Page 56 of Fake Fiance with Benefits

“Oh, yeah. Some dude asked me to call her down here, said it was important that he find her right away.”

“Do you know where they went?”

“Nah, not really. Around that way somewhere I think,” he said, pointing toward the right side of the concession stand, away from the crowd.

I walked toward the corner and spotted her. She was standing with a guy I’d never seen before and looked terrified. As I got closer, I realized why. He had her by both arms and was now shaking her and yelling at her. Then she began screaming at him. I saw red. Lunging forward, I grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him backward, catching him off guard and forcing him to let go of her. I didn’t wait to ask who he was or what he was doing here. He landed on his ass in a nearby mudhole, his shirt ripped down the front and his face red with anger.

I could hear Rain behind me yelling something, but it was as if she was calling out through a sea of water that dampened her words. The guy was getting up and coming toward me. I intended to sidestep him, just let him fly past me and into the mud again. Instead, I found my fist landing squarely on his nose as if it had a mind of its own. After that, everything just became a whirlwind of punching this guy until I couldn’t punch anymore. He was fighting back, but he was no match for my size and strength. I quickly had him pinned down and continued to pummel him with my fists.

It was only when I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders and heard someone shouting my name that I pulled back, glancing upward to find myself looking at Harlan Jones and his brother Mike, both in uniform. They were trying to pull me up and away from him. I could no longer hear Rain behind me as they hauled me upward and began slapping cuffs on me. Harlan stood holding onto me as Mike helped the other guy to his feet and cuffed him too.

As they began leading us off, I could see Rain standing nearby, a grimace of pain on her face. Medics were helping her to an ambulance nearby for something, but I couldn’t tell what was wrong. I pulled against Harlan, and he tightened his grip.

“Come on, Jon. Don’t do anything stupid,” he said.

“Rain is hurt. I need to see what’s wrong with her,” I told him.

Harlan glanced toward her, saw she was being taken care of, and looked back at me with a grim face.

“She looks like she’s in good hands. You can check on her after you bail out.”

I tried to protest, but he wasn’t hearing it. Instead, he led me to a car and put me into the back. A second car pulled up, and Mike put the other guy into it and climbed in with the driver. I watched out my window for the ambulance but didn’t see any signs that it had left. Maybe it was just some minor injury. If he had hurt her, this would not be the end of it. I would break his fucking neck when I got hold of him again.

Harlan booked me in and took me to a cell. I could only imagine how my mugshot would look with me all covered in mud and muck, with traces of blood stuck to my face. I couldn’t believe I was sitting in jail again. I tried to tell myself that this wasn’t like last time and it wasn’t. I had just lost my shit when I saw that jackass with his hands on Rain. I didn’t regret jumping him and I’d do it again. In fact, if these bars didn’t separate us, I’d go over there and finish beating the crap out of him.

No doubt word of the ruckus had either gotten around or Harlan’s friends in the department had let my father know what had happened. After less than a half hour of being arrested, he was there to bail me out.

“You better hope I don’t ever see your face again,” I growled as I passed by the other cage.

“Officer, did you hear that? He just threatened me,” the guy yapped back.

“Stick a sock in it. As soon as Rain can come down here and file charges, you’re going to have bigger worries than crossing this guy again. We don’t take kindly to abusing women around here, you city shit.”

“That’s not how it happened. I just came here to talk to her about selling our clinic and it got out of hand.”

“You what? Who are you?” I didn’t need to ask now.

“I’m her fiancé, Shaun,” the guy growled back.

“Nah. You’re her ex-fiancé. You ain’t shit. Remember what I said. You’re going to want to take your ass back to California before I get hold of it again.”

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