Page 67 of Grumpy Billionaire Bad Boy

Another customer walks in, the doorbell ringing to signal to us. I eye him suspiciously and split my attention between him and them.

"What happened to your face?" Ruth asks me, her question coming as a surprise.

"What's wrong with my face?"

She motions to hers. "It's all bruised. Have you been fighting again? What have I told you, Archie…?"

"It was Seven," I cut her off without letting her continue her lecture. "No big deal. Brotherly thing, you know how it goes."

Ruth nods her head. "All too well." She turns to London. "I've got this sister I want to strangle at least once a week. When I tell you we?—"

The man who walked in a minute ago approaches the counter and Ruth stops her speech.

"Let me help him and I'll let you get your shopping done." She slips behind the counter and pushes a button on her register. "Is this all for you, honey?" she says to the man.

But there's something strange about his posture, the sweat forming on his brow, the anxious tapping of his foot.

Without another thought, I shove London into an aisle at the same time the man pulls out a gun and points it at Ruth. "Give me all your money and no one has to get hurt." He turns, shooting the gun into the air and waving it around.

"What the fuck was that?" London asks me, her face strained as we crouch down low together.

I press my finger to my lips. "Shh," I whisper.

She nods, and I wonder if she truly understands the gravity of the situation.

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I silently exhale and think through every possible scenario I can come up with, my one and only goal is to get London out of here safely. But each path leads me to the same outcome, and if I don't act quickly, there's no telling what additional variables could be added that I haven't considered.

"Stay here," I tell her. "Do not move. Do not come out until I come for you. Do you hear me?"

London blinks up at me through her lashes and stiffly nods again.

With another sobering breath, my heart beating evenly in my chest, a part of me I haven’t acknowledged in far too long comes alive. Like a switch flipping inside of me, I rise to my feet and turn toward the man threatening to ruin everything. I march outfrom behind the aisle, not even flinching when he catches sight of me and thrusts the gun in my direction.

I walk straight toward him, right into the line of fire, and before he can fully process how fucking insane I am, I grab his wrist, twist it, and disarm him. His mouth drops open, his eyes wide with disbelief as I turn his weapon on him, shoving it into his chest.

"Who the fuck sent you?" I say to him, my voice barely raised. My gaze flickers to Ruth just long enough to confirm she's unharmed, and focus on this ignorant asshole.

"Wh-what?" he blubbers.

I stare into his eyes, noting how his lip quivers and his hands shake at his sides.

"Get on your fucking knees," I tell him, the rage inside of me building with each passing second. I hate the familiarity of the feeling, and how much I welcome it despite hating it more than anything. I loathe how calm I am with a gun pressed in my palm and the barrel trained on another man.

"Puh-please," he begs as he drops down onto the ground. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."

I narrow my eyes at him. "You didn't mean to, yet you brought a weapon in here? In my fucking neighborhood? Do you not know who the fuck I am?"

He studies me carefully and the moment he realizes, he tears up. "I didn't know, I wouldn't have agreed."

"Agreed to what? To whom?" I push the gun into his chest.

"I—I can't. They'll kill me."

"Who will kill you?"

He pinches his lips together like he's afraid the secret will spill out.

I drag the gun up his neck and across his face and rest it on his forehead. "The only one you should be worried about right now is me."

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