“Don’t you dare go around telling people I hit you.” His jaw flexes as his hands ball into tight fists.

“Are you afraid people will see you in a bad light if they know the truth? Too bad. People deserve to know you aren’t the perfect husband and father you pretend to be in public.” Her chin goes out, and I fight back the urge to kiss her until her toes curl. “And you’ve punched me and shoved me more times than I can count. What do you think your friends at the bar would say if they knew you shoved Sunny into a wall?”

His eyes glitter with rage. “You’re my wife. You belong to me. And you won’t embarrass me in front of my friends. Ever.”

“Too late.” She smirks. “It looks like I did that already.”

“Bitch. You’re going to pay for this.”

The door swings open, and Axel fills the threshold. “Problems?”

His eyes scan the room, evaluating the level of force needed to end the situation. Unlike me, he’s a pacifist until it comes to Rylee or Sunny. And while I might be able to beat my brother in a boxing match, he can kick my ass in MMA any day of the week.

“No, we’re good.” Rylee straightens her back and glares at Mario. “My ex here was getting ready to sign the divorce papers and go about his life.”

“I–”

“Yes, you were.” My voice is low, leaving little in doubt. “Rylee belongs to us.”

Axel snaps the door shut, sits down his briefcase, and unbuttons his suit jacket. “And we don’t play well with others.”

“You’re a fucking whore. And for what? Two broke construction workers?”

After hanging up his suit coat, Axel raises his hands, palms facing upward. “This is our company, and you only have 10k in your bank account. And your parents have 50k. You have two mortgages on your house, and you have a mistress with whom you have two children.” He smirks. “Diamond, the multi-ethnic stripper, with a pay-to-watch social media page, a coke problem, and no green card. She makes more money than you do, but from what I’ve gathered, Mommy and Daddy would be appalled by all those facts.”

Mario’s mouth drops open. “How in the….” He peters out as he processes what Axel said. The clock ticks as he glares at us. The longer he stands there, the more concerned I become for his health. Not because I care what happens to him, but waiting for the ambulance to come will lengthen the time it takes to get him out of here.

I brace my hands on my hips. “If you want to lose everything, we’re ready to play hardball.”

“So that’s why you stayed married to me. As a front for your actual family.” She shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you went to all this trouble. But I guess it makes sense, as your father is the most prejudiced man I’ve ever met. He hated that you got me pregnant, a lowly poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks, so I can’t imagine how much he’d loath hearing about these kids.” She shoves out the papers. “Sign them.”

“Fine.” He scribbles his name on the line. “You can keep her.”

“Oh, we intend to.” I wink at Rylee as she snatches the pages off the desk and holds them to her chest.

“Disgusting.” He marches to the door and slams it behind him so hard that the windows rattle.

Rylee glares at Axel. “And what were you doing keeping all those juicy tidbits to yourself for?”

“I received Truman’s report an hour ago.”

“Oh….” Her eyes soften as he cups her cheeks.

“Now tell me thank you, and I love you.”

“Thank you both so much.” Her eyes shine with tears. “You’re too good to me, but I’m not going to sacrifice myself for your happiness.” She laughs, drops the papers on the desk, and flies into our arms. “I love you.”

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