Page 218 of Face Off
“Ryan is impressive whether you understand him or not.”
“He is uncivilized.”
“And you’re insulting guests at someone else’s wedding celebration. Explain civilization to me again.”
Temple covers a smile with her napkin. Lyric rolls her eyes, irritated by anyone enjoying Charm’s answer.
Lance notices the attention gathering from nearby tables. His voice becomes smoother, which only makes the hatred beneath it more obvious.
“I am concerned about the kind of man my daughter has allowed into her life.”
Charm’s body tenses beneath my arm. “You lost the right to express concern about my choices.”
“Because I refused to applaud while you confused obsession with love?”
Cade shifts beside Bliss.
Lance looks directly at me. “You call your behavior protection, but everyone around you adjusts the moment you become angry. They lower their voices, watch your hands, and prepare to manage whatever you decide to do next.”
My smile disappears.
Charm sits straighter. “Stop.”
Lance ignores her. “You isolate her, control the room around her, and touch her constantly as though possession gives you authority. How long before that temper turns toward her?”
The silence around our table expands.
I remove my arm from Charm and stand so slowly that my chair makes no sound against the stone.
Cade rises halfway. “Ry.”
I keep my eyes on Lance. “Say it again.”
“I believe everyone heard me.”
“No. You hid it inside enough polished bullshit to protect yourself. Say what you meant.”
Charm catches my hand. “Ryan.”
Lance pushes his chair back and stands. “Men who grow up surrounded by violence learn it before they learn restraint.”
Something cold opens inside me.
“You think any of my fame made me forget where I came from?” I ask. “You want to meet the side of me that survived the streets, Lance? Keep talking.”
Cade stands fully. Briggs places both hands on the table and rises with him.
Lance’s mouth twists. “There he is. You can drag him out of the gutter, but you cannot remove the gutter from him.”
“The gutter taught me loyalty. It taught me to protect the people I love and never prey on someone weaker because I needed to feel powerful.” I move around my chair. “You had money, a wife, two children, and every advantage a man could buy. You still became the most pathetic motherfucker at this table.”
“You abandoned her.”
“I left because she betrayed me and you fucking know it, have always known it. You trained her to do the very thing she did that night. I. Left. Her.”
His face darkens. “You destroyed her long before you left.”
“Don’t.” The warning leaves me quietly.
