Big Bad Boys A Romance Collection - Penny Wylder Page 0,169

I know I'm cool. Then again, I wasn't the one who got arrested. Did you smile for your mugshot, Phade?”

“You're right, you got off clean, because you ran like the fucking pussy you are.” Resting my elbows on my knees, I relax my muscles. “Not all of us have a tail to stick between our legs.”

I'm not going to let him get to me. He isn't worth it. Gil can say whatever he wants and I'm just going to let it roll off my back.

Chuckling, Gil runs his thumb across his bottom lip. “Pussy? Speaking of pussy, where's the one who's carrying your demon child? Or did she smarten up and leave your ass?”

“Keep Sylvia and the baby out of this. They have nothing to do with this. It’s not her fault you’re a shitty fighter and a coward.”

“Coward? No, no, no,” he says with a sly grin on his face. “Cowards knock up sluts in bathrooms. Maybe history will repeat itself and your baby will be a bastard just like its daddy.”

“Fuck you, douchebag!” Jumping to my feet, I'm ready to run at him, but Stone grabs my arm, getting my attention. Glancing at him, he shakes his head no.

He's right. I don't need to fight the guy, not like this, not anymore. That's what the ring is for.

“What, you're taking orders from your goon now?”

Gritting my teeth, my jaw crooks hard. “Say what you can, get it all out now, because you're not coming out of that ring with a voice.”

“Is that a threat?” Gil angles his head into his shoulder, puffing up his chest. “I don't like threats, Phade.”

Letting out an audible breath, I just stare at him. I don't care anymore what he says to me or anyone else for that matter.

The only people that matter anymore are Sylvia and our child. My future is with them. I live for them. Everything else is meaningless.

As the realization sets in, it feels like a mountain rolls off my back. I don't need to prove myself, I don't need to pretend like this is all my life has to offer; getting wasted and fighting because I'm not worthy of anything else.

I found someone who makes me feel alive. That's better than all the adrenaline in the world.

The tension in the room is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Gil isn't moving. I'm not moving. Stone is the wall between us. He's holding both his arms out, bracing to lock his arms if he has to stop both of us from attacking.

Letting out a weighted breath, I rub my jaw, my eyes settling on Gil from over Stone's shoulder. Pointing in his direction, I nibble my bottom lip. “I hope you have this much balls in the ring. You talk a big game, but no one's here to save you this time.” Letting my arm fall loosely to my side, I grab my gloves and nod for Stone to follow me.

Gil is silent, his eyes watching, his hands splayed at his hips, his legs open shoulder width apart. He doesn't say anything, but I know he's afraid. I can see it written all over his body.

There's a subtle shake in his hands, it's light, almost invisible, except I see it. The vein in his forehead throbs and his chest is lifting rapidly. He's trying to slow his breathing, doing his best to stay even and normal.

Nothing about this is normal. He knows what I'm capable of, and no matter how much he tries to get in my head, it isn't working. That scares him. Because if he can't get inside my head, he can't throw me off my game.

That's always been his trick, his way to unbalance his opponent and give himself the upper hand.

I'm not taking the bait.

Before Sylvia got pregnant, I had a short fuse. It took nothing for me to fly off the handle and go wild. Someone looking at me the wrong way, someone having a tone I just didn't like, anyone willing to challenge me; that was all it took for the beast to come out, ready to tear their fucking head off.

No more.

I'm going to be a father. It's time for me to start setting the example, not being the lesson.

My music begins to play in the speakers. Stone stops and sets his hand on my shoulder.

“This is yours, it's all yours.” Squeezing, he slaps my back. “You deserve to be here more than anyone else. You've worked so hard,