Baby Daddies - Tara Brown Page 0,4
He steps closer, challenging me. “Thought she was better than that. Stan won’t be happy to hear how I’ve been treated.”
He’s baiting me but I don’t move.
“Or did you see the footage and think maybe she was playing ya for a fool?”
I crack a grin, knowing what buttons to push with him. “Actually, I assumed this was revenge for your wife. She told me you two were separated, I swear.”
His eyes widen and he makes the first move, shoving me hard. It’s the opening I wanted. I catch myself quickly, backhanding him before he’s recovered from the lunge.
He staggers back as wild fury flashes in his eyes. A backhand might as well have been a slap.
He charges me clumsily, but I’ve been training to fight with Vincenzo’s trainer, so I spin him and toss him into the front desk. Sami’s driver is the best fighter I know and I’m catching up.
Liam lands with a crash and laughs as he gets up, wiping blood from his face and nodding as he looks at it. He pauses for a minute before he runs at me again. I move to the side, but he anticipates it and hits center mass, taking me into the sofas behind me. I roll him onto the ground and slap him openhanded.
“You—”
Slap!
“Don’t—”
Slap!
“Put your hands—”
Slap!
“On women unless they consent—”
Slap!
He punches at me but I block it and slap him again.
“Lawrence?” a voice I recognize shouts my name. “Liam?” she says his name too.
We freeze in a tense struggle. I’m on top of him holding my hand in the air to hit him again. He’s grabbing at my throat and squishing my lips to the left.
We turn and see Jenny standing in the foyer with her brother who I recognize. Her wide-eyed stare darts across the massive room to where people are filming us with their phones.
Shit!
Smiling, and laughing, I bring my hand down and pat Liam on the cheek before standing and stepping back from him.
He laughs as he stands, nodding his head toward Jenny once but looking at me. “Good luck with this one, she’s a minx in the sack. Sucks harder than any whore—”
My hand reacts before I think and the loud crack of me punching him in the face is followed by him landing, knocked out on the sofa behind us.
“Thank you!” Josh shouts over Jenny who is screaming at her brother to call an ambulance.
Josh walks to me as he dials and shoves me into the far corner so his bodyguards can take over the scene. People are still filming us. Jenny’s bent over Liam, patting him gently on the cheek.
“Please tell me you’re the guy?” Josh asks.
“The guy?” The way he says it catches me off guard. She told her brother about me? “Lawrence, but everyone calls me Lori,” I say, winded and holding my throbbing hand out for Josh to take.
“I’m Josh, Jenny’s brother. That was a sweet shot, bro,” he says before he speaks into the phone, “Yeah, there’s a dude with a glass jaw knocked out for talking smack at the Ritz Carlton downtown. Oh, never mind, he’s awake now.” He hangs up and glances at me. “Should have hit him harder.”
“I might still.” I’m vibrating with anger and something else. It’s a need to pull her into my arms and make sure she’s okay. But if looks could kill, I’d die a thousand deaths for every glare she shoots my way.
Liam shoves Jenny off him and gets up, staggering away as a group of people surround him as if protecting him. I wonder where they were a minute ago.
Jenny storms over to Josh and me. “Are you insane?”
“Sorry, Lori, she means thanks for defending my honor.” Josh scowls at his sister. They make the same faces.
“I don’t mean that!” She gives Josh and me both the death stare. The bad one. “I’m going to be fired over this! I don’t want to see either of you right now! Get out of here!”
“I’ll call Stan and tell him—”
“Don’t,” she snaps at me, her eyes are wild. “You’ve done enough.” She leaves, stomping to the elevators.
“That went well,” I mutter.
“She’ll cool off and see you did the right thing. The guy needed a beating.” Josh glances at me. “You wanna hang at my place, since she isn’t going to let you up there?” It’s an awkward offer, considering I don’t know him, but I think he’s too stoned to make that connection. Or he’s just a typical Canadian.
“Yeah, sure.” I nod and