Page 123 of Worth Every Penny

“Yes.”

He blinks, long and slow, and he pinches the bridge of his nose for a second. “Are you screwing my sister?”

“No.”

Jack’s eyes track me like a missile as he gestures to the mess at his feet. “Then what’s going on here?”

“I’m in love with her.”

Shock warps his face, and for a moment I hope it’s enough to halt his reaction. Love, after all, is a big fucking word. But then his expression condenses into something altogether more wrathful.

“Your shit doesn’t fly with me, Hawkston.” He ducks his head and barrels towards me, cashmere-coated arm pulled back, fist clenched.

He swings an arm in my direction, but I easily block the attack, ducking when he sends the other flying in an uncontrolled arc towards me.

I shove him and he stumbles back, knocking against a side table and toppling a tall glass vase, which shatters when it falls to the floor, adding to the debris.

Jack’s phone rings, but he ignores it, letting it ring out from inside his coat as he prowls around me, both fists raised.

“You could have any woman in the entire world, you bastard,” Jack curses, his brow heavy over dark eyes. “And you fuck Kate?”

He charges at me again just as the front door opens, making him draw up short. My head of security stands in the doorway. A great monolith of a man, all in black.

“Shall I remove him, sir?”

I shake my head, my focus on Jack. “Let him take his shot.”

“How fucking gracious of you,” Jack spits.

His phone rings again.

“Someone needs you,” I say. “It’s late to call.”

Jack glances at his wristwatch. It must be nearly 1 am. He purses his lips, then looks back at me, before lunging.

I could duck, I could block, but this won’t be over until he hits me. He’s huge and powerful and it goes against every instinct in my body to slow my reactions just enough to let him strike.

His fist meets my jaw, my head whips back, and pain blasts through me like a lightning bolt. My mouth fills with the metallic tang of blood.

Jack cradles his hand, hopping on the spot. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he groans through a grimace.

His phone rings again, and this time he fishes it out with his other hand.

I dab my mouth on the back of my hand. There’s a trickle of blood, but most of it I swallow down.

I haven’t been hit in the face since I was at school. I forgot how much it hurts. I make my way to the nearest chair and drop into it. I’m not going to look good tomorrow. Letting him hit me is rapidly feeling like a terrible decision.

“I think we’re done here,” I tell my head of security, who is still standing by the door, awaiting instruction. He nods and steps outside.

“Mum?” Jack says, still shaking his hand and flexing his fingers, wincing as he does. Then his gaze shifts from his hand tomid-distance, his head snapping up. “What? When? Calm down. All right. I’m coming. Stay put. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

He hangs up, staring at the phone.

“What?” I ask.

“That bastard… Curtis. Mum’s boyfriend. He took everything.”

“What do you mean, he took everything? Everything what?”

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