Page 85 of Make or Break

I put the beer on his coaster. “Who’s she dating?”

“A regular ass-clown.”

I smirked. “Aren’t they all? That’s what my dad always says.”

Colton looked away - his chest rising with his deep breath.

“Sorry. I forgot your dad’s a sore subject.”

He shook his head. “It isn’t that. I’m pretty sure he’s abusing her.”

“Are you certain?”

He hesitated. “She lives next door. I’ve heard him raise his voice, but I haven’t seen him hit or shove her.”

“Verbal abuse is still abuse.”

He took a long sip of his beer and set it down. “Right. How do I convince her to break up with him? I deploy in two months, and I’d rather not worry about this bastard.” He grinned. “She reminds me of you because she hates when I go all protective-big-brother.”

I tipped my head to the side. “That is annoying to sisters.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “What should I do? I’m going to ask Killian to watch out for her, but…”

“But he’s here all the time,” I said.

“Exactly.”

I sighed. “You should mention to her that you couldn’t help but catch part of those conversations.”

His hazel eyes widened. “That’ll go over like a lead balloon.”

I twisted my hands up. “The guy’s yelling - it can’t be helped.”

He swallowed a sip of his beer. “True.”

“Let her know that she can get out. Whatever he’s making her believe isn’t true - or he’s feeding her lies - depending on the situation.”

“Yeah, a couple months ago she mentioned that he’d help get an apprenticeship with a tattoo shop. Recently, I asked her if he ever made good on that. She said he hadn't yet. Then she let it slip that she can’t do any better than him. She won’t listen to me, and I’m pretty sure he’s stringing her along. How’d you know?”

I gave him a closed lip smile. “Abusive assholes aren’t known for their creativity. If she needs somewhere to hide or stay, she’s welcome to the bed in my guest room.”

He nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Problem is, he recently got a bike. I'm worried because I think he’s hanging around a club, but not a good one like the Riot.”

Before I could ask him more, Killian brought out Colton’s burger. “Too good to sit at my station, man?”

“No. I wanted a female perspective on Elizabeth’s issue.”

Killian clamped his mouth shut while he nodded slowly. “Yeah. That shit has to stop.”

I wandered back to Colton when he’d finished his burger. “Need anything else?”

He wadded up his napkin and tossed it on the plate. “Yeah. If she gets rid of this bastard, how do I make sure she doesn’t fall for another jackass like him?”

I sighed. “That’s tough because those people don’t let their true colors show until they’ve dug in deep.”

“You’re right. It makes me want to tear this guy apart because once Liz scrapes him off - he’ll do the same shit to some other woman.”

I pulled his plate away. “Not much you can do. Hopefully the next woman’s not fooled by him.”