Page 57 of Beneath His Robes

Jack stood in the doorway, arms crossed, looking like he owned the world. His eyes flicked over to me, that sick smirk curling on his lips.

“Well, well…Look at the little crybaby come to coddle his mommy. You really think you’re some kind of protector now? Look at her,” he gestured to my mom, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“You did this to her. Your pretty words got her here. She got brave from your fucking mouth, and I had no choice but to knock her down back to where she belongs. So much easier to control when she got that needle in her. Boy, she did fight me, though. Like mother, like son, I guess. Don’t matter no more. She ain’t getting up now.”

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t think.

My hands clenched into fists so tightly I thought my nails pierced my palms, and the blood bubbled.

He forced Miranda to use.

She resisted him, and he beat her. The story clicked into place, and my stomach sank, and my blood boiled.

“Shut the fuck up, you goddamn monster,” I heard myself say, and the words barely sounded like mine.

Jack just laughed like he had all the time in the world.

He was proud.

“What? You’re gonna stop me? You’re gonna protect her now? You couldn’t even protect yourself, you fucking idiot. Got your little guard dog to hump ya later, too, I see.”

I saw red.

His words cut through me, slicing into the anger that had been simmering in my chest. Anger at her. Anger at him. Anger at myself. I wanted to hit him, wanted to do anything to make him feel what I had been feeling for years.

Before I thought about it, I stood, my hands pushing against Elias’s arm as I tried to shove past him. I needed to do something—anything. I couldn’t let him get away with it, not this time. I was going to fucking kill him.

“Ronan, stop!” Elias’s voice was sharp, but it was too late.

I was already across the room, shoving Jack up against the wall with every ounce of strength I had.

“You don’t get to talk about him like that. You want to push someone around? How about a fucking man? Or are you too much a coward to go after anyone but a weak woman.”

Jack’s smirk faltered for a split second, but it quickly returned. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he shoved me back. The force knocked me off balance, and I fell back into the opposite wall. I could feel my blood pulsing in my ears, the adrenaline crashing through my veins.

“Do you think you’re a man now? You think you can take me on?” Jack’s voice was thick with derision. “You’re nothing, just like your piece of shit, mother. I raised you, boy. I raised you to be a fucking man, and you ain’t nothing but a weak, pathetic faggot.”

Click.

Before I could stop myself, my fist flew, landing with a sickening thud against his jaw. The sound of bone-on-bone echoed through the room, and I felt a sense of satisfaction for a brief moment.

But Jack was quick, and he retaliated—grabbing me by the collar and slamming me against the wall with brutal force. I bit my tongue, and blood filled my mouth.

“Oh, how cute. You don’t like bein’ called out for suckin’ dick,” he spat, his breath hot and rancid against my face. “You smell like him, you nasty ass.”

The world seemed to spin. Rage filled my every pore, and I couldn’t even think. I wanted to hit him again. I wanted to break him, make him feel all the pain I had been carrying.

But then, a hand was on my shoulder, pulling me back, and I looked up to find Elias standing there, his eyes wide with urgency.

“Ronan, stop. Think about your mom. He’s not worth it. Just call the cops, and he will be where he deserves to be for what he’s done.”

I shook him off, spitting blood onto the floor, my chest heaving as the anger burned hot in my veins.

“He deserves this, Elias. He deserves to feel what he’s done to my mother.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Elias said, his voice steady and calm. “You don’t have to fight him. This won’t fix anything. Let the cops do their job. He won’t be able to get away from the evidence.”

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