Page 110 of Mace

“What is this?”

“It’s an eviction notice. You have four weeks to leave, or I’ll have the bailiffs toss you out on the street like the piece of trash you are.”

My heart sinks even as my anger flares.

“I’m not too trashy for you to try to bully me into sleeping with you, though, am I?”

His smile scares me, and I step back into the doorway, intending to close it, but his foot slides between the open gap, stopping me.

I glare at him, my nostrils flaring with rage. “If the only way you can get women to sleep with you is to threaten to make them homeless, then I feel sorry for you.”

That smile morphs into something far more dangerous, something I’ve seen many times working at Temptation. “You bitch?—”

He barely gets the words out before he’s dragged back from the door. My eyes widen as Riot shoves Bernie against the wall with enough force to press the air out of his chest.

My eyes flare wide. I’ve only ever seen the humorous side of this man, but there is no laughter in his expression now. Riot looks ready to murder Bernie. I swallow the lump in my throat as he slams a balled-up fist into Bernie’s side, making him cry out.

Oh…fuck.

I step back as his elbow presses against the back of Bernie’s neck, holding him in place.

“Call her a bitch again, I fuckin’ dare you.” The low growl in his tone is terrifying, and if it was directed at me, I would have curled into a ball.

My heart pounds behind my ribs, and for a moment, I feel a little sorry for Bernie. He is massively out of his depth. “I didn’t?—”

“I fuckin’ heard you.” His arm still pressed against Bernie, Riot glances in my direction. “You okay, sunshine?”

I nod, even though my body feels numb. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

That might be overstating things, but I’m breathing, unhurt, and untouched.

Riot pulls his arm off his nape and tears Bernie off the wall, shoving him away. My landlord stumbles, his face red as he glares at me. “Your guard dog doesn’t change anything.”

My stomach sinks. This is the last thing I need right now. I’ve only just got back on an even keel, and now, I’m facing the expense of moving.Shit.

Riot bares his teeth like the dog Bernie accuses him of being. “I will fuck you up,” he threatens. “You’re lucky it was me who saw this. My brother wouldn’t have been so fuckin’ polite.”

Bernie’s eyes widen before he shoots me a dark glare and slicks back his hair with one hand. “Four weeks, Miss Fernsby.”

He takes off like the devil is chasing his heels, and I sink back against the wall, my gaze lifting to the ceiling.Can I catch a break? Tears prick my eyes and my throat burns with the exertion of holding them back.

“Four weeks until what?” Riot asks.

My treacherous tears fall, and I let them careen down my cheeks before I swipe at them. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Maylie? Hey, come on, you ain’t alone anymore. My brother not make that clear? Tell me the problem.”

I’m not alone…

A problem shared and all that, and even if I keep my secret now, Riot will tell Mace, and I can’t keep this from him.

I thrust the letter in his direction, staring at the ceiling as the sound of paper rustling fills the silence of the corridor.

“What the… you ain’t moving out. Mace will sort it.”

My smile is wry. “Maybe it would be better to go somewhere else. Bernie is an animal.”

His eyes narrow on me as his arms fold over his chest. “Has he done something to you?”

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