Smith(48)

We walk inside, and when the door dings behind us, Aubrey’s ex spins around. Sees us and his brow furrows. He gives a haughty look and offers us his back, peering over the counter. “Excuse me,” he says loudly, calling out to the empty café, peering to see where the employees are.

“Are you Roger?” I ask.

His back stiffens. I can see his gaze darting around. He’s evaluating the situation. My brothers move to either side of him.

“How about we move to the back,” I tell him in a quiet voice. “We need to talk.”

Roger’s entire body is rigid. He wants to run so badly, but we have him surrounded. He lifts his chin. “I’m not bothering anyone. Just getting coffee and waiting for a friend. You folks should be on your way back to whatever hillbilly hole you crawled out of.”

Jax gives a loud, barking laugh. “That’s fucking hilarious. Hillbilly hole. This guy’s witty! I can definitely tell what Aubrey saw in him.”

At the mention of her name, her visibly startles. Studies us closer. When his gaze locks on me, I see fury unleashed in his eyes. He recognizes me.

“Oh, good. You know who I am. That saves me the trouble of having to introduce myself.” My voice is ice. My fists are clenched at my side. “Get your fucking ass in the back room or I’ll pick you up and carry you there myself.”

“And why would I want to go back there with you?” He’s trying to sound brave, but I hear a thin hint of fear in his voice.

I step closer to him, look at the face of the man who’s petrified the woman I’ve fallen for. Who’s made her life hell to the point where she had to move away from him to escape his abuse. All the rage I feel rushes to the surface. “Because we’re going to talk.”

“Fuck you,” he spits at me.

I punch him right on the nose. He gasps and holds it as blood gushes out, spattering on the floor. “Fine with me. I’d rather fight anyway. Ready to go?”

My brothers cross their arms and stand there to make sure he doesn’t try to run off.

Roger holds his nose with one hand and raises his other in the air. “Fuck. Fuck. I think you broke it. I’m going to call my lawyer.”

I grip his hair so tight it makes him cry out, and I force him to walk behind the bar then drop to his knees. Jax moves over to flip the Open sign to Closed, his back to the door.

Roger stares up at me, blood streaming down his face in thick gushes, eyes watering.

“You aren’t calling anyone,” I tell him. “If you even think of doing so, I’ll fucking wreck you so hard you won’t be able to move, much less dial a number. Any man who would hurt a woman to try to control her is a fucking dog and deserves to be put down.” I squeeze his scalp tighter, and he whimpers. “You are never to contact Aubrey again in any format. You will never contact her family or friends again. You will go home quietly, and you will stay the fuck away from Rock Bridge for the rest of your life. And if you call anyone about what happened here today, I will find you, and I will fucking kill you.”

I tilt his head up to make sure he can see how serious I am.

“No one is ever going to hurt Aubrey again. I’m protecting her now. Do you understand me?”

He swallows and swipes a hand along the bottom of his face to wipe away the blood running.

I snap his head back and bend over him. “That’s not an answer. Do. You. Understand. Me.”

“Y-yes.”

I jerk on his hair to force him to standing. “Give me your phone.”

“What?” He blinks in surprise.

I raise and pull back my other fist, and he cringes away, fumbling in his jacket pocket.

“H-here, okay, fine, just take it.” His fingers are shaking so hard he can barely hand it to me.

I release his hair, then I drop the phone and stomp on it. Crush it beneath my boot. He groans, and Jax claps. “Just to give you a little incentive to not call anyone when you drive your sorry ass home.”

I’m so tempted to beat this man senseless right now. I want to unleash everything. But I’m trying to restrain myself. I don’t want to be a man Aubrey’s afraid of. I’m her hero, not another man who uses his strength to intimidate her. And while she hates and is afraid of Roger, doing any further damage to him will only make her feel bad.

“Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and do what I really want to do to you right now.”

Roger scrambles to move around the coffee bar counter, cupping his nose, then dashes outside. I see him struggle to open his car door. He backs out of his parking space and his tires squeal as he leaves.

“Do you think he’ll leave her alone?” Asher asks.