Page 27 of Twice in a Lifetime

I didn’t know what the fuck that son of a bitch, Lonny Oswald, was saying to her, but it was clear from the narrow-eyed glare she was shooting his way that whatever it was had pissed her off, and as her mouth moved, I could see his face growing redder and redder.

My girl always had a gift when it came to flaying a person open with her sharp tongue, and from the looks of it, she was currently slicing that stupid bastard up one side and down the other. Only problem was, Lonny Oswald had always been an asshole, but as he got older, he’d gotten even worse.

“Fuckin’ bitch,” I heard him throw in her face as I closed in on Blythe’s table, and I instantly saw red.

My molars ground together and my hands clenched into fists. “What the fuck did you just call her?”

I’d had a hair-trigger temper when I was younger, but the Army had done a good job of working that out of me as it taught me how to become the man I wanted to be. Gypsy and Marco might have started those lessons by teaching me what it meant to be a good man, but my time in the service finished those lessons and taught me how to get there.

I hadn’t been quick to anger in a really long time, but all it took was one asshole looking at Blythe in a way that didn’t sit well with me to set me off. When it came to her, I would never hesitate to act first. It was in my blood to protect her, a sense that ran so deep it was etched into my bones.

Oswald smiled his slick, oily smile. “Well look who’s come runnin’ to save the day. White Trash Soldier Boy. Should’ve known you wouldn’t be too far from where she was. Alwayschasin’ after her like a pathetic, flea-riddled mutt that got kicked in the head one too many times.”

My smile felt as vicious as I was sure it looked. “You always had a mouth on you. Maybe I should do this town a favor and break your jaw so nobody had to hear you talk for a while.”

Blythe pushed out of her seat, standing up and coming beside me to place her hand on my arm. “Rhodes, don’t.”

“Yeah, Rhodes. Listen to your little slut.”

I lunged, but before I could get close enough, Hardin was there, pushing me back and keeping me from breaking every bone in that fucker’s face.

I could just make out Blythe’s voice through the red haze of rage clouding my head. “Rhodes, please. He’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, why don’t you get outta here, Trashbury,” he mocked, using the sorry excuse of an insult he’d made out of my last name back in middle school. “Run back home to your stripper whore sister and all those other white trash brothers and sisters of yours where you belong.”

There wouldn’t have been time for me to react if I’d wanted to. One second Blythe was right beside me and the next she was standing between me and Oswald, with the latter collapsing to the ground, gasping for breath and clutching at his throat where she’d just punched him. One hit and my girl had dropped that fucker like a sack of rocks.

“Holy shit,” Lennix cried out. “I have the biggest girl crush right now.”

I moved fast, grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her off her feet when she stepped up like she was preparing to kick him while he was down. “What did I say about insulting the people I care about, huh?” she shouted at the waste of space on the floor as he continued to choke.

“Jesus,” I grunted as she struggled against me. I held tight as I started moving us toward the exit. “Easy, killer. You’vedone enough damage. Let’s get you home before you get yourself arrested.”

“Wait. I came with Sunny.”

“I’ll call you in the morning,” my sister called out, waving a hand over her head with a big, shit-eating grin on her face. “Love you!”

The fight went out of Blythe as I carried her through the door and outside, her hands resting on my forearms wrapped around her stomach and her feet dangling in the air. “You know I can walk, right?”

Oh, I was well aware. I just wasn’t sure when I would get another chance like this—or if I’d get one at all—so I was determined to make the most of it. I took her as far as my truck before placing her back on her feet, beeping the locks, and opening the passenger door for her.

She stood in the open doorway of the truck, trepidation flashed in her Caribbean eyes as she looked around the dark, quiet parking lot. “You really don’t need to do this. Sunny can take me home.”

I lifted my hand and braced it on the edge of the door, blocking any path she might use to escape. “Get in the truck, Angel. I’m takin’ you back to your brother’s.”

Her eyes narrowed into unhappy slits for a few seconds before she let out a huff, grumbling, “Whatever,” when she realized I wasn’t going to move or back down.

I waited for her to buckle the seatbelt over her lap before shutting the door and rounding the hood. I used those few short seconds to try to get my shit together. My heart had started racing as soon as I saw Oswald in Blythe’s space, and it hadn’t stopped yet. To make matters worse, watching her take that shithead to the ground had caused my dick to take notice.

There was something about her vehement defense of me and my family that heated my blood. That side of her had always turned me on—her steadfast protectiveness.

I inhaled deeply, pulling the crisp, pine-scented night air into my lungs and letting it soothe me as I pulled open the driver’s side door and climbed in.

“Actually, would you mind taking me to my parents’ place?” she asked as I pushed the button to start the engine. “The kids and I are staying there for the time being.”

My brows dipped together in the center as I turned to her. “Isn’t their place kind of small for all four of you?”

She made a scoffing sound and tilted her head back against the headrest. “That’s an understatement. It isn’t ideal, but it’s the only choice I have at the moment. A pipe burst at Tristan’s and flooded the kitchen.” She let out a sigh that denoted her exhaustion. “It’s a mess.” Her voice lowered a few more octaves as she said, “Everything’s such a mess.”

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