Even though he’d gotten his bell rung, Kade automatically swung low and heard the whump of air as he punched the guy in the stomach. A splash followed as the man fell into a puddle.
“Enough!”
When Skylar moved to stand between them, Kade jumped up and blocked her from the man’s long reaching arms, even when the guy was curled up on the ground. “Stay back. You have no idea what this guy is capable of.”
“I had no idea that you were capable of this kind of behavior.”
Stung, he said, “He took the first swing.”
“I don’t care. Step aside. I’ll handle this.”
“The hell you will.” Kade dropped his voice. “Get in the goddamn building, Skylar, right now.”
“Last time I checked, I owned this place and you do not get to dictate to me here. So back off.”
“No. I will not let you put yourself in a dangerous situation because you think you can handle it.”
Skylar’s eyes were as cold as he’d ever seen. “I’ll handle it my way and it won’t be with physical violence like you’ve handled it.”
“There ain’t any other way.”
She sidestepped Kade and addressed the prone man. “Rex. Get off my property and don’t come back. If I see you within fifty feet of the front door, I’m calling the sheriff.”
Mud-covered Rex scrabbled to his feet and shuffled back to his pickup, amidst mutterings of lawsuits. He gunned the engine and was gone.
Kade seethed. Hadn’t she learned her lesson last night about purposely putting herself in danger? How did Skylar know the idiot didn’t have a gun in his truck? He could’ve pulled it out and started firing at her and gone after everyone in the building. He growled, glaring at her for her short-sighted decision to let the guy go.
Without turning away from Kade, she pointed to the building. “See those kids plastered to the window? Kids you spent all day caring for? They’ve been watching you beat the shit out of another man. Every single one of them has had to deal with domestic violence in some form. This is the one place they shouldn’t have that fear. You brought that fear to them today in Technicolor.”
“I didn’t. He showed up here lookin’ for a fight. I gave him one.”
“You should’ve walked away.”
“I didn’t do a damn thing that was outta line. I’d do it exactly the same way if I had to do it over again.”
“Is that macho cowboy bullshit supposed to impress me?”
“No, it was supposed to protect you. I was just defendin’ myself, and you, and what’s mine.”
“I don’t need you to defend me.”
“You really think you would’ve stood a chance at keepin’ that guy under wraps if he’d’ve come after you? Were you gonna try to reason with him?”
“Yes.”
“Give me a goddamned break,” Kade snapped. “That guy was pissed off, outta control and lookin’ for trouble.”
“No, you’re out of control. You’re a hundred times more trouble.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Just like I suspected, the little bit of control I allowed you wasn’t enough. Now you want all the control in my life and take it at the first opportunity.” Skylar spoke through clenched teeth. “You’re not content to call the shots in the bedroom any more. You want to do the same here. Guess what? Not happening.”
Kade could not believe she’d thrown that in his face. Control wasn’t the issue and she damn well knew it. “Well excuse the fuck outta me.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I’ll put aside your ignorant, wrong and just plain damn petty insult and give it to you straight. This is about safety, not control. And guess what? Your security measures are piss-poor, darlin’. First, that guy shouldna been able to get that close to the building. Second, he coulda waltzed right in the front door. Know how I know that? Because I’ve done it several times. No one stoppin’ me, no security inside or out. You, or whoever is in control doesn’t even lock the goddamn door during workin’ hours.”
Skylar’s icy glare continued.
“This is a business. If you’ve hired women with a history of domestic violence issues, you oughta be more vigilant about security issues than normal, not less. Alarms on the doors and windows. A gate with a code box to keep out trespassers. You already have a damn gate, hell, you have two gates, why would you leave them open night and day? You’ve got kids in there, Sky. You’ve got my kid in there. And the way it sits, ain’t nothin’ stoppin’ an angry ex or a pissed-off boyfriend from stormin’ the joint with a gun and killin’ every last person in there.”