Page 125 of Addiction

He needs to leave. My blood is boiling. How fucking dare he?

“And we both know what a car crash your life has already been. Pardon the pun—it was completely intended.”

The paperwork underneath my hand is screwed up into a ball, my knuckles white with fury as I try my damn hardest not to lose my temper. If I do, I won’t stop.

But thankfully the voice behind me comes in like a lifeline.

“I think you’ve said enough, don’t you?”

“Oh look, the resident security guard is back.” He grins at Mark who is standing in the doorway behind me. Raymond leaves the desk and steps over to the filing cabinet, looking me up and down with disgust before he stands tall, shoulders squared as if he’s not intimidated at all. He glances at Mark and then looks back at me. “Does he always fight your battles for you?”

“No one fights my battles but me. Stick around and you’ll find out.”

“The fuck is he sticking around,” Mark says. “I told you the other day to not show your face around here again. You should have listened.”

“Yeah. But the thing is, I don’t listen. People listen to me. And I’m having a word with my friend Asher here.”

“I’m not your fucking friend,” I growl.

Raymond looks back at me with that signature smirk that I really. Fucking. Hate. “Yes. But I’d be a better friend than an enemy. I mean, I could bring this place and your friend’s bar down in a day.”

“Don’t you dare threaten me.”

“Not to mention the things I can do to your mother. I am a powerful man, Asher.”

That’s all it fucking takes before I’m charging toward him with fury, wanting to kick the absolute hell out of him. But Mark jumps in between us and squares up to me, trying to talk me out of doing anything stupid.

“Move,” I growl.

“No. You do not want this. You can’t do this.”

“He can’t keep on saying shit and getting away with it.”

“And you’ve just come out of jail and can’t go back in. Look at me.”

I don’t. I keep my eyes on the fucking foe.

“Asher, look at me,” he grits.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez stands with a shit-eating grin on his face.

I finally pull my eyes away and look at my friend.

“I get you want to hit him, we all do, but think about what will happen if you do. He may not have pressed charges on Wade, but we both know he will when it comes to you because he knows it will hurt the one person we are all trying to protect.”

Wade.

“And he deserves better than what is going on right now. He doesn’t need any more pain in his life, and if you fight his dad you’ll only cause more.”

He’s right. I can’t do this to Wade or any of my family. I’ve worked too hard for this dickhead to bring me down.

Stepping back, I glare at Rodriguez but bark at Mark. “Get that fucker out of my gym.”

I turn away from them both, resting my hands on the desk and lowering my head between my shoulders, wishing this day had never happened because my mind is now all kinds of crazy.

“Get the fuck off me,” he spits as Mark manhandles him out of my office. “You have no right.”

“I’ve every fucking right, asshole,” Mark snaps.