“I'm going to pretend you didn’t just say that shit. What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Are you fucking crazy?” I shoved my hands into my pockets in an attempt to restrain myself from taking him down. I wasn’t sure why I’d thought talking would solve anything.
“No. Not crazy. Just looking out for Jade. If you had half a brain, you’d know you were fucking up her life. Don’t you see that it can’t work? That you are robbing her of a brilliant future? Of everything she has worked so hard for?”
“How would I be doing that? I support everything that Jade does. I'm not stopping her career in any way.”
“You’re a dumb fuck, biker. Don’t you realize that she’ll never be anything more than a low-level lawyer while she is associated with the likes of you? If she marries someone with clout, with prestige and standing in the community, she could rise to be the very best female attorney in the state. It's what she’s always wanted.”
“What—you mean like the so-called boyfriend she had, who fucked her over with his secretary? Don’t tell me you’d rather have Jade with a cocksucker like that—so she can be a success in your eyes . . . than with a man who truly respects and loves her? You are the dumb fuck here, Summers, not me.”
“Is it money you want? I can arrange for a cash payout if you guarantee to stay away from her. You know it's only a matter of time, anyway, before you tire of Jade and move on to some fresh pussy.”
“Christ, Summers, I wish you hadn’t said that,” I said as I threw the half-smoked cigarette onto the gravel, crunching it under my boot. My eye twitched—and that was never a good sign.
“How much will it take, Knox, to see you ride out of Jade’s life forever?”
That was it—I couldn’t take any more of his bullshit. My fist connected with his jaw. As he staggered backwards, I followed it up with a swift punch to his stomach.
“You’re dead now, fucker. I’ll take you out myself,” he roared as he thundered down on me, his eyes glistening in the near dark with a streak of madness so real I knew he would kill me if he could.
Razor had taught me a few sharp tricks I didn’t think they’d learned at the cop training grounds. As he lunged at me, I sidestepped him and gripped his head under my arm, squeezing his neck so that he could barely breathe. I twisted his arm around up his back so that I had more leverage to inflict pain.
“Fucker!” he yelled as I nearly pulled his arm out of its socket. It wasn’t whom the bigger man was who won the fight—it was he who moved swifter and used the element of surprise best. Summers had made the fatal mistake of thinking I’d use my fists only. But I knew if I tried beating him like that, I'd be the one in pain taking a beating from him.
A smile twisted my lips. Yeah. Having brothers as mean as Cobra and Razor sure had advantages. The number of times they’d nearly killed me in training was now paying huge dividends. I could fight dirtier than any fucking cop—even ones with a death wish.
Summers grunted as he tried to knock my wind out with his elbow. Fuck, that only drove me wilder. My blood rushed through my veins, adrenaline spiking my bloodstream. I chopped him in the balls, causing his eyes to roll back in his head. Then, just as he fell down like an ox, I dealt one swift punch to his throat.
He lay on the gravel, squirming.
I laughed. It sounded crass and a little crazy. “Not sure what’s hurting more, huh, fucker? Your balls or your windpipe?” I leaned over him and spat in his face. “Never tell me what to do. And never threaten to split me up with my bitch. Because like it or not, Jade is my woman now.” I kicked him in the ribs. Normally I didn’t kick a man on the ground, but I hadn’t paid him back for Peanut yet. I kicked again, harder, and he winced. “And that’s for the baby. Because I know you had something to do with Jade losing her. Yeah, it was a girl. An innocent baby girl. And I’ll never forgive you for that as long as I breathe.”
“Look over your fucking shoulder from now on, biker, because you’ve just signed your own death warrant. You’re as good as fucking dead. Even if it costs my own life, I won’t rest till you’re six foot under and out of Jade’s life for good.”
“We’ll see about that, Summers. You have no fucking idea how strong the love of a woman makes a man. I pity a fuck like you.”
I lit another cigarette and took a deep drag, needing the nicotine kick to calm me down.
“Now go inside and apologize to your sister. That’s the only reason I didn’t fucking take you out tonight. I don’t want to distress Jade any more than she’s hurting already. But if you harm her again, believe me, you’ll wish you were never born.”