Mr. Mitchell Billionaires' Club Book 2 - Raylin Marks Page 0,145

me, taking a drink. “If you want to say anything at all, say that we can go kick his ass if he ever gets out of jail and fucks with you or your daughter like that again.”

“Funny,” I said.

“This is the shit you have to put up with?” Jake asked sympathetically.

“It’s a nightmare, to say the least,” I said, looking at Jim’s somewhat peaceful expression.

“He’s a fucking roach who never goes the hell away or leaves Avery alone. Always with the aggression and harassment,” Jim added. “He was locked up last week, and then today, we’re greeted with his high on life personality at the beach. I guess some people don’t know when to quit.”

“No shit,” I said. “It’s like the bastard has a get out of jail free card. He tracked us down by slipping a phone in Addy’s backpack. Who does that?”

“Forgive me if I’m overstepping here,” Collin interjected. “How in the hell do you not have a restraining order against his ass by now?”

“Long story.” I shrugged. “I try to fight my hardest for Addy, but I always seem to lose that battle. I know it would be the same in court. I just do my best to keep Addy protected from it all,” I said and felt Jim’s posture stiffen as he sat up some.

I know Jim wanted me to fight Derek in court. Now that he was growing attached to Addy, I had a feeling that he and I were going to butt heads on this topic. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strolling around with the cleanest of records. Derek knew he had shit on me, and that’s why he always threw it in my face. It was a battle I was scared as fuck to fight.

“How do you think Addy will do?” Ash asked. “Has she ever seen him act out like he did today?”

“Never,” I said, feeling a knot form in the pit of my stomach. “I keep it all from her. I have no idea what she’ll be like when she wakes up. For her to beg to leave her vacation—” I felt tears again, knowing my baby girl had been fucking traumatized by her father. “It will sit with her.”

“Well.” Ash smiled at me as Jim leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at his sister-in-law. “She is young, but she’s got strength in her spirit—strength like her mom. Don’t be hard on yourself. If I can suggest anything, it would be for you to let her talk about it and be honest with her if she has questions. Children don’t need the gory details, especially children her age, but it’s also not your responsibility to cover for him. You can be honest with her without laying down all of his misdeeds.”

Ash was onto something. I’d always made excuses for Derek for the sake of making Addy think everything was okay. “You might be right about that. She saw the real side of her dad today. The side we hide from her. Maybe she needs to know he’s sick.”

Jim’s eyes were on me now. What the fuck was going through his mind?

“That’s a good starting point,” Jim finally said in a softer tone than I would’ve expected from his expression.

“Then get that guy some help,” Alex said. “If you’re not going to fight for custody for whatever reasons, do some sort of intervention or something like that.”

Jake laughed. “I’ll toast to that!” He raised his beer as Collin clinked his bottle against it with a laugh.

“Who is going to sit around the living room and guilt-trip that little shit? You?” Alex rolled his eyes.

Jake chuckled. “I’ll come up with some sad fucking story about how he and I could have been such great friends.”

“The master manipulator taking out an addict manipulator?” Alex laughed.

“That would turn into a bad Jerry Springer episode like what happened today at the beach,” I said, feeling myself getting pissed all over again.

“Speaking of disgruntled people,” Jim said, leaning back. “I had a nurse file a complaint against your ass.”

I looked at the two doctors whose faces grew serious pretty quickly.

“Who now?” Jake asked and took a large gulp of his beer. “I’m getting so fucking sick and tired of this shit.”

“It’s against Collin,” Jim said. “Please, God, tell me you’re not fucking around in that damn hospital.”

“What? That shit is so far in the past—like internship days. Who the fuck had something to say about me? Everyone knows I’m the cool one. When did this