Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Her shoulders were curled inward and her fingers were twisting together nervously in front of her belly, but she held her head high as she nodded.
“I thought we moved past this years ago,” Ephraim said, his voice low and disappointed. “You know better, Noel.”
Her shoulders curled in even further.
“You need to leave,” she said, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “This is Otto and Esther’s house and they don’t want you here.”
“I’m not leaving without my granddaughters,” the old man shot back.
“My daughters aren’t going anywhere,” Noel countered, her shoulders straightening a little.
The old man had calculated incorrectly by bringing up the girls. I could see it in Noel’s expression. Ephraim may have guilted her into bending a little, but with the reminder of Ariel and Diana, whatever gumption she’d mustered up when she called Esther that night a couple weeks before was back in full force.
“You think you can keep my brother’s daughters from us?” the other man said, taking a step forward.
“Tell Lucille that once we’re settled, I’ll call her and maybe she can come visit,” Noel replied, not backing down.
I took a step to the side, moving behind her slightly. She was running the show. I wanted to make that perfectly clear. Pride settled somewhere deep in my chest.
“They in there?” the man took another step forward.
“Don’t come any closer,” Noel said before I could. “Get back in your car and leave.”
Ephraim chose that moment to appeal to Otto. The idiot.
“You understand where we’re coming from, right? Noel took off without telling anyone. We just want to make sure she and the girls are alright.”
Jesus, the irony was unreal. I could still remember vividly the day I’d shown up at Noel’s house because I hadn’t seen her at school for two days in a row, only to find the house gutted and her family gone.
“You’ve got that assurance now,” Otto replied flatly. “Leave.”
“Well, we still haven’t seen Ariel or Diana…”
“Not gonna fuckin’ happen,” I barked.
The thought of the girls—who I really hoped had fallen asleep on the ride home—getting into the middle of this bullshit made me more furious than I already was. Diana wouldn’t have a clue what was happening, but I had no doubt that Ariel would be scared and confused.
“Not sure how that’s your decision to make,” Ephraim countered.
Noel shuffled back a little at the venom in Ephraim’s voice, her shoulder blades brushing against my chest.
“Come here, Noel,” he ordered through his teeth.
The movement was unconscious. I wasn’t sure why I did it, or even noticed that I had, until Ephraim’s gaze shot down to where I’d set my hand on Noel’s hip. His expression filled with rage.
Then everything went to hell.
Noel flinched, her back slamming into my chest as Ephraim rushed forward.
Mick, Cian and Bas were yelling at the other assholes to stay where they were. I assumed that Otto was coming around the car, but before he got there, I was shoving Noel behind me.
The man wasn’t a fighter.
I guess he was more used to bullying women.
I braced my feet as he reached me, swinging wildly at my face.
I let him get a few punches in, making sure that he couldn’t claim any kind of assault. Then I went to work.
I was the youngest of four boys. I’d learned how to take a punch before I had armpit hair. I’d been getting into real fights since I was in high school and had been working with a bag much longer than that. Ephraim went down so easily that a part of me would’ve felt bad if he hadn’t been such an absolute fuck.
“Enough,” Mick barked, his hand coming down on my shoulder as I knelt above Noel’s brother.
Ignoring my brother, I cocked my arm back, focusing on a section of Ephraim’s face that I didn’t think I’d hit yet.
“Titus,” Noel called. “Stop. Please.”
That got my attention. I let my arm fall.
Climbing to my feet, I cleared my mouth and spit on Ephraim’s chest. My teeth had torn up the inside of my cheek when I’d let him hit me.
“This is where you want to be?” Ephraim asked in disgust, looking between Noel and Esther as he pushed to his feet. I wasn’t sure when my sister-in-law had gotten out of the car, but her expression was stony. “With these animals?”
Cian laughed.
“I’ve always looked out for you,” Ephraim said to Noel, using his shirt to wipe at his face. “This is the thanks I get?”
“You married her off to a man more than twice her age when she was sixteen years old,” Esther hissed. “Get the fuck off my property before I call the cops and tell them you’re trespassing and assaulted my brother-in-law.”
I couldn’t seem to take a breath as I looked over at Noel. More than twice her age?
Ephraim shook his head, glaring at Esther. “Trash,” he muttered.