Page 84 of Chasing Xander
“No, it’s not—” From over Kylie’s shoulder, he saw her father barreling out the door. The man looked downright pissed off. And drunk. What a perfect combination.
“Get your ass back here, Kylie!” Her father stumbled but regained his footing. “You backstabbing, money-hungry bitch!”
“Dad!” She turned and faced her father. “Stop yelling at me, and stop calling me names.”
“It’s your damn fault. Why wouldn’t I yell at you?” He got in Kylie’s face and pointed at her. “I know you convinced that old bat to leave you all her money. I’m her fucking son! I deserve everything she had.”
“You don’t deserve a goddamned thing!”
Xander stepped in front of Kylie, not trusting the man not to cross the line. “All right, calm down, Mr. Quinn.”
“Stay the fuck out of this. It’s none of your damn business.” Mr. Quinn’s breath stunk of cheap liquor and toothpaste.
Xander scrunched up his face in disgust. No wonder she hated this man so much. “It’s my business when you’re attacking your daughter like this.”
“Tell the little whore to give me what’s mine, and she’ll never have to see me again.” He laughed and then glared at her. “It’s not like you need it anyway. Your boyfriend here is loaded. Ain’t you, boy?” He turned back to Xander. “That fancy, expensive car you drive around in. How much you worth?”
“Dad!” Kylie’s entire body was tense, and her hands were clenched into such tight fists, her knuckles were white. “I’m not giving you anything. If you want the money, you’re going to have to sue me.” As if losing her grandmother wasn’t bad enough, she had to deal with this ass.
“You bitch!” he snarled. “You should’ve been in that car with your mother when she died.”
Without thinking, Xander hauled off and punched him in the jaw. Kylie’s father dropped to the ground with a thud, screaming profanities.
“Xander!” She cupped her hands over her mouth.
Shaking the pain from his hand, he glared down at the other man. Rage poured through him. He wanted to be sorry for his outburst, but when Kylie’s father wished her dead, that was going too far.
“You cock-sucker!” Mr. Quinn got to his feet and rushed at Xander, knocking him to the ground. Kylie’s father landed several hard punches to Xander’s ribs before he managed to get another jab to the man’s face.
“Stop!” she screamed.
Shoving her father away, Xander got to his feet, wincing in pain. He clutched his ribs and leaned against his car. Christ, the man could hit. Even with all the roughhousing he had done with his brothers, he wasn’t prepared for an actual fight. He attempted to suck in a deep breath but was stabbed with a sharp pain. He winced again and doubled over. Kylie’s dad was on his knees, his hand covering his nose. Blood seeped through his fingers. Before Xander could do anything else, two police cruisers pulled into the parking lot, lights flashing.Fuck.
“I got a call from Mr. Stanton that there’s a problem here,” Sheriff Rick said. Another uniformed cop stepped out of the second cruiser, his hand poised near his weapon.
“Sheriff Rick,” Kylie said, relief lacing her words. “I saw the whole thing.”
“That man assaulted me!” Mr. Quinn pointed at Xander. “I was talking to my daughter, and he walked up and punched me.”
“Is that true?” Sheriff Rick looked at Xander.
He kept his mouth shut, refusing to say anything that would get him into more trouble. He knew he was going to be arrested. There was no way around that, but he wouldn’t make things worse for himself, not when he’d been the one to throw the first punch.
“Have you been drinking again, Bill?”
Kylie’s father grunted, spit blood, and then got to his feet. “Don’t matter. I was assaulted. Arrest him.”
“Okay, settle down.” Sheriff Rick raised his hands, and then he turned his attention to Kylie. “What happened?”
Xander’s stomach knotted. Either Kylie would tell the truth, or she’d lie for him. If she told the truth, he’d be in serious legal trouble. If she lied, he’d feel even guiltier than he already did. Either way, he was seriously fucked.
“We—me and my dad—were meeting with Mr. Stanton for the reading of Nammy Joyce’s will. Dad got angry because I inherited everything. He followed me outside and started yelling at me, calling me names, and then—”
“You lying whore!” Bill lunged at Kylie.
“Touch her and I’ll kill you.” Xander threw his body in the way before her father could hit her. Bill elbowed Xander in the gut, and all the breath rushed from his body. He planted his fist on the side of Bill’s neck, causing his head to snap back. Bill groaned and stumbled, but didn’t fall.
“Enough!” Sheriff Rick grabbed Bill’s arm and pulled him away from Xander.
