Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Cam…” Zeus says my name low and with meaning.
“Let her stay, Zeus,” Marcel says, sounding suddenly bored.
Zeus turns to face him, keeping me partially concealed behind him. “How about you say what you came here to say, and then you leave?”
Marcel sighs. Pushes himself forward in his seat. His hands resting on his knees. “Well, I wouldn’t have had to come here if you’d answered my calls.”
“There was a reason I wasn’t answering your calls. The same fucking reason you shouldn’t be here right now. Because I’m still figuring out how not to wrap my hands around your throat and choke the life out of you.”
Marcel’s beady eyes darken. “You threatening me, Zeus? Because that’d be a real stupid move to make.”
Zeus’s step toward Marcel is menacing. My hand hangs on to the back of his T-shirt, like I’d somehow be able to stop him if he decided to go for him.
The Ren and Stimpy lookalikes make a point of stepping forward, too.
Zeus looks at them both and smirks before taking his eyes back to Marcel. “I’m not threatening you, Duran. I’m simply stating a fact.” Zeus’s voice is eerily calm, sending shivers down my spine. “And, really, these guys? You brought these for protection? I could take them both down without even breaking a sweat, and you know it.”
“I also know you wouldn’t do jack shit because you care too much about your little family to risk screwing things up, and I’m not talking about the family that she tricked you into having. I’m talking about that kid brother and sister of yours who are still in college, relying on you to keep them there. And don’t forget your dad and his love of the bottle. How many rehab visits is that now, Zeus?”
“Tricked him?” I exclaim, letting my bag slide from my shoulder and to the floor. “The only one who tricked Zeus into anything was you, you crazy bastard! When you made him believe he would be better off without me!”
Okay, so maybe it’s me that’s going to lose my shit by staying here.
Marcel laughs and gets to his feet. It sounds like a laugh Santa would make. But that man is far from Santa. More like Satan. “Honey, I didn’t need to make him believe anything. He couldn’t wait to get away from you and into all the pussy waiting for him.”
I actually see red. I didn’t know that was a real thing. Apparently, it is. I want blood. Specifically, Marcel Duran’s.
I make a lunge for him, but Zeus catches me around the waist, preventing me from going anywhere. And I’m like a cat fighting to get free.
“Cam, stop,” Zeus rasps low into my ear, yanking me back to the now.
Marcel laughs the most patronizing sound I’ve ever heard. “You need to keep your woman under control, Zeus. This was always the problem with her. Overly emotional. Getting in your head all the time. Distracting you and dragging you down.”
“The only one who dragged me down was you.” Zeus glares at him.
“Drag you down? I made you, Kincaid. You’d do well to remember that. You’d be fighting in pool halls with an audience size that I could count on my hands, spending your days still working in that shithole factory to make ends meet, if it wasn’t for me.”
It’s Zeus’s turn to laugh. “You keep telling yourself that, Duran. Did you forget I was already an Olympic champion and that I had a Golden Gloves win under my belt when you came knocking at my door?”
“You had nothing. A gold medal and an amateur boxing title that mean jack shit in the actual world of boxing. I put you where you are, Zeus, and don’t you forget it.”
“You did nothing! It was me in that ring, winning every fight! Me training every fucking day. Sweat, blood, and fucking pain!” He slams a hand to his chest. “I was the one who sacrificed the person who mattered most to me because you’d made me believe it was the only way! Because of you, I lost the first four years of my daughter’s life!”
Marcel actually has the audacity to sigh and roll his eyes. “You have your daughter now, so what’s the big deal? I did you a favor, not telling you that she was knocked up. If you’d known, you would’ve come running back to her, and you wouldn’t be where you are right now.”
“Where I am right now?” Zeus laughs a disbelieving sound. “Right now, I’m here, fighting to get my family back with me, all because of the damage you did.”
“And there it is.” Marcel spreads his arms wide. “Blame me all you want. But the problem is her.” He points a fat finger at me. “It has always been her. Do you think I would’ve had to keep her pregnancy from you if she hadn’t been up in your ear all the time, fucking with your head, making you think that the only important thing in your life was her?”