Page 126 of The Protection Agreement
“I returned that money every fucking month.” His eyes widen. Guess he didn’t notice.
“Fuck you, Bruce.” He gives a bitter laugh, scowling. “Joke’s on you because you just married a Lloyd. When you thought you were stealing my woman, you married my sister. You married my baby sister!” he yells. “She’s a Lloyd. I’m sure your father won’t be happy to hear that, so I suggest you let me take her and we annul this fucking marriage.”
“I know she’s A J Lloyd. I don’t care about her last name because, as of right now, it changed to Powell.” Rather than respond, he charges at me. I step aside. If I match his anger, this will spiral.
“Ahh!” he yells in frustration and knocks over the table with her puzzles. It upsets me, but I keep my anger in check.
“Fuck you!” he rages like a caged animal, pacing hard. I stay on the opposite side, watching him closely.
“She is leaving with me,” he says in a quiet, deadly voice.
“She’s your sister, and now she’s my wife. She stays with me,” I reply in the same calm, dangerous tone.
He turns toward the kitchen. I watch him carefully, ready to move if he grabs a knife, but he picks up the whiskey bottle instead and drinks straight from it.
He stands still for a moment, then turns back to me.
“She will always be my sister first. Being your wife will be annulled and erased from her history,” he retorts.
His words sting, but I maintain my calm because losing her isn’t something I want to give the slightest crack. “I bet you didn’t know that she would never break her promise to me and our dad. One of those promises is the fact that I must say YES to whomever she’s going to marry, and if I don’t, she won’t marry the guy. We all agreed before dad died. Lexi would never break that promise.” A sad laugh escapes him. “So, you see, this stunt you pulled is nothing short of a fucked-up magic trick.” He sighs. “In case you have it confused, my answer is NO to you. You CANNOT marry my sister,” he says through clenched teeth with rigid face, locking a scowl with me. I match his scowl in the still moment as silent rage battles between us.
I know she needed his permission, and she has been a bit apprehensive about the fact that Jonah will be upset, but she didn’t tell me about a promise. Fuck! Now I could potentially lose her. There’s got to be away.
"We'll see," I say, a defiant challenge in my voice, though the thought of losing her weighs heavily on my chest.
He moves closer and takes a seat. “I’ll wait for her,” he says and I sit and face him.
We sit in harmonious yet edgy silence, our eyes fixated on each other and our reflexes ready to pounce at the slightest provocation or twitch.
“Why do you really oppose to me marrying your sister?” I ask. He exhales and sits back.
“Dad was dying. Every time he was lucid, he made me promise to keep her safe. She once dated a controlling boy. It took her a while to tell me.”
He looks me dead in the eye. “I don’t know your intentions, so I can’t in good conscience say yes to this marriage.”
“I took care of the guy, by the way. Eric.”
“How?” He looks shocked that I even know.
“You didn’t frighten him enough. Their paths crossed, and I took care of him.”
“Thank you,” he says, surprising me.
“I don’t have any hidden agenda toward you, and certainly not toward my wife. My only intention is to spend my life with her,” I state.
“Even knowing she’s A J Lloyd?” he asks, still scowling. “I know how much our families hate each other. Will your family accept A J Lloyd at the Thanksgiving table?” he challenges.
Before I can answer, the door opens. Jola and Ice walk in laughing. They pause when they see us.
She sees Jonah, pushes the ice cream cups to Ice, and runs to him. He catches her and holds her tight.
“I’ve missed you!” she says.
“Missed you too, sprinkles,” he replies.
She pulls back, teary eyed. Ice and I stand watching.
Jonah cups her face. “You look good, sprinkles.” She laughs. He kisses her forehead and pulls her back into a hug.
