Page 84 of And Then Came You

But Damian doesn’t know fear. Not yet. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll be well versed in the emotion.

Damian looks up, rolling his eyes when he sees me. “Look who it is. Her model boyfriend, come to defend her honor. I fucking figured you’d be down here, eventually. What did the cunt say to you? What lies did she spin?”

Hearing the venom falling from his mouth about the woman I love makes me see red, but I need to keep it together. I promised Lexi. Pulling out my phone, I shove it under blondie’s nose, certain she can see the picture of Lexi’s battered face. “That’s what this guy was doing earlier tonight. You still think hanging out with him is a good idea?”

“Oh, my God,” the woman mumbles, sliding out of Damian’s grip and toward the door, her girlfriends close on her heels.

Easy come, easy go.

“Get up,” I seethe.

“Are you going to make me? Or do you need your friends to handle your dirty work?” Damian motions to the men, hovering not six feet from our altercation.

I love when assholes underestimate me. I may have backup, but it’s not because I doubt my ability to beat the ever loving shit out of Damian. What he doesn’t realize is that they’re here to keep me from killing him. Nate is also NYPD, an added perk, should the need arise.

Grabbing Damian by the collar, I hoist his lanky ass over the table, depositing him on the floor. “Outside. Now.” I lean into his face. “Or do I have to make you?”

“You throw the first punch and I’ll have you arrested.”

A low chuckle sounds from my chest, but it lacks any warmth. Hell, it borders on maniacal, because that’s how I’m feeling right now. I’m a raging lunatic that wants to beat this man until he’s a bloody pulp. “You already threw the first punch.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

I nod at my boys, who close in tighter. “You punched Lexi. You hit the woman I love and now, I’m going to mop the floor with your ass.”

There’s an irony in men like Damian. They’re pussies, each and every one of them. They love using their strength to beat up hapless women, but when it’s their turn, they’ll cry like a little bitch.

Damian’s eyes dart around the group, before he ducks under the table in a last-ditch bid to escape.

Wrong move, buddy.

I grab him by the seat of his pants, dragging him out the back door into the alleyway. He attempts one last escape, but instead of a clean getaway, he runs full force into my fist.

He groans, stumbling back from the punch. If he thinks it hurts now, just wait. The fun is just beginning.

I let loose on the motherfucker, landing blow after blow until my friends have to drag me off him.

“Let it go,” Nate barks, squeezing my shoulders. “You’ve proven your point.”

“He’s still breathing.”

“You promised Lexi.”

Those three words curtail my fury as I nod, shaking off the energy still palpating around me. I lean into Damian’s face, so close I smell the blood wafting from his mouth and nose. “If you ever go near her again, I will bury you. Do you understand?”

Damian nods, realizing that he’s the loser in this situation, no matter what damage he inflicted upon Lexi earlier.

“Another thing,” Gianni chimes in from the back of the pack. “Your shit will be in the alleyway behind my gallery. I’m calling all the people who bought your pieces and letting them know what you did to Lexi. You’re done in the art world, Damian. I’ll make damn sure of it.”

I nod, surprised at Gianni’s solidarity. I pegged the man more for loafers and cappuccino than knock-down bar brawls. Seems when a lady is beaten, the gloves come off.

The cops arrive, and Nate shuffles me to the waiting vehicle. He’ll handle the details. My only job is to make myself scarce.

It’s good to know people. These men have had my back for decades, offering their support whenever the need arose. I never took them up on anything.

Not until Lexi.

For her, I’d fight the whole damn world.

---