her feet and headed for the door. My father grabbed her arm. “No, you don’t. After the shit you caused, you’re not going anywhere until I say you can.” His gaze sliced to me. “I talked to your brother. Told him to come and get her.”
Sofia’s entire body froze solid.
“Trip’s not coming, I can guarantee that,” I gritted out. “He knows exactly what will happen to him if he shows his face here again. Now, let her go.”
The old man sneered, but I could see in his eyes that he knew I was right. Trip was a piece of shit, but he wasn’t stupid enough to risk coming back here, not even for Sofia. My father spat at her feet before shoving her away, and Sofia ran out the door.
I advanced on him as soon as she was out of sight, grabbing his shirt and pushing him against the wall. “You don’t come to my house, ever, do you hear me?”
He shoved me back. “You betrayed your family. Fucked up your brother. Took his old lady. You want her for yourself, is that it? You need to learn the meaning of loyalty.”
“Trip betrayed the club and he beat Sofia. He deserved everything he got. You’re lucky I didn’t put a bullet in his head.”
He looked at me with disgust. “That bitch blew it all out of proportion. He gave her the odd slap, wasn’t a big deal…”
I ran at him, fisting his shirt again, and slammed him against the wall. “Trip got that from you, huh, Dad? Hitting women. Fucking cowards, both of you,” I roared in his face.
He swung before I saw it coming, his fist connecting with the side of my face. Stupid of me. I should have known that’s what would happen next. It always did.
I’d fought a lot in my life. Had taken hits from my father that had knocked me out cold. I’d started boxing when I was just a kid. I’d wanted to learn to defend my mom. No one could best me, not anymore. I rarely lost in the ring, and I’d beaten the shit out of people for the club when someone needed to be taught a lesson.
But I’d never hit my father back. Not once in my life.
He was getting old, was soft around the middle. Drinking like he did was taking a toll, but he was still fucking strong. And when he came at me like this, I was that kid cowering in the corner all over again. I was the boy putting himself in harm’s way, doing whatever it took to have that anger directed at me and not my mom.
He knew that. Which was why he hit me again.
After seeing my mom yesterday, being with Lila. After seeing Sofia now after being terrorized by my father for fuck knew how long—I couldn’t hold back anymore.
I let the kid in me go. The kid who didn’t understand why his dad wanted to hurt his mom, hurt him, and I stood at my full height. I was several inches taller than him, and he looked up at me with fury in his eyes. He swung again—
I caught his fist in my hand and shoved it away.
He roared and swung again.
I caught that too, then swung back, connecting with his jaw and knocking him on his ass. He stared up at me, and it was only a split second, but there was no missing the shock, the fear in his eyes.
I took sick satisfaction as I moved in and stood over him. “It’d only take a couple more hits, old man, and I could take you out. You know it and I know it.”
He stared at me for several long moments…then smiled like the twisted asshole he was. “Been waiting for you to finally find your balls. About fucking time.”
I huffed out a disgusted breath. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, all of them were a waste of breath. He didn’t care. I grabbed him by his shirt, hauled him off the floor, and shoved him toward the front door.
“You could go all the way, you know. President of the Black Stone chapter, maybe the whole club one day.”
I ignored him and kept shoving until he was out on the front yard. “Get on your bike and go.”
“I know you hate me, boy. But you also know I’m right.”
For the first time in my life, he was looking at me with respect instead of loathing, and