Page 4 of Takedown

I even shovel their driveway and clear his wife’s car when it snows. Of course, I only do that while I’m clearing Mel’s.

I don’t have time to answer his question, though, because the front door opens and the woman who’s dominated my mind since I first heard her voice walks through the door. I lean against the wall and watch her. She doesn’t notice me right away as evidenced by the smile on her face.

I smile too when I see her, but that doesn’t last long because a man follows her inside. She greets Jason, and my wife has the fucking audacity to hold out her hand for this guy.

“Damien,” she says, smiling from ear to ear as she looks at this fucker’s face. “This is my brother Jason. Jason, this is Damien. The date I told you about.” Jason shakes his hand but turns and looks at me. Mel follows his line of vision and visibly gasps when she sees me leaning against the wall.

The color drains from her face and she takes a step closer to this Damien asshole. My wife actually takes a step closer to another man. As if it’s his right to protect her and not mine.

“Your date, Mel?” I ask. Her eyes dart from me to Jason, as if she’s silently asking him for help. Jason answers. He steps between us and turns to me.

“Don’t start any shit, Flynn. Goodnight.” He points towards the door, but I don’t move.

“Forgive me, but I have a bit of a problem with my wife going out on a date with another man.” For the first time, I noticed Mel’s holding a single red rose, and it drops to the floor at my announcement.

“What?” Jason says, confused.

“Cutie,” the asshole says. He has the nerve to give my wife a nickname. That’s strike one. “You’re married? Your profile said single.” He raises both hands and takes a step back. Then, he looks at me again, perusing my body. He bites his bottom lip and looks me directly in the eyes. “Are you into getting cuckolded?” He takes a step closer to me, clearly liking what he sees. “Do you do more than watch? I hope so.” He lowers his voice to a husky whisper. Mel’s mouth opens in shock, and she takes a step back.

That’s strike two.

“I knew you didn’t invite me in here just to meet your brother.” He drops his voice and inches closer to Mel. The sly grin on his too thin lips make it clear what he’s thinking.

That’s it. That’s strike three.

I push off the wall and come to my full height. Damian steps back when I slowly approach him. “Damian, is it? That’s a no to your first question.” I smile when I see the fear in his eyes as I get closer to him. He steps away until his back hits the wall. Idiot. Now he has nowhere to run. I step closer, lift him off his feet by his neck and pin him to the wall.

Jason rushes over. “Let him go, Flynn.”

I ignore him. In fact, I squeeze the fucker’s neck just a little bit.

“Adam, stop!” It doesn’t help to calm my anger when I see my wife wringing her hands over this useless piece of shit.

“If you ever so much as breathe the same air as my wife again, I will rip your fucking heart out of your chest. Got that?” When he doesn’t answer, I squeeze his neck again, lower my voice and say, “I asked you a question.”

“Yes,” he croaks out.

He starts to kick at me, but I look into his eyes and arch an eyebrow. He stops immediately.

“Does that make me sound like a man who will watch as another man fucks his wife?” My voice is so low that only he can hear me. He swallows and shakes his head, unable to form a single syllable. “Good. I guess that answers your second question.” I lower my voice further. “Now, get the fuck out of here before I snap your neck.” His eyes bulge right before I let him go. He starts to cough, but before Jason can reach for him, he runs to the door. I follow and shove him out.

After I close and lock the door, I turn back to Jason and my wayward wife. She stands there, mouth and eyes wide open. I make sure to squash the rose given to her by that other man. I hear a shriek before she runs across the room. I grab her wrist before her hand connects with my face, but she pushes out of my hold and starts to pummel my chest with punches. I grab both wrists, turn her around and hold her back against my chest.

“Let her go,” Jason orders, coming closer. “Right now, Flynn.” So, I do, and as soon as she’s able, she turns and attacks me again.

“You bastard,” she yells. “You fucking bastard. I’m going to chop you up into pieces and throw your worthless body parts into the Charles.” She punches and kicks until Jason grabs her and stands between the two of us.

Jason holds a hand towards Mel, a silent gesture to ask her to shut up. She stops talking, but she’s like a cornered animal, ready to strike again at any moment.

“Why do you keep calling Mellie your wife?” His brown eyes are shrewd as he looks at me and waits for my answer. I pull the marriage certificate out of my pocket and hand it to him.

His eyes widen as he looks at it. When he’s done, he hands the piece of paper to his sister, not saying a word. He crosses his arms and waits for her to talk.

The instant she gets her hands on the marriage certificate, she rips it to pieces, walks over, and throws the pieces of paper in my face.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about. That’s a fake,” she says to Jason. “Please do what I asked you to do this morning and evict him. He’s turned into a full on stalker.” She glares at me before turning back to him. “He scares me.”

I snort so loud, it turns into a laugh.

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