Page 85 of Loving You

And I didn’t stop until I was on him.

No words would communicate that he needed to let April go and never touch her again. I had no need for pronouncements or begging—I wasn’t going to wait for him to unhand her.

I was going tomakehim.

“Shit” came from somewhere behind me, but my focus was fully on Cliff.

I gripped his hand at the joint of his wrist and squeezed.Hard.He balked, loosening his hold on April a touch, yelling “Don’t touch me, man—”

With a quick chop to the side of his neck, his words cut off and his arms dropped. It might’ve been more satisfying to hear the crunch of his nose breaking, but then he might have bled on April, and what I wanted more than anything was for him to let her go.

The impact was hard enough to allow April to scamper away, and in a few seconds, I had Cliff on the ground in an arm bar. He was facedown in an inelegant sprawl, his left arm in my hand, raised behind him, and with any amount of pressure, I could dislocate his shoulder, maybe the elbow, or worse, depending on what he chose to do.

I leaned down and spoke so he could hear over the rising din of voices that’d entered the room. “I’m going to see to my woman, and you are going to stay right here. If you so much as sneeze, I’m going to come back over here and break your arm, and then I’m going to say it was self-defense because I’d be right. Don’t get up or I willfuckyou up. Clear?”

His cheek mashed into the tile, his head moved in something like a nod and he groaned. I’d take that as a yes. Dropping his arm, I stepped around him while he said something incoherent into the wood grain.

“I got him,” Will said, stepping up to signal Cliff wouldn’t be escaping before the police came. A glance at Jake told me he was speaking to someone at dispatch now.

I looked down at the scum on the ground beneath me. In another life, I might’ve beaten the asshole to a bloody pulp. The fire in my veins urged me to do it—to take from him like he’d taken from April repeatedly over years, and then even after, too, as she’d been forced to face the trauma she’d lived through.

At the same time, I wasn’t a violent person by nature. The fact that I had training would make it an unfair fight, and as much as the pent-up adrenaline made me practically shake with frantic energy, I had no desire to go to jail for assault and make everything worse.

Leaving him with Will spoke less of my desire for justice and more of how much I needed to know April was okay. And thankfully, she wasn’t scared of me for putting Cliff on the ground, based on the way she launched herself at me when I got up and turned toward her.

“Are you hurt? I’m so sorry. I should’ve known.” I held her firmly but gently, praying she didn’t have any unseen injuries.

She shook her head against my shoulder. “I’m okay. Just the lip, and maybe some soreness from the wall or how hard he grabbed me. It’ll be okay.”

“The wall?” I bit out, alarm coursing through me.

“No— It’s not a big deal, but I kinda… flew into it. Trust me, Eric, I’m okay.”

I nuzzled into her neck, hating the image that flashed through my mind. Hating how quick she was to downplay this and that he’d touched her at all, let alone hurt her. “I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t there.”

“No. It’s my fault. He was here earlier but I didn’t want to make a scene. I thought I’d convinced him to leave. I was going to tell you, but I didn’t want to bother you on your brother’s big day, and I really thought I’d taken care of it.”

We separated enough that I could see her face—the bloody lip, a red mark on her cheek. The pained, disappointed look in her eye had me reconsidering my resolve not to destroy the fucker, but instead of rage at him, I focused on this beautiful woman in front of me.

She was okay, and that was all that mattered.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away,” she whispered.

“You are not responsible for his actions,” I insisted, holding her gaze. “You didn’t invite him here, and you did nothing to encourage him. You were doing what you thought was right, love. I’m glad you’re okay, and now, we’ll be able to get an ironclad restraining order. Plus, there’s a decent chance he’ll face jail time.”

She huffed but nodded. “That’s true. In fact, it was all part of my secret plan—get him to act like an out-of-control drunk asshole and then get law enforcement involved so they can’t ignore the truth.”

Somehow, she’d cracked a joke. This incredible woman was rallying already. “I love you, April. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

I pulled her to me again and hugged her a little tighter, relieved to know she was safe. And more certain than ever that I never wanted to be parted from her.

Together, we’d put this awful night and everything else Cliff had ever done to her in the past because April Carrigan was my future, and I’d do whatever I could to make hers a happy one.

27

APRIL

My lips grazed the stubble on Eric’s jaw as I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

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