Page 92 of Rough
Gripping his shoulder, I force him to look at me. “Maybe, but it doesn’t matter. We got our girl now and if you had, it might have been the wrong time.”
He nods without answering, and we continue to drink as we watch Wilder play with Betsy. She’s having a blast and seems completely uninhibited. There are so many people here that I scan my eyes over the crowd to make sure no one’s getting any funny ideas.
When someone bends to pick something up, I catch the mayor’s brother, Anderson, sitting in the corner completely focused and glaring at Betsy. Elbowing Remy in his ribs, he grunts at me with narrowed eyes, but then his look switches to violence the moment I tilt my head toward the fucker who decided to touch Betsy without her permission.
“Wanna take him for a walk?” I ask, my voice promising pain.
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely. Hold on a second.” Standing, he moves over to where Wilder is dancing and grips his neck to whisper in his ear. Watching Betsy, I know she can’t hear what he’s sayingbecause she looks confused. Wilder nods once, his shoulders stiffening, but doesn’t join Remy when he saunters back to me. “Ready?”
“Yup,” I say, throwing back the rest of my beer and slamming it on the table. I’m feeling excitement and nervous energy build when Anderson doesn’t notice us as we come up behind him, his teeth bared in irritation as he keeps watching her.
The two of us each drop a heavy hand on his shoulders and jerk him back. “What the fuck?” he shouts, catching himself on the edge of his table so he doesn’t topple over.
“Let’s chat, buddy,” Remy hisses, grabbing him by the collar, ignoring his protests as we force him out the front door.
“The hell are you two doin’?” His eyes are looking everywhere as we walk him behind the bar where the dumpsters are, near the employee entrance. “Why are we back here? What do yo—”
Remy spins him around to face me. I shoot my fist out, slamming it into the side of his jaw. As soon as the hit connects, he lets his collar go. Anderson sinks to the ground, his knees smacking the pavement with a loud crack. Groaning, he cups his face and tries to right himself.
“Jesus fuckin’ CHRIST!What the fuck wasthatfor?” He’s livid and shouting, but my fist has thrown him off balance enough that he needs a moment to right himself.
Squatting down, I bring myself eye level and fist the front of his shirt, forcing his eyes to whip up to mine. His gaze is unsteady, and I feel an immense amount of pleasure knowing that my first punch almost did him in. “A lil’ birdy told me you like touchin’ girls without their permission.”
“Ever heard the phrase ‘no means no’?” Remy asks from behind him. Anderson tries to look back, but I jerk him forward to keep him focused on me.
Shaking his head in denial, he actually looks a bit scared now, but I want him pissing his pants. “I have no idea what you’retalkin’ ‘bout,” he slurs.Fuck, he must have been drinkin’ a lot longer than we realized. His breath reeks of liquor.
Taking a fistful of his hair, Remy helps him hold his head up. Leaning down, he hisses against his ear. “Betsy Harper. You took her out on a few dates and decided to get handsy when she wasn’t ready to move at your speed. That’s not how we treat our women, is it Anderson?” I emphasize his question with another punch to the same spot as my first, but I rein it in because I don’t want him knocked out just yet.
Crying out, he squeezes his eyes shut, slapping at me until I back up a foot. Not caring that Remy is pulling at his hair, he spits blood out and sneers at me. “That fuckin’ bitch is a dead fish. Took me months to get her to go out with me, paid for expensive dinners and she acted like she didn’t owe menothin’!”
“Ever think it’s ‘cuz she knew you weren’t worth her time?”
“Bullshit!” he shouts, and I roll my eyes at how delusional he is. His next words make me freeze. “I’d have fucked her pussy raw if she hadn’t run to my brother. Cunt deserves—”
Remy’s arm hooks him around his neck, wrenching him to his feet. “You stay the fuck away from Betsy. I even see you lookin’ in her direction, I’ll bury you so deep in my field that the worms won’t even find you.”
Anderson’s face turns red as he spits out more blood and saliva, fighting to yank Remy’s bulging arm from him, standing on his toes and arching back.
“Let him go a second,” I growl, cracking my knuckles.
As soon as he does, I curl my arm upwards in an arc and slam my fist into the underside of his chin with a hard uppercut. His teeth slam together, the sound just as loud as my punch, and before he can protest, I’m swinging again to hit his other cheek just as Remy delivers a punch to his kidney.
We’re both breathing heavily as we watch his eyes roll back and he sinks to the ground, passing out at our feet. Spitting onhim, I push him to his side just in case and the two of us walk away. I’m vibrating with anger, worried that we’ll have to face off with him again, when a shadowed figure catches my attention.
Moving toward the hidden man, I hear Remy curse under his breath when our stranger steps into the light. Henri Boyd, Anderson’s brother, slips in front of us. I don’t give a fuck if he’s going to lay into us, but he holds his hands up before I can say anything.
“He deserved that. I’ve done my best to keep him away from her, but I can only do so much.” He glances over our shoulders to stare at his brother. “Not sure what went wrong with him, but you’ll hear nothing from me.”
Remy lifts his chin, silently thanking him, and we push past him when he grabs my arm. Meeting his eyes, he murmurs, “Wilder and Betsy just stepped outside to look for you two. I don’t think she’ll care about this, but just in case, you might want to intercept them.”
“Thanks,” I say, then pull free and find Betsy coming back from where we are parked with a slightly worried look. When she catches our movement from the side of the bar, she narrows her eyes.
“Takin’ a piss ‘round back? Ya know they have bathrooms, right?”
Remy jogs forward and throws her over his shoulder, laughing when she shouts profanities at the way he’s manhandling her.
“Guess you’ll have to remind us we’re civilized. Let’s grab another drink and then head home. I got some ideas I want to try out with you.” He stresses his point by slipping his hand up the inside of her thigh, her shouting turning into a moan.
