Page 114 of Waiting for Redemption

“What are you going to do?” Ruby asks, unbuckling her seatbelt.

“I’m gonna stand up for my wife. Stay in the truck.”

“What? No! You’re not going up there alone,” she argues as I lock the doors.

“Honey.Look at me.” She locks those gorgeous brown eyes on mine as I lean down to her level. “Stay in this truck. I’ll be right back.” I grip her chin and pull her in for a kiss before she sinks back into her seat and looks at me pleadingly.

“Please be safe.”

“Baby, he’d need a fucking army to take me down right now,” I assure her before slamming the truck door and walking up to room number eight. I knock on the door twice before he finally swings it open.

“You,” he grumbles.

“Hey there, Mark. Make any horrible decisions today?” I ask rhetorically.

“None you should worry about.” He smirks, trying to shut the door in my face.

“Oh, you thought we were done here. That’s cute.” I kick the door open, walking forward until we’re almost nose to nose. “Because we’re not through here until you understand just what lengths I’ll go through to protectmy wife.”

“I’m calling the police.” He threatens, reaching for his phone. A devilish grin appears on my face as I grab his wrist, in the same way, Ruby’s told me he grabbed hers before—squeezing it until I can feel his pulse beating like a drum in my grip.

“You think you’ll live long enough to get such an opportunity?” I ask, throwing his phone across the room before releasing his hand. Then he does the one thing I’ve been waiting for. He rears back and throws the first punch.

“Fucking dumbass.” When I taste copper in my mouth I spit the blood out on his floor, before squaring my shoulders and taking my shot.

When my first punch lands, he nearly falls to the ground but I don’t stop long enough to let him regain his bearings. I grab a handful of his hair, tossing him into the door before wrapping my hand around his throat.

“How’s it feel,Mark?To be the one unable to fight back. To feel the air leaving your lungs with no plan of return. Not so good, huh?” He tries his best to pull my hand away, grunting like an idiot as his face begins to turn from red to purple. I toss him to the floor, walking across the room as he gasps for air.

“Ah, here we go.” I smash a water glass on the dresser to shatter it before walking back over to pick him up off the ground. Once he’s pinned to the wall again, I take the piece of glass in my hand and press it into his stomach, as he begins sobbing.

“You have no idea just how much you fucked up when you put your hands on my wife.”

“She wasn’t your wife back then,” he argues as tears stream down his face.

“But, she wasalwaysmeant to be my wife.” I slam my arm against his chest harder, making his eyes squeeze shut. “Before you ever even laid eyes on her, before yourdisgustingfucking hands ever touched her, she was destined to bemine. You don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as her, much less claimher sonas your own. Give meonegood reason I should let you live.”

“So you don’t go to jail?” His desperate response draws the most unhinged laugh from deep within my chest.

“You think I wouldn’t gladly go to jail for her? I would endurefarworse for her. She’severythingto me. Do you understand that? That woman has saved my life in more ways than you can imagine. I would die a thousand deaths for her if it meant she was free ofyouand all the goddamn shit you’ve put her through,” I yell, no longer able to keep my composure with him.

When I feel the glass cutting deeper into my hand I slice it across his stomach the rest of the way—making the incision deep enough only to scar, and not gut him like I’ve been imagining doing since I first walked through that door. I toss the glass to the side, squeezing my hands into fists as I continue my assault until he’s unrecognizable.

I can feel how close to death I’ve brought him, and those tiny little demons I used to be so familiar with start crawling back out of the shadows urging me to finish him off—he deserves it after all. But as soon as I allow myself to smile at the thought, my vision is flooded with images of Ruby and Hendrix.

I start to see the life we’ve built together in just the last month alone, and what it could look like if we gave it a lifetime. The way Hendrix is starting to copy everything I do in an effort to be like me when he grows up. The way my wife looks at me now, the same way I’ve always looked at her—like I’m all she sees. It’s true what I said before, that I would go to jail or even die a thousand deaths to protect them, but I think I’d much rather see what living lifewiththem could be like instead.

So I pull back.

I don’t let the demons win this time.

Instead, I let the angel on my shoulder—who looks a hell of a lot like my wife—have the last say.

“If you ever mess with my family again, I will finish what we’ve started here. Have I made myself clear? You either disappear on your own, or I’ll do it for you.” He nods his head vigorously, as he collapses on the ground.

“I expect the custody case to be closed by morning.” I crack the door open, making sure no one is outside before slipping out and walking back to my truck.

“Oh my god…” Ruby says when she takes in the sight of me. “You killed him, didn’t you?”

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