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“Didn’t she just say she doesn’t want to get back together with you? That means you don’t have the right to force her. In fact, you don’t even have the right to touch her.”
No teasing, no pleasantness. His voice was steel, and I could tell he was trying hard to stay still. Before I could reach out to soothe, Rupert’s voice floated in the air.
“What the hell’s going on? Seb, what—”
Rupert took one look at my reddening arm and paled. Then fury exploded so hard that my heart dropped and I knew what was coming next as his gaze locked on Brett. I jumped forward to stop him, but again, a body blocked mine and someone yanked Rupert back before he could leap on Brett and attack him like a madman.
“Not here,” Matthew barked, holding onto Rupert’s arm. Sebastian held the other, but even their combined strength wasn’t enough to keep Rupert from thrashing about. I slipped in between them without a word and hugged his torso.
Immediately, Rupert stilled as his gaze flew down on me.
“Rupert, no. Please don’t. He’s not worth it,” I whispered, pleading. He glanced at my arm again and growled, but I shook my head insistently. “It’s just a bruise. It’ll go away.”
“He hurt you. He fucking hurt you.”
Sebastian’s grip tightened on Rupert at his words, and I understood that he and Matthew were reining in their temper, too. I tried to focus on Rupert.
“And he won’t hurt me again. I won’t let him,” I promised. “Let him leave.”
Behind us, there was a loud scoff.
“Oh, I get it now,” Brett said.
I was getting tired of him and his presence here. I turned and scowled.
“Get what?” I snapped.
“Why you don’t want to get back together with me. You’ve been busy.”
My free hand curled beside me, but I forced myself to uncurl it. There was no use telling the men to calm down if I couldn’t do the same. I took a deep breath.
“Brett, I suggest you leave right now and just forget about this. Forget about me. We’re getting nowhere with this conversation—”
“Yeah, well, that’s convenient for you, isn’t it? Considering you already forgot about me.” He sneered. The pleading, insistent Brett was gone, and in his place was a man who looked at me like I was the lowest life form and he was beyond disgusted. But beyond that was a growing malice that sickened my stomach. “Here I was feeling so guilty, and what have you been doing? You’ve been getting it.”
“Shut up, Brett. Leave now.”
But he refused, still on a roll. “I should have known you’d turn out like this all along. I came here with the purest intentions, but what do I find? You whoring yourself out. You got three men filling your pussy and fucking you sideways like the damn slut you are—”
Before I could do anything to shut him up, someone choked Brett. The hand wrapped around him tighter and forced him back until he slammed against the wall and held there. But the biggest shock was that it was Matthew doing the holding. Matthew stepped in, a whip-like movement that still affected calm. But his voice was deadly when he spoke.
“Finish that sentence and I promise you it’s the last word you will ever get out of that filthy mouth.”
Brett’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but the hand around his neck squeezed harder.
“You’re beside my restaurant, which means you’re on my property,” Matthew said in a low, controlled tone. “Which means you’re causing a scene on my property and trespassing. You can keep at it and have the cops on you within minutes. I can even give you a black eye and no one would care, since I’m just defending my property. Or you can be someone with common sense and leave while you still can. I’m only giving you this one warning.”
Tension rose so high that I choked on it, too, and I knew Matthew was seconds away from killing Brett if he so much as protested. I’d never seen him this cold, the danger permeating from every fiber of his being. I shuddered in response to it, understanding fully now why he was the leader of the Huntsmen. Why, other than his compassion and authoritative skills, they respected his decisions and looked up to him so much. That was further proven when instead of pummeling Brett to the ground, Matthew stepped back and let the man go.
Brett made a strangled sound and clutched his neck, where the bruises were as red as mine. He glared at me one last time, so visibly angry. But along with the anger was a look of defeat as he finally understood that he could never get to me again. I lifted my chin, driving that point across and refusing to say another word. That was the last straw for him as he stepped aside, avoided our united front, then turned and stomped away.
I shuddered. A hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me into a warm hug while another shielded me from view. Awareness seeped in that a crowd had formed around us, and that only agitated my nerves and dismay. My men were holding me intimately in public, and Brett’s words…
It was out. Everything we’d been trying so hard to hide and keep sacred was out for the world to see.
“Show’s over, folks,” Matthew called out and clapped his hands once. “Come in if you’re hungry or thirsty. We have a few specials tonight and the first round of drinks is on the house.”
The edge in his voice dared anyone to say a word, and even the patrons who had come out to check out the commotion weren’t safe from the danger emitting from him. I watched Brett’s retreating figure until it was gone, relieved that it was over. But a hard feeling swirled in my stomach, refusing to leave. The damage was done, irreversible no matter what excuses we made. The restaurant would know. The Huntsmen would know.
