Page 47 of Holding Out For A Holiday Hero

Jake caught it in mid-air. “Haven’t you ever heard that you should use your words to settle an argument, prosecutor? This is just bad form.” And Jake squeezed the fist he held. Hard.

Richard paled.

“Bad form because you don’t know how to punch.” Jake had used his right hand to catch Richard’s flying punch. Now Jake pulled back his left, and he drove it hard into Richard’s stomach. An oomph broke from Richard as he doubled over. “That’s how you punch,” Jake added with a nod. “And I was using my weak hand because I am a sweetheart like that.”

Richard stumbled away from him.

“Should I try with my right hand?” Jake asked politely.

“No!” True jumped in front of him. The woman actually put her body between him and her ex. “Stop this, right now.”

All amusement fled because True had just put herself within grabbing distance of her asshole ex. Before that dick could put his hands on her, Jake wrapped his fingers around her waist, lifted her up, and put her back behind him. “He doesn’t touch you. Never again.” Then he faced the jerk once more even as he ordered, “Call Harris, True. Get the cops here, now.”

“True, don’t!” Richard bit out. “I’m here for you! I came back because I need you.”

Behind him, Jake heard her calling Harris. Good.

“You need her, huh?” Jake drawled as he cast a disgusted glance over the ex. “How long have you been here in town, needing her?”

“I-I…a few days.”

Days? “Long enough to stake out her house? To maybe go inside and kill the bastard you hired to stalk her while you were busy with work in Atlanta?”

“What?” Richard shook his head. He almost fell on his ass, but managed to stay upright at the last moment. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. True—hang up the phone.” He sidestepped so he could try and see her better.

Jake just moved to the side, too. “Were you at the museum last night?” he asked the ex.

Richard hesitated.

Sonofabitch, he was there.

“I just needed to see True! I knew she’d been working there so I stopped by!”

“And how’d you know that? How’d you know where she worked?”

Richard didn’t answer.

“Did you know because you’ve had Dylan Dunn stalking her?”

Richard flinched.

Like that is not at all suspicious. Like everything about the jerk and his stalking ass wasn’t suspicious. The creep had just been parked outside of her house, waiting for her?

“True, I came to the museum, but I didn’t see you in the crowd! Just saw kids and a damn Santa. So I came back here to wait on you.” Richard’s hands fisted at his sides. “Only you never showed up. I was here all night long. You never showed.”

The ex needed to check that anger. “Yeah, True didn’t show due to the fact that she was with me.”

True’s fingers pressed to Jake’s back. “Uniformed cops are close. Harris said they’d be here soon.”

“You seriously think you’re going to have me arrested? Me?” Richard laughed. A high, grating sound. “I’ll say he swung first, True. I’ll get your boyfriend arrested. I’m a prosecutor, people will believe me. People will?—”

Jake shook his head.

“What?” Richard barked.

“Her neighbor has one of those handy doorbell cameras.” He’d found out about it from Harris. Unfortunately, nothing had been on the camera the night Dylan Dunn had been killed. Probably because Dylan and his murderer both came in through the back of True’s house. So the neighbor’s doorbell camera hadn’t spotted them. But right then, where Richard was standing…a perfect vantage point. “Smile, Dick. You’re on camera.”

And, damn if the fool didn’t try to take yet another swing at Jake. Had the man not heard the words Jake had clearly enunciated? This time when the prick swung, there was no missing the scent of whiskey that clung to Richard.

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