Brandon very badly wanted to hurt this asshole. But more than he wanted that, he wanted to earn and keep his woman’s respect. I don’t want to sink down to this bastard’s level. “You had everything worth anything when you had Rachel and Libby,” Brandon said. “You threw them away, abandoned them at the very moment they’d needed you most. You’ve got nothing now? That’s why. You clung to everything that means nothing in life. Your doing. Not Rachel’s. You’ve got no one to blame for the turn your life has taken but yourself.”
“Rachel is rich beyond measure,” Jake said. “She has Libby, and she is respected by everyone who knows her.”
“She’s well and truly loved,” Brandon said. “And she doesn’t want or need to see you—not ever again.”
“I saw the two of you all over her last night.” Cosgrove’s expression turned ugly. He leaned forward. “You think I’m stupid? I’ve got pictures! You don’t give me what I’ve got coming to me, I’m going to post those pictures online. Then we’ll see how well respected she is by those who know her.” He looked at Jake. “What do you wanna bet your granny, there, won’t have Rachel’s ass tossed out of town when she finds out what a slut she is, rich or no? Her and her dying brat.”
Brandon wondered which one of them—he or Trace—was going to start beating on Cosgrove first.
But it was Adam who acted. He pulled out his cell phone and hit just one key. Then he held the phone up to his ear.
He kept his gaze focused on Cosgrove. “Hey, Mitch, it’s Adam. That number I gave you yesterday. Can you wipe the data and photos from it?” He listened for a moment and then smiled. “You can? Oh? He has no backup data storage? No cloud? No ‘Box of Secrets’? Great. That’s perfect. Yes, I’ll wait.” Adam continued to hold the phone to his ear. He whistled lightly, a gesture Brandon knew was a slight to the asshole. “Hey, Mitch. Wonderful. Thanks.”
“You don’t expect me to fall for that cart and pony show, do you? You’re just trying to scare me. Well, I don’t scare.”
“The fuck you don’t scare.” Trace was livid. “You were too scared to be a man for that beautiful little girl when she needed you. You’re nothing more than a bully and a coward, through and through.”
“You son of a bitch. You can’t talk to me like that.”
“Seems to me he just did,” Jake said. “You’re not wanted here. Go away, Mr. Cosgrove. Go very far away.”
“If we find you in our area again—if you go anywhere near Rachel? Your ass will be grass.”
Adam got to his feet and reached for the man. Cosgrove looked more than a little shocked that Adam practically lifted him from his chair. He perp-walked the man out. Brandon caught sight of his beer belly and figured the kind of physical shape he was in—which was piss-poor. Bet he has to catch his breath before he can drive off.
“Well, that was fun,” Jake said. “I like playing the role of powerful mouthpiece.” Then he looked at Brandon. “We might not be done with him.”
“I know,” Brandon said. “He’s too fucking stupid to stay away.”
Adam came back inside the Roadhouse and joined them at the table. “I’ve got the plate number of the car he was driving. I’ll run it as soon as I get back to the office.” Then he directed his attention at Brandon and Trace. “Thank you for not beating the shit out of that asshole.”
“You’re welcome,” Trace said. The look in his brother’s eyes was easy enough to read. Brandon nodded then gave his own version of a thank-you.
“But if he returns, if he gets near Rachel? All bets are off.”
“If he’s really that stupid, then I say you should give him what he asked for, and in front of witnesses,” Adam said. “Give him what he’s really got coming to him.”
That, Brandon thought, sounded like a damn good plan.
Chapter Eighteen
As long as the weather remained not too hot, Libby would continue to have her lunch at her favorite spot: the picnic table in the park that abutted school property.
She wasn’t the only one who enjoyed taking her lunch hour outside, either. There were kids everywhere. Some of the younger ones were using the playground equipment arrayed closer to the school. Others—middle schoolers and high-schoolers—were scattered throughout the bleachers that lined the running track on this side and at other tables placed in shady spots and sunny ones alike.
Libby knew that Bonnie loved having her lunch at this particular table, too. Usually, they were the only ones here, which was a bonus. There were a few more tables closer to the school. But they both liked the distance between themselves and other students.
Libby had never attended a school that had such a large age range of kids. The Lusty Combined School taught kindergarten to twelfth grade. Not only was the school not crowded, but it had the best of everything—and that included teachers.
“So, what did the guys say when they saw your hair?” Bonnie asked.
Bonnie had been so excited when Libby had told her about her mom dating Brandon and Trace.
Reality is even better than the plan we made the night of our sleepover.
Bonnie had been a supportive listener as Libby had shared how good, but kind of weird it was, too, having two men hanging around the house. That had taken a little getting used to. Only they didn’t just hang around, and they didn’t just have their eyes on her mom.
There’d been
