AllFreeNovel
Share Us
***Ella***
Billy, to his credit, didn’t pee his pants and run away crying. He faced Vaughn with a frown and a sense of confidence that he had no right displaying. “What’s your problem, Adler? We’re just talking.”
Vaughn stepped up to Billy and stared down at him. “And now you’re not.”
“Seriously? I was apologizing to her. We’re good. You don’t need to act like a giant dick.”
Laughing like a villain in a movie, Vaughn shook his head. “You’re not good. You need to stay the fuck away from Ella. Consider her off-limits. You don’t talk to her. You don’t look at her. And you sure as hell don’t touch her.”
I grabbed his hand. “Vaughn, come on. He was just leaving.”
“Why are you acting like a jealous boyfriend? Aren’t you her stepbrother? You’re a little outside your bounds here, dude.” Billy clearly had a death wish. “Are you fighting for your buddy or for yourself?”
“Enough!” I glared at Billy. “You need to stop talking and go.”
Vaughn had gone silent, something that worried me a lot more than his villain laugh. I tugged at his hand, desperate to get away from the stares that were turning on us.
“You should watch out for stepbro here, Ella. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he wants a lot more than a family connection.”
“Come on. Let’s go.” I was able to pull Vaughn a few feet away but I realized I’d left my phone on the arm of the chair. I let go of him to go back and grab it but then all hell broke loose.
Billy grabbed my arm. “There’s something wrong with him, Ella. That’s not how a step-”
I stumbled back as Vaughn hit Billy. It wasn’t pretty. Billy tried to hit Vaughn back but Vaughn was bigger and pissed enough that he didn’t even notice the one punch Billy landed. If there were any people who hadn’t already been watching, they were definitely looking then as Vaughn knocked Billy to the floor and then dragged him back to his feet to hit him again.
I watched in shocked silence as Vaughn was finally pulled off Billy by a few guys I recognized from the team. He was red-faced and he didn’t look like the guy I knew. His face was twisted in fury and he was still struggling to get back to Billy. Three guys were holding him back, shouting for him to calm down, and it was like he couldn’t hear a word they were saying.
Billy managed to pick himself up off the ground and looked past Vaughn, at me. “He’s a fucking lunatic, Ella! Bullshit that he’s just your stepbrother!”
I wanted to run away and hide but instead I moved to stand in front of Vaughn and placed my hands on his chest. “Hey. Stop. I want to leave. Please get me out of here, Vaughn.”
He glanced down at me and after a few seconds he blinked a few times and nodded. He shrugged out of the holds the guys had him in. “I’m good. I’m done. I got my point across.”
“That’s not how a stepbrother acts over his sister, Ella!”
I ignored Billy and pushed Vaughn towards the exit. “Please get me out of here. I want to go. Now.”
Vaughn searched my face. “Are you okay?”
I glanced around and saw the way people were staring at us. They were all thinking about what Billy was shouting. I could see it all over their faces. There were multiple phones pointed at us and I could already feel the rumors spreading. “No. I’m not.”
Turning away from him, I all but sprinted to the exit. Vaughn caught me on the stairs and pulled me to a stop. “Hey. Look at me. It’s okay. I’m fine.”
I slapped his chest and let out a bitter laugh. “Of course, you’re okay! You just lost your mind and tried to kill someone! He didn’t stand a chance against you.”
He frowned. “Wait. Are you worried about him? After all the shit he just said?”
“No, I’m not worried about him, Vaughn! I was quietly and efficiently cutting him out of my life for good when you showed up and started acting like a jealous boyfriend!” I snapped my mouth shut when someone walked past us. As soon as we were alone again, I shook my head and lowered my voice. “Vaughn, you can’t act like that. You can’t beat your chest and scare men away from me. It doesn’t look right.”
“What the fuck, Ella Rae? He grabbed you. What was I supposed to do?” He shook his head hard and laughed. “You didn’t say shit when Booth and Fisher acted the same way. Why the fuck is it okay for them to get angry and scare that asshole away from you, but it’s not for me?”
I threw my hands up. “You’re not my boyfriend, Vaughn! You’re not supposed to act like that over me.”
“I know I’m not your goddamn boyfriend, Ella. I’ve had you shoving Fisher down my throat for months. I know who everyone thinks is your boyfriend.”
“You’re still acting like a jealous boyfriend, Vaughn.”
“Maybe that’s how I fucking feel? Have you ever considered that?” He tugged at his hair and leaned closer. “Let’s just go home. We should talk about last night.”
