Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
“You blew your inheritance and the deed to the store at the local casino,” the sheriff reminds him. “You have two choices. You can leave on your own, or I can remove you and take your drunk ass straight to jail.”
“Fuck you,” Nelson roars and takes a step toward the sheriff.
“Jail it is.” Sheriff Armstrong twists the drunk man’s arm behind his back while throwing him up against the brick wall all in one move. I watch in amazement while the lawman slaps handcuffs on him and then reads him his rights. The sheriff glances over at me. “I’ll come back a little later to get your statement.”
I give him a weak smile and watch him drag the drunk man from Gatsby Books.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
FISCHER
My heart lodges in my throat when I get the call from Sheriff Armstrong informing me that my girl had a run-in with an irate asshole. I barely remember hanging up on the sheriff midsentence or rushing out of the office.
“Maddie?” Charging into Gatsby Books, I look around for my girl. I breathe a sigh of relief when I find her standing at the back counter.
“What are you doing here?” She blinks several times as I rush over and pull her into my arms.
“Are you okay?” I don’t believe my eyes. Instead, I run my hands over her body, making sure she’s in one piece. Maddie groans and presses her luscious curves closer to me.
“She’s freaking fine,” my little sister cuts in. “Stop feeling her up in the middle of our store.” Allie pretends to gag. “You’re making my lunch crawl up my throat.” Her silly antics help relieve some of the tension coursing through me.
“Ignore her.” Maddie wraps her soft arms around my waist and I hug her close. “How did you know something happened?” My girl leans back and frowns.
“Come sit in the back with me.” I take Maddie’s hand and lead her to the back office.
“Please don’t foul up my office,” Allie calls behind us.
“We’ll straighten up when we’re done,” I assure her.
My blood pressure skyrockets as Maddie explains what happened with Nelson Gladstone. “Don’t worry.” I kiss the back of her hand. “I’ll make sure the motherfucker stays away from you,” I promise.
The next day, Jude insists on accompanying me to Nelson Gladstone’s house. “I want to make sure you don’t kill the motherfucker,” my boss growls. “I need you running the criminal division, and you can’t do it from prison.”
“Thanks,” is all I manage to mutter past the anger eating at me. I can’t believe that motherfucker had the nerve to scare my girl. When Maddie woke up twice in the middle of the night shaking from her nightmares, I knew I had to make good on my promise.
I knock on the door and take a deep breath, trying to control the rage building within me. The dumb shit takes one look at us and tries to slam the door in our faces. “Oh no,” I roar and push him back into the disgusting hallway.
My nose turns up at the smell of rotting food and filth. “I’m going to have you arrested for breaking into my house,” Nelson stutters.
“Not if I kill you,” I roar and reach for Nelson’s throat, but Jude pulls me back.
“Maim. Don’t kill,” My boss reminds me, and I glance over my shoulder and lift my chin to him in acknowledgment.
This time, I grab the little asshole by the front of his dirty white t-shirt and slam him against the wall. “I want you to listen to me.” I give him a little shake and hear Jude clear his throat behind me. Ignoring my boss, I continue, “I know you’ve been having hard times, but everything that’s happened to you is your own fucking fault. Leave my woman and my sister alone, or I will kill you and hide your goddamn body where no one will ever find it. I’m a criminal lawyer.” Jude groans behind me as I give Nelson another hard shake. “I’ll fucking get away with it.” When I release my hold on his chest, the other man slides to the floor. “Don’t make me come back,” I warn Nelson one last time as I follow Jude out the door.
Jude starts the car and turns to me. “Now that you got that out of your system, file a restraining order against Nelson.” I open my mouth to argue, knowing the document usually isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. “You need to handle this situation the right way.” I can’t argue with my boss. He’s thinking logically while I’m still in beast mode.
Maddie and Allie file a restraining order against Nelson Gladstone the next day, and Sheriff Armstrong promises to have extra patrols watching the store.
The law firm and MC both use Jude’s MC brother’s security company to handle all their security needs. I meet with Giant Carmichael and arrange for a discreet bodyguard to keep an eye on Maddie and Allie.