Bryce goes even redder in the face as he steps into me and attempts to grab Ryan, only she pulls back to hide behind Bull’s legs. “Give me my fucking kid,” he demands of Bull. “I won’t stand for this.”
Bull just holds Coby a little tighter and laughs at his pathetic attempt. “You need to get off my property,” I tell him, holding my chin a little higher and letting him know that he can no longer fuck with me. “You’ve overstayed your welcome.”
I watch as Bryce clenches his jaw and curls his hand into a fist. I have no doubt that he’s considering knocking Bull out, but it would be like a twig attempting to take on a brick wall. Bryce has absolutely no chance, and he quickly realizes it.
Bryce takes a step back, shaking his head as though the very sight of the four of us together disgusts him. “You’re going to be hearing from my lawyers,” he promises. “I’m going to fuck this all up for you, and you’ll never see my kids again.”
Fucking pathetic.
“Try me, Bryce. I’d love to take you to court because you know just as well as I do that you’ll lose. Every fucking time, you will lose. I have raised these kids. I was the one who suffered through the long nights. I’m the one who they cry for when they're upset. Never you, Bryce. You cannot win here so take your filthy ass, get in your little beat-up shit box, and leave before I have to call the police to have you removed.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Like I said, try me.”
With that, he shakes his head and starts backing up, clearly seeing a losing battle. I have Bull now to strengthen me and make me feel as though anything is possible. Bryce will never walk all over me again because now I’ve realized my self-worth.
Bull and I stand united as Bryce backs out of my drive, narrowly missing my mailbox before screeching his tires down the road.
The second he’s completely out of sight, I feel as though I can finally breathe.
Bull turns into me, picking up Ryan before pulling me into his arms, the two girls now squished between us. “Are you alright?” he murmurs, getting between the girls’ faces to press a kiss to my forehead.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. He just gets me so worked up.”
“Do you think he’ll go through with it?” he questions, referring to going for full custody.
“No chance in hell,” I tell him. “It was an empty threat that he’s made a million times before, and usually, I’d drop to my knees, begging him not to go through with it, but this time it’s different. He knows I’ll never back down, but it doesn’t matter anyway. He doesn’t have the money or the desire to go through with it. Having the girls full time would be considered a burden to him. He’d absolutely hate it. It’s just a way of getting at me, one that he now knows will never work again.”
“Good,” Bull says, running his hand up and down my back as best he can. “I didn’t want to intrude on your business, but you do realize that if he ever threatens you like that again, I’ll beat the living shit out of him.”
“I might just beat you to it.”
Bull grins down at me. “Nothing would make me happier than watching you hand that douchebag his ass.”
“Nothing would make me happier than knowing I was strong enough to actually do it.”
“Angel, I think you’re stronger than you’ve ever known,” he tells me, Shuffling Ryan into my arms before pulling back and heading down the stairs of the porch. He scoops up the girls’ overnight bags in one hand while balancing Coby in the other. “Now what do you say we get out of here, get Ashlee, and head over to the park for a play and ice cream?” He says, making Ryan lose her tiny mind. “Who knows, maybe I’ll even introduce you to my mom.”
“Well, well,” I laugh, opening the door for Bull and following in behind him as Ryan launches out of my arms and clings onto Bull’s leg. “Did this just get serious?”
“Things got serious the second I laid my eyes on you, Angel,” he says as his face splits into a panty-dropping grin. “Now, hurry up. I want to see which one of the girls I can make throw up on the swings first.”
Well … shit.CHAPTER 20AMELIAMy eyes snap open as the sudden urge to throw up rocks through me. Kicking the sheets off from around my legs, I dash as fast as I can without falling or crashing into anything in the process. I make it just in time as the contents from my stomach decide it’s time to come and say good morning.