“I’ll warn you now, asshole. I’m a fucking good shot,” Jayden snarled, stepping over the door. “Now put that knife down and get away from her.”
“Don’t fucking tell me what to do. She’s my goddamn wife, asshole, not yours.”
“You don’t deserve a wife, and you definitely don’t deserve Tammy.” Jayden took a step closer, the gun and his concentration not wavering. His voice dangerously low and dark.
Tammy held in a whimper. She didn’t dare move.
“Put the knife down,” Jayden said again. “And we’ll talk.”
“I ain’t talking to you, the son of a bitch screwing my wife. Giving her goddamn hickeys.”
Jayden raised his eyebrows. “And here was me thinkinga big tough guy like you would want to thumpmefor what I’ve done. Not her.”
“I wanna do more than fucking thump you, asshole. I wanna ram that damn gun up your ass.”
“So do it. Show me what you’ve got.” Jayden placed his weapon on the counter. “Go ahead. Put the knife down and teach me a lesson for getting into your wife’s panties. And just so you know, I screwed her until her throat was hoarse from screaming my name. She said I was the best she’s ever had, biggest too, ain’t that right, babe?”
“Bastard.” Gary bristled further, his muscles tensing, his breath hitching.
Jayden chuckled and clutched his groin. “Fucking sweet and tight she is, best chick I ever had too, and—”
“You fucking—” The knife left Tammy’s throat and clattered to the floor. “Bastard.” Gary hurled himself at Jayden, a furious bull going full pelt for the kill. He collided into Jayden’s belly in a wild shoulder barge, shoving Jayden up against the wall which groaned as a picture went flying.
Catapulting over the counter, Tammy rushed for Zak and bundled him into her arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
Jayden threw a punch, landing it in Gary’s kidney and pushing him away.
Gary grunted but retaliated with an upper-cut stomach hit.
Jayden tipped over, winded. Gary went with him, and they crashed against the table by the door, smashing it into two pieces and sending a bowl full of shells spinning sideways.
Tammy was trapped in the living room and backed up against the bookcase as far as she could.
Jayden got a solid hit to Gary’s face, and Gary reeled backward, blood bursting from his nose. He cried out in pain—apain she knew only too well.
“Mommy,” Zak whispered. “Is Daddy mad with us again?”
“Shh, baby, it’s okay.” She felt sick and frightened. “Jayden is here to help us.” But what if Gary hurt Jayden? It would be all her fault.
Gary caught Jayden on the jaw, but it was only a glancing blow.
Jayden turned, lunged for the counter, and swiped up his gun.
The second he did, Gary froze, hunched, arms hanging at his sides and blood dripping from his nose to his lips and chin.
“What’s annoyed me the fucking most,” Jayden said, quickly pointing the business end of his weapon at Gary, “is that you thought it was okay to turn all that goddamn muscle, all those fucking punches on your wife.” He was breathing hard. “A sweet, caring woman who must weigh less than half of what you do and can’t fight back.”
Gary wiped his mouth, dashing the blood away. “She’s a whore and needs to know her place.”
Jayden took two fast steps up to him, his shoulders and arms tensing. “Call her a whore again and I swear I’ll blow your fucking brains out.” He pressed the end of the gun onto Gary’s brow, scrunching up the skin there. “Go on, try me.”
Gary hitched in a breath. Fear flashed in his eyes. His lips parted and his fists clenched.
“Get down on your damn knees, asshole.”
“I ain’t doing a damn thing you tell me to.” Gary tipped his head defiantly, the gun going with it. “This is my family, not yours.”
“You lost the right to call Tammy and Zak yours when you hit them. When you beat them, bullied them, and tried to break their spirits. They’re mine now. And I know how to take care ofthem right.”