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She held up a hand. “I just wanted to know if you want a cup of coffee.”

“I’m getting my wife.” He barreled toward her. “You can’t stop me.”

Lyric held up her hands, thinking she could try. All she needed was just a little time for the cops to show up. “Tim, come on. She’ll be out in a minute. Let her finish her tea.”

“Fuck that.” He rushed her.

She grabbed onto his coat sleeves as he took her by the sweatshirt and tossed her aside. She fell onto her hip on the cement and spun around from the momentum, scraping up her hand as she pushed up and ran forward to block his path again. “Stop. You can’t go in there.”

Tim just kept moving. “The hell I can’t.”

Lyric stepped right in his way again and held her ground.

He grabbed her with one hand and backhandedher with the other, but she saw the blow coming and moved to avoid it, ending up with a cut on her cheek from his ring. Warm blood trickled down her skin. Her face throbbed from the glancing blow that could have been a hell of a lot worse.

He shoved her aside again with a low growl.

Fucking asshole.She lost it. As he passed her, she kicked him in the back of the leg, sending him to his knees. The second his hands hit the pavement, she shoved her foot into his side to send him over onto his back. She stood over him. “Stay down, or I’ll make you.”

He swiped a hand out to grab her foot.

She jumped back out of his way.

Jax and John came out the kitchen door.

Tim saw them, scrambled up, and rushed her again.

She waited, knowing this could go very wrong, but bided her time until he was close enough to duck and use her legs to launch herself in a crouched position into his midsection, she then lifted with her legs and sent him over her shoulder and back, flipping to the ground.

She’d done it with Jax a dozen times when they were kids. They didn’t roughhouse like that anymore, but it paid off now.

Adrenaline gave her strength and masked the pain in her face and sore wrist.

John quickly grabbed Tim and rolled him onto his stomach. He pulled the guy’s hands behind his back and held them between Tim’s shoulder blades. Every time Tim struggled against John’s hold, it hurt Tim’s shoulders more.

“You’re going to dislocate your arm if you don’t be still,” she warned, brushing her fingers against her wet cheek.

Jax cupped her face and checked out the cut. “Damn it, Lyric. Why didn’t you just wait for the cops?”

“Because I wasn’t going to let him near Mindy or those kids. Not after she asked for my help. She needs to see that someone will stand up to him.”

Jax shook his head. “You need to go to the hospital.”

“I’m fine.”

The cops showed up.

“Please take care of that,” she begged Jax. “Let me go check on Mindy.”

“I don’t think the kids should see you looking like this.”

She hadn’t thought about that. “I’ll go around the front and clean this up in the bathroom before I see them.”

Jax raised a brow. “You sure you’re okay?”

“A little shaken,” she admitted, her heart pounding in her chest. Mostly from adrenaline, but there was still some fear in there, too.

“Take the rest of the night off. You need to rest and get some sleep.”