Rowdy (Marked Men #5)(80)

“I know about you. The orphan with no family, no roots. You have no one and nothing. Poppy didn’t want you then and there is no way she wants you now. I’m going to talk to her even if I have to go through you to do it.”

I probably would’ve let it go, probably would have managed to maintain my cool, but before I could form words to tell the guy to f**k off, he lifted his foot and kicked Jimbo square in the side. The dog howled in pain and jerked out of my grip. I didn’t have to worry about swinging first because the little bastard tried to get in a sucker punch when I turned to see if the dog was okay. I caught his fist in my hand and jerked his arm behind his back. When he was off balance I clocked him once hard in the mouth, which split his bottom lip open and had blood dripping down his chin. I was just so much taller than him that really he couldn’t get any leverage as he wiggled against me and I turned him around and clamped him in an unmovable choke hold.

He threw his head back and tried to head-butt me, so I grabbed him by the back of the neck and bent him forward so that he was wrenched over at a totally awkward and painful angle. I marched him out of the breezeway and down the sidewalk to the street. I shoved him away from me with enough force that he stumbled and fell forward on his hands and knees.

“Don’t come back, dude. I’m taking Poppy to get a restraining order today, and believe me, if you think I’m bad you don’t even wanna see what her sister has in store for you if you come around again. Only piece-of-shit men hit women and you’re lucky I don’t do to you what you did to her.”

He turned over to look back at me and I swore he was plotting my death as he glowered at me. I really should smash his nose in to teach him a lesson or at least kick him in the ribs to pay him back for the dog.

“Poppy is mine.” It came out garbled and I just lifted an eyebrow at him.

“She feels differently about that. Someone along the way shoulda taught you how to respect women.”

I whistled for Jimbo and laughed out loud as he limped over to where the fallen intruder was still lying and lifted his leg. Poppy’s husband tried to scramble away to avoid the golden shower but he wasn’t fast enough and Jimbo was obviously proud of himself as he bounded back over to me. We watched as the guy got to his feet, swearing at us and calling us names the entire way as he stormed off to his car.

I patted the dog on the head and told him “good boy” as we went back inside to the girls.

Salem was pacing back and forth and Poppy was curled up into a tight ball on the couch when we went back inside. Salem launched herself at me as soon as I cleared the front door, so I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her on the top of her head.

“I called Royal. I had to.”

I kissed her on her trembling mouth when she looked up at me and tugged on the ends of her hair. “Probably a good idea to have your sister talk to her. She’s right. That guy has some serious issues. I think he really might be a major threat to not only her, but you as well. She needs an emergency order of protection and you should see if Royal can arrest him for animal cruelty.” I nodded toward the dog, who had made himself comfortable on the couch next to Poppy. “He kicked Jimbo in the side.”

Salem gasped and then called the guy every bad name that was in the book. “I’m so glad you were here.”

Poppy poked her head over the back of the couch and said, “Me, too.”

I kissed Salem again and told her, “I’m always going to be here.”

She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her cheek over my heart, which I swear was beating just for her.

“So am I, Rowdy.” I actually believed her when she told me that now, and nothing made me happier.

CHAPTER 18

Salem

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO go back to sleep after all of that, so by the time Rowdy and I had to go to work we were both dragging. Him even more so since he had to go in earlier than normal to make up for the appointment he had missed the day he was late and hungover. Poppy didn’t want to be at the apartment alone and I couldn’t blame her. So I decided to take her to the shop with me and put her to work up in the store. Everything was finally tagged, organized, and inventoried. We were only about a week out from having a fully operational store above the tattoo shop and there were already inquires in my in-box about online orders for merchandise. The shops were both so busy, the guys and the new artists all booked out over a month in advance, so I knew that Nash and Rule were going to have to hire someone specifically to manage the retail aspects of the business. It was a good problem to have, I just hoped the guys saw it the same way.

Cora was excited to have extra hands around for the busy day. She actually had scheduled a couple of piercings for the afternoon, so she put Poppy to work in the office updating portfolios and working on some kind of spreadsheet that had something to do with office supplies and stuff the guys ordered for their stations. She was in a tizzy about paper towels or something like that, which made Poppy laugh. Cora seemed even more hyper and more boisterous than usual, enough so that Rowdy asked her about it. She just brushed him off and the subject was dropped, at least until she walked up to the counter with her client, a girl that had wanted dermals put in behind her ears and I noticed a big, fat, sparkly ring on that all-important finger as Cora handed me the checkout paperwork.

I felt my jaw drop as I reached out to snatch up her much smaller hand in my own. “Did you get engaged?”