Page 80 of Slide

“I’m going to kill you, you son of a bitch.”

Hugh grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the trailer wall. “Why’d you do it?” he said. “You fucking prick. You put your filthy fucking hands on my baby sister!”

Joe came up beside Hugh, looking equally pissed. “What were you thinking? Did you think you could hide this from us? That you could use her and walk away and we’d never find out?”

Adam didn’t try to fight back or push Hugh away. He shook his head. “It’s not like that,” he choked past Hugh’s death grip. “I care about her.”

“If you cared about her,” Hugh said, “you would have left her the fuck alone.”

“You stay the hell away from her,” Joe added. “It’s over, do you hear me? Lucy may not have thought about the consequences of you two hooking up, so I’ll do it for her. You go near her again, things will get uglier than they already are between us.”

Their reaction was about what he expected. He’d made no secret of the fact he never planned to settle down, that he was all about having fun and living for the moment. They had no way of knowing the last few weeks with Lucy had made him question his resolve. That being with her had made living with the weight of his crushing guilt damn near bearable.

The door opened and banged shut, and Lucy strode out looking beautiful and pissed as hell.

She planted her hands on her hips. “How dare you come here and act like this?” She pointed at Joe. “You don’t speak for me and you sure as hell don’t decide who I do or do not spend time with.”

“Get back inside, Lucy,” Hugh barked.

She ignored her brother and came forward, shoving Hugh’s massive chest. “Let him go and leave, or I’m calling Shay.”

Hugh’s eyebrows shot up. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.” She turned to Joe. “What do you think Darcey would think about you coming here and acting this way?”

Adam stood there stunned as Lucy flew into a rant of epic proportions. Hugh had actually loosened his grip on Adam’s throat and the black dots were fading.

“I’m not a child.” She shoved her sexily rumpled hair back. “What the hell do you think you’re doing coming here and threatening Adam—your friend—when he’s done nothing wrong? Nothing. We’re both consenting adults. I’ll be with whoever the hell I like, do you hear me?”

Adam couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was pissed off and beautiful…and—

“Lucy?”

Everyone turned at the sound of that hesitant voice. A man in a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt stood behind them, watching the scene with eyes wide, body tense.

Lucy froze and spun to face the guy as well, and Adam knew who he was instantly.

“What are you doing here, Daniel?” she rasped. “I told you to stay away.”

Hugh let go of Adam instantly and turned fully to the guy behind him. Adam shoved Hugh out of his away and walked to Lucy’s side, his arm going around her shoulders before he knew what he was doing—shit, staking some kind of claim on her?

Joe scowled at him, but Adam ignored him and stared her ex down.

“You heard her. She told you to stay the hell away,” Adam said.

Daniel’s gaze moved over her in a way that made Adam want to tear the bastard apart. Hugh and Joe had noticed as well going by the way they tensed beside him.

“It’s true, then,” the guy said, completely ignoring his audience. “You’re not pregnant?”

Lucy turned to stone in his arms. “Of course it’s true,” she said in a voice that sounded husky and broken. “Do I look pregnant to you?”

“Lucy—” He stepped forward but stopped when Adam shook his head.

“Go home to your family,” she said.

“Please, sweetheart. Don’t do this. I need you. I don’t want to be with her. I want you. We can try again. I’ll give you a baby…” The guy started to shake, rubbing his hands over his face. “Please don’t let this be the end. I miss you. I can’t be without you.”

Lucy lifted her hands, cutting him off. “Not once in that speech did you ask what I wanted, how I felt. You ignored my wishes. You refused to leave me alone when I asked you to. All you care about is yourself. You need me, you want me. What about what I want, what I need?”

The guy opened his mouth to speak, but Lucy got there first. “I never wanted to be your dirty little secret. You made me that. You’re a liar and a cheat. I want nothing more to do with you. Leave, Daniel.”

A sick, unsettling feeling started to grow and expand in the pit of Adam’s gut.

The other man stood there for several seconds, then finally getting that it was finally over, turned to leave.

Adam still wanted to be sure. “If you ever call her again, or come within one hundred yards of her, you’ll be in for a world of hurt. Do you understand?” he said past the boulder in his throat.

Everyone stayed quiet as they watched the guy nod and walk away.

The sick feeling grew stronger. Adam was no better than that asshole, that fucker who had just stood there and begged for Lucy, who had kept her a secret to get from her what he wanted. Adam had allowed his own wants and desires to come before what was right. What was right for her.

He knew without doubt he sure as hell wasn’t it.

He was no good for anyone. Shit, he couldn’t even sleep on his own, and had fucked more women than he could remember purely so he could forget the hell he’d grown up in, the image of his mother lying in that bed, the sheets soaked in her blood.

Lucy deserved better, so much better than him.