A bitter, shocked laugh burst out of my mouth. Exactly how insane was he? I slapped my hand over my mouth, but the laugh kept coming, bubbling up until I doubled over, eyes prickling with tears of hilarity.
Maybe it was the emotional turmoil of Nash's desertion, or the idea of having to deal with Tyler after getting used to being free of him. I don't know, but once I started laughing, I couldn't stop.
It didn't help when Tyler whined, "Stop laughing at me! You're my wife, you have to be nice to me!"
"Oh my god, are you kidding me?" I gasped out, before another round of belly laughs had me shaking so hard I thought I might fall over. An arm went around my waist. My brother Royal. A glance showed Griffen was straining to get to Tyler, held back by Hope's hand on his arm in a death grip.
"Is she hysterical?" Griffen asked.
Royal answered, "Maybe? I vote she gets first swing."
That just made me laugh even harder.
Griffen shot an annoyed look at Hope. "Let go, I'm not going to hurt him."
Hope rolled her eyes. "I don't care about him, you moron. Hawk has him under control, and if you hit that jackass, I guarantee he'll press charges. West loves you like a brother, but he'll throw you in jail if he has to."
I tried to get myself under control so I could help Hope with Griffen. As much as I was delighted by the idea of anyone punching Tyler, Hope was right. Our police chief loved Griffen like family, but he'd loved Ford too and that hadn't stopped him from arresting our brother for our father's murder. Tyler would love to press charges. I wasn't risking Griffen's freedom on West looking the other way.
Gulping back my giggles, I straightened, leaning into Royal for a moment, smiling up at him. "Thanks, I'm okay. He's just–" I waved a hand at Tyler's outrage, succumbing to another wave of giggles.
"Stop laughing at me!" Tyler shrieked again, his gorgeous face twisted in a petulant scowl.
Grabbing Royal's arm for support, I collapsed into giggles again. "I'm sorry," I breathed, Royal's face blurry through my wet eyes. "I'm stopping, I am." I tried, sucking in a deep breath, then another, blocking Tyler from my sight by tucking my face into Royal's arm. He rubbed a comforting hand over my back.
"Are you sure he was old enough to get married?" Royal whispered as he rubbed my back. "He's like Nicky when he goes to bed too late."
I hiccuped out another laugh and punched Royal lightly in the arm. "I can't stop if you keep making jokes."
Royal shrugged. "I think you should keep laughing at him. His head might explode and solve all your problems."
I peeked up from Royal’s arm to see Tyler's face flushed tomato red, his jaw clenched in fury, his glare aimed directly at me. I didn't know what I saw in his eyes, but it was more than temper and impatience. I thought I caught a flash of true malevolence before metal creaked and all of us looked to the slowly turning handle of the front door.
"Did I forget to mention him?" Hawk muttered through a whisper of a grin.
The door swung open to reveal Nash, his features drawn tight with worry, his gaze homing in on me. "Parker," he breathed, relief washing over his face, softening his mouth into a smile.
I straightened, fighting the need to smile back at the lying bastard. I did not want to see Nash. My eyes flicked to my not-ex husband. I especially did not want to see Nash right now.
Nash's eyes followed mine, flying wide as they landed on Tyler.
"What the fuck is going on here?"
Exactly what I wanted to know.
ChapterTwenty-Four
NASH
At first, all I could see was Parker, her cheeks flushed with laughter, leaning on her brother Royal. She was vibrant, that spark inside her ignited into a flame everyone could see. I needed her in my arms instead of Royal's. It felt like I'd been away from her for weeks instead of a single day. I smiled at the sheer relief of being back here, and for half a second, she started to smile back.
Then her eyes slid away, and abruptly, the rest of the room came in to focus.
Griffen stood opposite Royal and Parker, his wife clutching his arm as if holding him back. To my left, I found the reason why.
Tyler.
How the fuck had he gotten here so quickly? Hawk had one hand around the back of Tyler's neck in a grip Tyler probably thought couldn't do much damage. From what I knew of Hawk, I would have bet Tyler was in a lot more danger than he realized. As usual, Tyler was too self-centered and stupid to notice.
