Page 67 of Broken

“Fucking hell! Stop this shit. We’re here to talk, not fight!” Dragon barks, fury laced in his words.

“What about you, Dad? You know what that cunt did to me!”

I break free from Dragon and charge the asshole. I connect with his body, but the force of me tackling him throws us over the deck railing. We land on the grass below and immediately begin trying to wail on one another. Unfortunately, that’s short-lived. We only get a few punches in each before Dragon, T, and Chains pull us apart. Dragon has Dom, while Chains and T are holding me back.

“Call her that one more time and they’ll be picking up pieces of you along the side of the road,” I spit out, wiping the blood off my lip.

“You don’t know her!” Dom yells.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I know her better than any single one of you. I know her past. I’ve heard her pain, the shame she carries, and most of all—I know the woman she’s become. I know her in ways you never tried to, and that’s fine. She wasn’t the one for you. It’s clear Thea is, and I’m happy for you. That doesn’t mean Gabby can’t be everything to someone else—and she is. She’smine,” I growl.

“You’re delusional. Why would you want a woman who pulled the shit she did? I should have had the bitch arrested!”

“She made fucked-up decisions, but who helped drive her to that, Dom? Are you going to stand there and pretend you did nothing to chip away at her self-worth and confidence? Are you saying you’re blameless in the whole fucking mess with you, her, and T?”

“I don’t know what the fuck she told you, but she wouldn’t know the truth if it hit her in the face!” he says, and that’s when I’ve had it.

“How old was she when you took her virginity?” I whisper, but the words are cold and deadly.

His head yanks back with his words, but he doesn’t budge. “Whatever bullshit she fed you, it wasn’t true. She was my first, too. We were young, but it was consensual.”

“I could see that,” I answer. “But you took her virginity, made promises, and then once the seal was broken, decided one was fun—why not two, right?” He freezes, his body going tight. “Oh, I see you think you got away with that, didn’t you? I mean, she wasn’t part of the Savage Brother’s family. How would she know if you left her bed to stick your dick in some club candy?”

“Dom, you didn’t,” Nicole hisses.

“Oh, God,” Thea whispers. Dom keeps staring at me, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Every single time, some chick called Mony sent her pictures and videos of that shit. If she got desperate, Dom, who made her that way?” When I tell him the name, Dom’s entire body jerks like it’s a lethal blow. “Gabby wasn’t your one, I get that. But you made her believe she was, and that shit is on you. You took away so much of her self-worth that she looked for it in the arms of a man who always professed to love her,” I add, looking at T. “It was a fucked-up play, and her desperation led to more fucked-up shit. It doesn’t excuse a damn thing she did, but hell, all three of you were kids playing at being adults. I’m not asking you to forget the past, but I’m asking you to respect my choice and the fact she belongs to me. If you can’t do that, I don’t want you in my life. Straight up, especially you T. I love you. You know that shit runs deep, but if you can’t see your way clear to accepting my choice, then I’m done.”

“You’d choose her over your flesh and blood?”

“Any day and every day. And if what you have for Lyla is what I think it is, you’d do the same for her.The very fucking same.I love her, T. We’re having a kid and as much as I’d like for our child to have cousins to grow up with, if it doesn’t happen, we’ll survive. What I will not do is have people in my life who can’t respect my choices and at least treat my woman civilly. I know she’s apologized to all of you. No one asked her to do that, and I don’t see why some of you were so hateful to her. She may have hurt your pride, T—but what has she done to keep you from being happy? Lyla? Did Gabby keep you from having the man you love? Did she stop you from building the family you have?” I ask them all.

No one says a damn thing and I just shake my head. I turn to look at Nic. “I’m sorry, Nic. I appreciate you trying for me, and I appreciate what you’ve done to help Gabby.”

“I want to know when she goes into labor. Dragon and I will be there,” she says, wiping tears from her face.

“I’ll make sure you know,” I tell her. I lean down to whisper in her ear. “You’re too young to be my mother, but if I could have picked one, I would have picked you,” I tell her and she hugs me tightly, losing control so that more of those tears fall.

I rise and look at Dragon. He nods, his face solemn. I look at Chains and nod.

He returns it with a smile. “Kayden and I will be down for a visit soon,” he promises.

“Looking forward to it,” I answer.

I walk away. Half-hoping at least T will stop me and speak up, and half-glad he didn’t.

Fuck’em. I’m going home to my woman.

Denver is looking better and better.

Chapter 31

Dragon

“Two things.First, I didn’t expect either of you to be happy about this shit. I’m not even sure how I feel about it. King is a part of this family, though, and I at least expected you to deal with this like fucking adults!” I growl.

Fuck, this shit went worse than I imagined it would. I knew Dom and T would get pissed, but I thought somehow it would work out. I’m a damn fool and I’m getting too old for this shit. Now, I have to figure out a way to keep this crap contained and somehow bring my family back together.

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