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Kane
After my hands stopped shaking, I messaged Brie that I would meet her at her place. Nausea swam up my throat, my stomach churned, and I swallowed my fear. Nothing much scared me anymore, but Linda had shaken me to the core of my being.
I revved the engine, trying to calm down enough to drive. Turning on the headlights, I shifted into drive and pushed the accelerator only in time to slam on the brake.
“Fucking hell.” Marc stood in front of my car in a black hoodie like the stupid little bitch he was. I did not have time for his bullshit. Why he kept meeting me on school property was beyond me. If he were smarter, he’d follow me to the grocery store, then approach me.
I threw the door open and jumped out, fury driving me as I stomped toward him, the wind blowing the rain into my face. I rubbed my jaw as I closed the gap between us. “What do you want?”
“I wanted you to know that I’m not leaving, Kane. You and your asshole friends can’t force me to leave.” He held up a hand. “I have an attorney, and I’m suing you for every fucking penny you have. Your potential NFL career is about to be over before it even starts.” He sneered at me.
Disbelief sucked me under, then I came to my senses. “Let’s get real, Marc. You want Brie. The only reason you’re interested in suing me is to get her back.”
“However it works out.” He gave me a half shrug.
I clenched my teeth so hard I thought I would break a goddamn molar. “What do you want in order not to sue me?” I hated negotiating with him when I had bigger problems to deal with.
“A half a million, and you walk away from Brie.”
I nearly choked on my laughter.
“What’s so funny, asshole?”
I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. You caught me off guard. If I give you what you want, you have to sign a waiver, stating that you’ll never come after me or my family again. Deal?”
Marc’s nostrils flared, then he seemed to relax. “I get Brie?”
Sure, douchebag, because you forget she has a mind of her own. The quickest way to resolve this problem was to tell him what he wanted to hear, even though I didn’t believe a word that was about to come out of my mouth. “You can have her. She’s pretty fucked up, just like you said. I have to focus on my future.”
“She’s a mess, but she’smymess to manage.” He tipped his chin up as though he were an all-powerful being.
“How do I reach out when I have the money and contract together?”
Marc rattled off his phone number, and I punched it into my cell. “I’ll need an address for the agreement, too.”
The lights from my car illuminated his face, and I resisted the urge to put the little shit in the hospital again.
Marc provided the information I needed, then I shoved my cell into my back pocket.
“You have forty-eight hours. No more, or I’m coming after you.”
“Marc, be reasonable. It takes a bit to gather that kind of money. Plus, if you sue me, Brie will never respect you again. Much less want to fuck you. Play this right, or you’ll lose the girl.”
He slapped me on the shoulder, nodding. “Forty-eight hours.” We shared a pointed look before he walked away.
“Motherfucker,” I muttered, then headed back to my car. Slamming the gear into drive, I peeled out of the parking lot, my tires spitting gravel behind me.
In record time, I pulled up to Brie’s house. The indoor lights filtered through the thin front-window curtains, and I could see her walking around. That shit wouldn’t cut it. I would pay for blackout curtains myself, but no one got to see my girl inside her home.
Scrubbing my cheeks with my hands, I attempted to clear my mind. In minutes, my entire world had imploded, and I had to figure out what to do first.
I locked my car before I jogged up the sidewalk and rang the bell. Brie must have been waiting for me because the door quickly opened.
“Hey.” She smiled, and, for a moment, I was all right again.
“Hey, babe.” I closed and locked up behind me, then pulled her in for a hug. “I’ve missed you today.”
She snuggled into me, her cheek resting against my chest. “Me too.”
