Page 136 of Cross Checked
Then Luke came at me.
Good.
I wanted him to.
He swung wide, sloppy with anger, and I slipped it easily before burying a punch into his ribs hard enough to fold his breath. He grunted, staggered, then grabbed the front of my shirt and shoved me backward. We hit the side of a parked truckwith a metallic thud, but I barely felt it. Adrenaline sharpened everything. His hand twisted in my collar. His face was close now, eyes vicious, breath hot with beer and humiliation.
“You don’t know shit,” he hissed.
I smiled, he was scared now. Not of losing the fight but real fear that I knew and it only solidified that I was right all along. I may not have details, but I knew this mother fucker was the very reason she hated arrogant, cocky and entitled athletic men. This piece of shit is the reason she lives in constant fear.
“No,” I said. “But you just told me plenty.”
He tried to drive his shoulder into me, but I hooked an arm under his, turned, and slammed him back against the truck instead. The impact rattled the door. Someone yelled my name. Ryker barked for both of us to break it up, but nobody had hands on me yet.
Luke swung again, shorter this time and it clipped my cheek. Pain flashed, hot and bright, but all it did was make me laugh.
Pip’s voice cut through the chaos. “Cade!”
That stopped me more than Ryker ever could have. Not because I was done but because her voice was scared and no matter how bad I wanted to fuck his world up, my rage would never over power her fear.
I looked over my shoulder.
She stood near the edge of the driveway with both hands pressed to her mouth, eyes wide, hair hiding one side of her neck. Aura had one arm around her like she was ready to hold her back or hold her up, and looked seconds away from committing a felony.
Pip wasn’t scared of me.
But she was scared of what happened next.
Fine.
I could control that. I shoved Luke away hard enough that he almost tripped over the broken bottle, then stepped back with both hands lifting slightly at my sides. Not surrender. Just enough to show Daniel and Ryker I could stop when I decided to stop.
Luke wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and laughed like he was trying to make the whole thing look mutual. “Real classy. Guess money doesn’t buy control.”
I looked at him, breathing hard, cheek stinging, blood warming under my skin where his ring or knuckle had caught me. “You think I lost control?”
His jaw tightened.
I stepped closer just enough that Ryker’s hand shot out and caught my shoulder. I allowed it for now. My eyes stayed on Luke. “I’m not scared of you.” I took a step until we were chest to chest.
Luke’s mouth curled. “You should be.”
I tilted my head, studying him like he was a bad play developing in slow motion. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The threat.” I smiled, slow and mean. “You hid it better when we had an audience laughing.”
Luke’s eyes flicked around the driveway. Daniel was staring at him now. So were Knox and Kellen. Ryker’s expression had gone flat in a way that didn’t belong to brotherly teasing anymore.
Luke saw that too.
Good.
Let him feel the ice crack.
“I was talking about hockey,” Luke said smoothly.
