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“If you put your hands on Celine ever again, I will rip them off and stuff them in your mouth. Is that clear?”
Brandon straightened and sneered at Marcus.
“You can’t touch me, asshole. I’ll have you up for assault before you can blink. You don’t know who I am.”
“Actually, I do. Brandon Gantry, a two-bit paralegal who’s desperately trying to become Assistant DA. The trouble is, Gantry, that you don’t know who I am. If this is evidence of your research skills, I’d have to say it doesn’t bode well for the DA’s office.”
“I’m just trying to protect Celine and Rose.”
I leaned around Marcus and blew him a raspberry.
“Pfft! You’re just trying to protect your own ass, so don’t make like a saint,” I warned. “Arjun has something on him. I bet he takes bribes. Do you take bribes, Brandon?”
Marcus sighed and turned to me with a frown.
“You really are a shit starter,” he said mildly.
“Hey! What did I do?” I asked, outraged.
He didn’t reply. Instead, he turned back to glare at Brandon.
“Listen up, Gantry. You tell your mate to back off because Celine knows nothing, and she has nothing to do with all this.”
Brandon ignored him and sneered at me.
“You’ll regret this, Celine. Especially when the court hears that you’ve shacked up with one of your customers.”
Marcus shook his head in disgust.
“I can’t believe you procreated with this piece of shit, honey.”
“Neither can I,” I sighed.
“I’m not her customer, moron. I’m her boyfriend.”
Umm, okay. I wasn’t sure why he felt the need to lie about that, but I wasn’t in a position to argue with Marcus. Not when I needed to convince Brandon to back off. I didn’t know how deep he’d gotten in with Arjun, but it must be very deep if he was making threats about taking Rose.
“Yeah, and he’s not just anybody. Go and look up Marcus Donovan on the internet, and then tell me if you want to take me to court. You blocked me when I told you I was pregnant. I have all our emails and texts, Brandon. I have proof of how you ghosted me when Rose and I needed you. No court is going to give custody to a useless father like you. And when Marcus and I get done telling them how you threatened me on behalf of your buddy, you’d be lucky to even get visitation.”
“Honey, I work for the DA. Whom do you think they’ll believe? The DA’s office or a trashy, penniless single mom and her loser boyfriend?” argued Brandon stupidly.
He looked desperate. Arjun must have a really strong hold on him, I realized.
“I’m sure Jim Henley would love to know how his staff bandies his name about, especially when they are threatening civilians,” mused Marcus. “I must mention that to him at our next golf game. As for your threats, Celine might be penniless, but I am not. I can afford the best lawyers in the country, Gantry, and trust me, I will dig up whatever it is that Monani is holding over you, and I will hang you out to dry.”
“You don’t scare me,” blustered Brandon as he backed away towards the door.
Rose grabbed my leg and tried to stand up, babbling something happily. I picked her up and raised her little hand to wave goodbye.
“Say bye-bye, Da-da,” I cooed. “Do your worst. We don’t care, do we, honey? No, we don’t!”
I knew the baby talk was an insult to injury but I was furious with Brandon. He had crossed the line when he threatened to take Rose from me, and now, the only way I’d ever let him see his daughter was if he brought a letter from the court.
Rose didn’t spare him a look because she had eyes only for Marcus. She leaped out of my arms and he caught her just in time. She patted his face gently as she babbled, and he pretended to understand every word. Brandon’s face was red with fury as he slammed the door behind him.
My shoulders slumped as soon as he left and I turned to take Rose from Marcus. I hugged her close and buried my face in her curly hair, inhaling her sweet baby smell deeply. It was the only thing that calmed me down these days. Her smell and her drooly kisses.
“I’m sorry you had to be part of that scene,” I said stiffly. “Thank you, Marcus.”
