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But my woman isn’t crying. Instead she’s got a determined look on her face as she stomps over to where I’m standing.
“He put his hands on me,” she says, crossing her arms and staring him down.
“Where?” I ask, looking back to Mark, who has a bloody nose.
“On my arm. Then he cornered me and tried to feel me up, but I hit him before he got the chance.”
“Good girl,” I say, nodding in approval. “Which hand did he touch you with?”
“His right one,” she answers immediately.
I reach down and grab his first two fingers and he starts to beg.
“No, no, she misunderstood—”
The sound of his bones breaking is drowned out by his scream, and his lies are silenced.
“Now you’re a little man, and I’m a big man. I don’t know if you’re good at math or not, but that means I could fuck you up.”
He doesn’t answer, only cries out again when I break his pinky.
“I’m going to leave your wedding finger alone, because I want to give you a reminder of how sacred marriage is. And how truly precious my bride is to me.” I grab him by the throat and lean in. “You’re going to lose your job, and you’re never, ever going to step foot in this town again. I’ve got friends in high and low places and I’ll make sure you don’t so much as put a toe in the same county as the love of my life.”
“Yes,” he croaks out, but I’m not done with him yet.
“I’d like for you to apologize to my wife, but I don’t want you to speak to her ever again. So I’ll take the apology. Go on, and make it a good one.”
I squeeze his neck a little tighter and he wheezes out an apology. It’s not much, but he’s turning blue, so I think it’s all he can really manage.
I drop him to the ground like a used rag and then turn to my wife. She’s in my arms instantly and as I carry her away, I can hear a soft sniffle. I know she was being strong in the moment, but she’s delicate. That’s why I’m her protector.
“Thank you,” I say to Will on the way out.
“I’ll be in touch,” he says, nodding and patting me on the back. He turns to Nancy and smiles. “Now, young lady, you may call the police.”
“Take me home,” Emily says, and I kiss the top of her head.
“Anything, Button.”
Chapter 10
Emily
Dylan doesn’t stop until he has me planted in his truck with my seatbelt on. He fires up the truck and pulls out of the parking lot. As he drives, he picks up my hand and kisses my palm.
“Does your hand hurt, Button?” His eyes are filled with concern, but I can still see the anger simmering below.
Most people might not think so, but I know Dylan showed a level of control in there. We’re all lucky he didn’t burn the whole building down.
I shake my head as he runs his thumb across it. There was a small sting I felt when I smacked Mark, but it’s fading fast. I’m still shocked that I did it. When he tried to feel me up at the same time as making another comment about my husband, I lost it. I didn’t even know I was capable of smacking a person. An anger rushed forward like I’d never felt before and I was striking him before I was even aware I was doing it.
I feel a lump start to creep up my throat. The anger I felt moments ago is turning into tears. Too many emotions are flooding me and I try to fight back the tears. But before one can even slip free, Dylan is pulling over and unbuckling me from my seat. He brings me over to his side and holds me in his lap.
“Button.” He places kisses all over my face. “Everything is fine. I promise.” I know my tears are killing him. Dylan can’t stand when I cry, even when they’re happy tears.
“I hate my job,” I blurt out. I watch as he tries to fight a smile, and I smack his chest. “Don’t laugh.”
“Then quit.” He says it like it’s so easy. Can I just quit? Do I really want to?
“I put up such a fuss about getting it in the first place, then it turned out to be…” I throw my hands up in the air. “It’s a mess is what it is.”
Now I’m scared Dylan might be in trouble, even if Mark did need his ass kicked. I hate to think about what he might have done to other women in the past. A man in power thinking he can take what he wants is disgusting. I drop my head, but Dylan makes me look back up at him.
