Page 61 of Tempt Me

“Right.” Sam rolls his eyes. “It had nothing to do with Emily.”

“Boys, focus.” Lee stomps toward the entrance. “Let’s do what we came to do.”

He swings open the door, making the bell chime, and we file in behind him. The room is cooler, almost cold. Linoleum flooring, cubicles of desks, a main lobby, and a front desk. The scent of leather fills the room. There’s a lot of money in the insurance business.

“What can I do for you?” McKenna, who’s sitting behind the reception desk, smiles, but the expression doesn’t reach her eyes. Not that I blame her. It’s four guys dressed in T-shirts, jeans, and combat boots flanked by a police officer who’s giving off a ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe.

“We need to see Silas.” Lee rolls his shoulders.

“I’d like to see Brock.” Sam glares at his father as if he’s deciding to go off script.

“Sam,” Lee snaps as McKenna rushes toward Silas’s office. “Let me take care of this.”

“You’ve got thirty seconds, and then, I’ll take care of it.”

“What do you want?” Brock, the man of the hour, stomps out of his office and braces his hands on his hips.

“I’ve already told you to leave Bella alone, and you contacted her again.” I tip my chin out as the desire to punch him again fills my veins. Two nights ago, wasn’t enough. He treated her poorly, cheated on her, stalked her, and it needs to end. “You need to stop.”

“Or what?” Brock crosses his arms over his chest. He’s muscular but no match for any of us. Lee could probably takehim. He was a linebacker back in the day and built like a brick shithouse.

“I’ll have you arrested.” Jake steps forward and crosses his arms over his broad chest. “Bella is getting a restraining order.”

“She can’t.” His head spins around so fast it almost snaps as if he’s looking to see who’s overhearing our conversation. It’s lunchtime so no one else is around except his father, who’s talking to McKenna as she stands in his doorway, shifting from foot to foot. She points to us, causing Silas to glance around her with a frown on his face.

“She can, and she is.”

“No.” Brock’s face fills with horror as he turns back around. “She can’t.” He drops his arms to his sides. “My father will snap if my name is in the paper. Especially if it’s in the court section.”

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you started harassing Bella.”

“Son?” Silas calls out from behind his desk. His blond hair is cut to perfection, accentuated by his deep tan from playing 18 rounds of golf every Saturday with the other businessmen in town. It’s likely colored to keep his youthful appearance. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Dad, everything’s fine.” Brock relaxes his shoulders and shifts his stance. Asshole. Of course, he gets his nerve back now that his dad is coming to his defense. “We’re just talking about the game last night.”

“Oh, okay.” Silas stalks forward. “That rushing touchdown Levi scored was a beauty.”

“Thanks, it was. I’ll tell him you said that.”

“You do that.” He grins. His tan matches Brock’s, but his teeth are whiter.

McKenna asks Silas something that draws his attention away from us. Brock inches closer to us. “Tell Bella not to file anything, and I’ll leave her alone. I promise I won’t bother her again.”

“It’s too late.” Lee shoves his hands into his pockets. “My wife is involved.”

“That’s fucking bullshit,” Brock spits out while shaking his head. “This is all your fault.” He jerks his head around to catch my gaze. “If you hadn’t caught Bella’s attention, none of this would’ve happened. And just when Tabitha agreed to go out with me.”

Lee walks over to Silas’s office, knocks once, and steps inside. Brock is too busy arguing with us to notice that Bella’s father has his father’s attention.

“Too bad. I’m not going to feel sorry for you, you brought it on yourself. When Bella broke up with you, you should’ve respected her wishes and not violated her boundaries.”

“You’re such a douche.” Brock rakes a hand through his hair. “’Respected her wishes and not violated her boundaries’,” he says in a mocking voice. “Who talks like that? I don’t know what she sees in you.”

“A big dick, piercings, tattoos, a lifted pickup truck with a loud exhaust–”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re more than that.” Ben cuffs my shoulder as Silas’s face turns red. Lee silences whateverhe is going to say with a raised hand. “You have manners.” Ben lifts a finger as he counts.

“You have kickass friends.” Sam joins him with another finger to continue their counting. He tilts his head sideways and raises another finger. “Worships the ground our sister walks on.”

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