Page 93 of Broken Daddy

Gen is steady now, breathing heavily a few feet behind me. A surge of protectiveness goes through me. I want her and the baby safe in the house,but I also want to hurt this man. Torn between the two, I just hold him there and growl.

“Erik, what the hell are you doing?” she pants.

Her sous-chef.

I saw him in the kitchen that night at The Black Fig—only he was lurking in the back, surly.

“Slut,” he spits out, feet scrabbling on the grass.

I slam him back into the tree trunk again, only mildly satisfied by the sound it makes when his body hits the hard wood.

Gen goes from frightened to furious in a matter of seconds. With my hand tight on the sous-chef’s throat, she stalks right up next to me and shoves an accusatory finger in his face.

“You.This whole time it was you! Getting me fired with baseless rumors wasn’t enough for you, was it? Are you the one who called Saucer?”

He scoffs and spits. “They should know what they’re getting into. You like to fuck your employers, hmm? I’m guessing this one went a little further than expected.”

His eyes drop to Gen’s stomach as he sneers. Blind rage whites out my vision momentarily.

Did this psycho follow hereverywhere? The only way he could know she was pregnant is if he stalked her to her doctor’s appointments, too.

“Gen, call the cops.”

She opens her mouth, ready to keep going on him, but I give her a steady look over my shoulder.

“I’ve got this. Don’t waste your energy on this scum. He’s not worth it.”

Her chest is heaving as she stares down the sous-chef, who’s slowly turning purple, thanks to my tight grip. With one deep breath through her nose, she turns on her heel, picking her cell up off the ground and dialing.

Erikstruggles weakly under my hand. He’s staring at Gen with such hatred I can’t help wondering what she ever did to him. But then, men like this don’t need a reason; they’re usually too far gone in their own delusional beliefs.

He calms down enough to look away from her and meet my eyes.

“So. Was it worth it?” he asks, lip curling in disgust. “She a good fuck?”

The punch lands square on his nose before I even realize I’ve pulled back my fist.

Blood spurts in a fine spray over my forearm and chest. Gen shouts, runs toward us.

“Nate!?”

“I’m fine. It’s his blood, not mine.”

Erik is moaning, his upper body limp and held up only by my hand around his throat. “You bitch,” he spits out brokenly. I’m not sure if he means Gen or me. Doesn’t really matter.

“Are they coming?”

She nods, worried eyes searching my face. “Yes.” Then her attention cuts back to the man trying and failing to staunch the flow of blood from his nose. “You’re stupider than I thought, Erik.”

“Me!? Stupid? I’m the one who organized a coup at the Fig—”

“Only because of yourlies and threats.”

“Lies and threats everyone believed.” There’s a triumphant light in his eyes.

But Gen’s smile is slow and satisfied.

“Not everyone. I got the job at Saucer, Erik. You’ll never come anywhere near what I’ve achieved.”

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