Page 59 of Surrender

“Who do you think you are? Get your hands off my wife.” The guy leans forward, his threat clear in the slope of his spine and the curl of his fists. The problem is I don’t find him intimidating when I have at least four inches of height and twenty pounds of muscle on him.

“Your wife?” I growl, red flashing across my vision. I pull Whitney into my side, angling my shoulder to block as much of her as possible. “I don’t remember seeing you while she was beneath me, screaming my name and taking my cock the other night.”

Even beneath his full beard, his cheeks burn red. “You’re sick,” he spits.

“Between the two of us, buddy, that title is all yours.”

“I hate you,” Whitney seethes, and for a split second, I think she’s talking to me. My arm twitches around her. A flame licks hot beneath my ribs. “I fucking hate you, Devon. I never want to see you again.”

He throws his hands up at his sides. “I’m not just going to go away, Whitney. I’m right here. I’m not dead!”

She lunges forward again only to be trapped by my arms around her waist. “You ever hear of insurance fraud? You’re going to jail. Hopefully for a long time.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me. We can live off that money after I take what I need. It can be like we’ve always wanted. We can get a bigger house. We can go on vacation.”

“I want nothing to do with you.” Her voice flatlines. “You should have stayed dead.”

A shadow passes over the entrance to the hall, and suddenly, Lee appears. From around his arm, Cortney and Juniper peek around the corner.

“Not going to say it again, buddy,” I say to the ex before flickering my gaze to Lee.

Devon seems to get the hint. He presses his back against the hallway wall to keep his eyes on both of us. He glances back and forth between my brother and me. “This isn’t over. You hear me, Whitney? I’m going to fight for my family. I’m going to win you back. I did what I had to.”

“You did not! You did what you had to for yourself. You dug the hole, got into it, and then you crawled back out like nothing more than the cockroach you are to ruin the little happiness I found for the kids and me.” She takes a shuddering breath, her torso jerking in my arms. “Go to hell.”

Her ex cuts his gaze through the group before spinning on his heel and storming out.

I run my palms over her arms from shoulders to elbows. I push a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “Are you alright?”

Whitney looks up at me, her face stoic. Time seems to stop between us as if she’s coming to a decision. She bursts into a ragged sob, and I drag her face into my chest.

“I’ve got you,” I murmur against the top of her head. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

My chest cracks and aches as she tries to burrow deep. As if she’s trying to crawl inside my body. I haul her tighter, pressing her front entirely to mine from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. “You’re safe.”

“I hate him,” she cries in a watery voice.

“I hate him too,” I murmur, stroking my hand down her silky hair.

She chokes on a muffled laugh.

Bree appears from behind us. I nearly forgot she was there. “You brought backup.” She gestures to Lee with a flip of her hand.

“I’m here for you,” Lee says to Bree, then looks behind him. “And you and you.”

Juniper and Cortney emerge from around the corner. My sister wears a furious expression, and Juniper looks concerned.

“I have her things.” Juniper extends a black coat and purse.

I reluctantly remove one hand from Whitney to take the items. “Thanks.”

“You’ll get her home? And keep her safe?” Juniper asks, a redness to her lower lids I couldn’t see from a distance.

“I’ve got her,” I answer with finality.

Bree steps to my front and softly touches Whitney’s back. “I have your kids. They’re with Corjan now, and I’ll go straight home. We can keep them overnight for you.”

“N-no, I-I’m fine,” Whitney hiccups.

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