Page 98 of Tripped By Love
“You’ll never get my son,” I said, venom and hate in my voice. I tried to free myself again, but he just dragged me farther away from the crowded lobby down the side hall. I lost my balance, my shoulder hitting the wall, and Clayton put his other hand on my shoulder to stabilize me. The touch burned me like acid, making me jerk back again, a wobbled mess of knees and limbs that would never coordinate right.
“Jesus, you can’t even hold yourself up, let alone a child,” he spewed at me.
My stomach twirled, nausea filling me just as Clayton’s eyes went over my shoulder, narrowing at something. He let me go as another hand slid around my waist from behind. A hand that I knew like it was my own. The heat of it seared through the silk dress, and my entire body seemed to swell and sigh simultaneously. Goosebumps littered my skin as Marco’s deep voice spoke near my ear. “Angel, is there a problem here?”
My body relaxed into him, my back tucking up against his wide chest, my hand going to his arm that I realized wore a suit jacket. I turned slightly, taking in a Marco I’d never seen before. I knew he wore formalwear when he went with Brady to award ceremonies, but I’d never seen it in person. He was stunning. A vision of muscled manliness that exuded power and authority. Control and honor.
“You’re here!” My throat lodged with emotion, happiness and joy filling me. I couldn’t help but reach up and kiss his cheek.
Clayton made a garbled sound that drew my eyes back to him, reminding me of his unhappy presence.
“This is what I’m talking about.” Clayton stepped toward us. “I won’t let my son be raised by someone spreading her legs for just anyone who comes by.”
Marco released me and pushed me behind him in one smooth motion. He put his hand on Clayton’s throat and shoved him up against the wall. Clayton struggled, and Marco’s other arm went across Clayton’s chest, holding him still. Marco wasn’t squeezing Clayton’s throat tight. He wasn’t restricting his airflow at all, but I could tell there was pressure there. The knowledge that all he had to do was squeeze.
“You will not talk to her that way. Ever. In fact, let’s just say you’ll never talk to her again,” Marco growled.
I put a hand on Marco’s shoulder. “Marco…”
He ignored me as he glared at Clayton and barked out, “Tell her. Tell her why you really want Chevelle.”
Clayton’s eyes widened, and he tried to push Marco away again. But he had none of the muscle or training that Marco did. There was no way he was getting free until Marco was ready to let him.
“I have a right to my son!”
“You didn’t want him, though. Not until you found out your wife couldn’t have any children of her own, right? There’s no way to get your hands on her trust fund unless she makes your child hers by adopting him. It’s all about the fucking money, isn’t it? You don’t give a rat’s ass about Chevelle.”
Clayton’s eyes widened, and he blustered. “You had no right to dig into my personal life!”
I stepped forward and shoved a finger into his chest by Marco’s arm. “You had no right to have us followed to Austin.”
Marco turned his head, surprise littering his face before it turned deadly again. He looked back at Clayton. “Trying to dig up dirt? It isn’t going to work, Hardy. Cassidy O’Neil is a fucking angel. She’s worked her ass off to provide for herself and her son, whom you walked away from. She may have fallen in love with someone who isn’t worthy of her, but no judge in his right mind is going to see her marrying someone as a negative. Chevelle is in a stable environment, surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and a whole community who adores him. He’ll have a stepfather who only sees him as the gift he is rather than something that comes with a price tag.”
I gasped at Marco’s words. We hadn’t even talked about what would happen if and when he returned to Grand Orchard, and now he was there talking marriage and making Chevelle his. Talking as if he’d already asked, and I’d already accepted. My heart leaped and soared. He’d said he wasn’t ever walking away, and while I’d understood that, the words he spoke were like hearing he loved me all over again.
To my surprise, it wasn’t my parents who showed up at our side. It was Trevor with a stoic look on his face and dressed in the black uniform that Marco normally wore in his role as a bodyguard.
“Problem, Marco?” Trevor asked, widening his stance.
Marco stared down Clayton. “Depends on if this asshole is going to leave of his own accord, or if I’m going to have to toss him out.”
Clayton tugged at Marco’s wrist and the hand still wrapped loosely around his neck. “I was invited,” Clayton insisted with a haughty tone that did nothing for his cause. “All the faculty were invited. I have a right to be here. Just like I have a right to my child!”
“Being invited and being wanted are two very different things,” Trevor said quietly. “I think it’s time you left, Mr. Hardy.”
Suddenly, there was another male body at our side. Jonas stood there, mimicking Trevor’s stance, dressed in a pair of slacks, a button-down, and a blazer that made him look older than sixteen. His hair was slicked back, accentuating his green eyes that were flashing warning signs in a face that was almost completely healed from his ordeal but still showed traces of it.
“Need help, Marco?” Jonas asked.
Clayton glared at the three men now defending me. “Surrounding yourself with more riff-raff, Cassidy? Did you know about this one’s mother? Or his father?” He directed his chin toward Jonas. “The fight he got in while you were in Austin is just in his blood. If you insist on encircling my son with people with anger issues, taking him from you is going to be a piece of cake.”
My body froze as panic crawled up my back. Marco squeezed ever so slightly on Clayton’s neck, making him cough.
“I told you never to speak to her again,” Marco said. Clayton’s face turned beet red. Marco seemed to squeeze harder. “I’m going to let you go, and what I want to see is your feet heading for the exit. If they don’t go in that direction, I can guarantee you won’t like what happens next.”
Marco waited for a second as if expecting Clayton to argue. When he didn’t, Marco slowly let up. As he did, Clayton used his hands to fling Marco’s arm away from him. Clayton moved around Jonas, never turning his back to us but heading a few steps toward the doors.
“You’ll be hearing from my attorney,” he stormed. He yanked at his suit sleeves, smoothed down the front, and then spun on his heel and walked out.
I was shaking from head to toe, but before my knees could give out, Marco was surrounding me in his arms again. My cheek went to his shoulder where it felt like it belonged. My hands went around him. I squeezed tight, and he squeezed back, the air leaving both of us.
Marco kissed the top of my head. A gentle, comforting kiss like I gave to Chevelle when he needed soothing. My eyes filled. I couldn’t lose my son. I couldn’t. For a brief moment, fear swelled through me before I valiantly shoved it aside. Clayton wanted me to be afraid. He wanted me to think I had to choose between Marco and my son so that he could have power and control over me again. But I wouldn’t let him have it. There’d be no need to convince a judge, or anyone, that Marco was a good man when he clearly was that…and so much more. He was honorable and brave. Courageous and strong. I would be lucky to have him at my side, raising Chevelle with me.
