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I stared at him until my eyes blurred, and those tears gave the bottled emotions in my chest permission to flood forward like an over-shaken soda.
“You’re a fucking monster,” I barked at him. “You’re insane. I’m not doing anything for you, and you—you’d do well to stay the fuck away from me because Jax has enough money to bury you in—”
“You forget who holds the power here,” Felix snapped, interrupting my splurge of desperate threats. “I hold it. Don’t you understand? I fucking own you, Summer. So, either you destroy them, or I will do it, and trust me when I say it won’t be bloodless from me—”
“Is everything alright here?” The bartender appeared at the booth, her hands clasped together in front of her golden waistcoat. Behind her, a member of security lingered with his brow furrowed. I hadn’t even seen them come over, and Felix shrunk somewhat in his seat.
“Yes, everything is fine,” Felix snapped.
“I wasn’t asking you,” she responded sharply, and Felix flinched as if he had been physically struck by her words.
“Ma’am?” She turned her eyes to me, and the softness I found there pulled painfully at my chest. A sob ripped out of my chest before I could stop it, and the bartender moved forward to comfort me. I couldn’t stop it, and my lower lips trembled as I tried to find words to explain.
“She’s fine!” Felix snapped as he half rose in his seat.
“Sir, remain in your seat,” the guard barked. Like a feral dog, Felix rose to the challenge and stood, squaring his shoulders at the guard. Just as I was sure he would throw his curled-up fist, something seemed to rein him in, and he took a deep breath.
“She’s just had too much to drink,” he said firmly.
“She never ordered anything,” the bartender replied. Felix rounded on her immediately. I couldn’t wait to see what he was going to do. In a burst of frantic energy, I shoved out of my seat, snatched my bag, brushed past the bartender and the guard, and bolted at breakneck speed out of the bar, leaving Felix to deal with them.
Tears flowed unchecked down my cheeks, and my heart hammered so hard in my chest that iron coated the back of my tongue and my head throbbed.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
What the hell was I going to do? I was trapped between a rock and a hard place, and the only way out would be to cut myself away from those I loved in order to save them from Felix’s insanity.
I’d known this dream could never last, but it was heartbreaking to feel it crumble through my fingers while being powerless to stop it.
It was me or Felix.
And I had only one clear thought as I sped through the resort.
I had to leave. I had to leave before Felix’s bloody threats became a reality.
31
LUKE
“Where is he?” Stomping the snow from my boots, I set down the chopped firewood in the basket near the fireplace as my mother hurried over to me, her face twisted with worry.
“He’s in the study,” she explained quickly. “I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.”
“The kids?”
“Summer took them out to lunch at the resort and Theo is upstairs.”
“Okay. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Jax.” Whatever had gotten him into such a state, we could handle it. I was sure of it. We’d all been through so much together that when my mother hurried out into the snow to tell me Jax was upset, I already knew we could sort it.
That feeling wavered slightly as I entered the study. Jax was at the far end near the windows pacing back and forth with a hand in his hair. The desk was messy, with items strewn across the top and spilling onto the floor. Even a few of the books were scattered about as if they had been thrown. Jax’s entire posture was rigid, and he didn’t look up when I entered, didn’t acknowledge me until I was on the other side of the desk.
“Jax?”
He lifted his head with a flinch and the hard, angry lines on his face softened a fraction when he looked at me. “Luke.”
“What’s wrong? You’ve got my mother all worked up. What’s going on?”
“Ah, shit.” Jax sucked in air through his teeth. “I thought she’d gone to lunch with the others.”
