Page 67 of Desired By you (Always & Forever #3)

Chapter Fifty Six

Brad

It’s been nearly a week since everyone found out about me and Gabriella.

She spent the weekend at my place, and it was the first time in months I slept well and felt content.

We worked out together, ate together, watched her show that she loves to watch, and if this is what love feels like, sign me up forever.

I don’t want to go another day without her.

But first, there are some loose ends we need to tie up before we can truly move on from all the crap we have been through.

We are in a New York diner across the street from a restaurant that Patrick and some blonde entered an hour ago. I told Gabriella I would deal with him and I meant him. I want to kill him with my bare hands. Tear him apart limb from limb, but I know that won’t help Gabriella; or me.

I sip on my bitter black coffee, wincing when the taste hits my tongue. “God, this coffee takes like shit.”

“I like it,” Harry says, shoveling a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

“It’s two in the afternoon, why are you eating pancakes?” Jack asks. Harry was the only one who ordered food.

“This place does the best all day pancake breakfast. Want some?” He holds out a fork of fluffy pancakes with syrup that drips onto the table.

I chuckle to myself, looking at Jack’s wrinkled nose.

“No, and chew your food before speaking,” Jack scolds.

“Sorry, Daddy.”

“I really have missed you fuckers,” Noah says, looking round the table. We’ve missed him. It’s always felt like there are missing pieces since we lost Scotty and Noah decided to stay in the military.

“Any chance you are going to stay this time?” Jack asks his now brother-in-law, which is weird as hell to think.

“I’m considering it,” Noah says, spinning his now empty mug in his hands.

“Well, we want you to stay, and you know Ria and the girls do. It means a lot that you are coming to the lake with us this weekend,” Jack says.

“When are you leaving?” Harry asks, finishing his pancakes and dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

“Once we deal with that asshole,” Jack says, pointing out across the bustling street, where Patrick stands, kissing a blonde.

“Fucker,” I hiss, standing up.

“Give it a second.” Noah says, gesturing me to sit down.

We watch on as Patrick waves down a yellow cab, puts the blonde in the back and waits until it drives away.

I ball my hands into fists looking at him, internally thinking of all the ways I could make him hurt for hurting Gabriella.

He turns to head down the street.

“Let’s go,” I say. Harry throws down some twenty-dollar bills to pay and we all leave.

We cross the street and stay about five steps behind Patrick.

I speed up when I see he’s close to where I know there’s an alley.

I clamp a hand on his shoulder, my grip firm, and his body stiffens, but he doesn’t stop walking.

“I think you and I need a little chat,” I hiss into his ear.

He tries to shrug me off, but I don’t release my grip.

“Fuck off, or I’ll call the police,” he mutters back.

“You’re not going to want to do that,” Noah says calmly, taking his other arm and directing us down an alley.

Harry and Jack aren’t far behind us. Noah throws Patrick up against the wall and I’m on him.

My hand wraps around his throat, his meaty little hands cover mine as he fights to release my hand.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he tries to yell, but I silence him by tightening my grip.

His face turns bright red, his eyes bulging.

I clench my jaw so tightly I almost crack a tooth.

I could do it right now, right here. End his pathetic life for what he’s done to Gabriella, for what he’s put her through.

He tries to fight against me, but I’m too strong for him.

“Brad, ease up a little,” Jack says calmly, forever the sensible one in the group.

I release Patrick and he slumps to the ground, clutching his neck, taking in sharp, greedy gasps of air.

I snarl, feeling nothing for this man other than pure hatred.

“What is this about?” He wheezes, trying to get up on his knees.

“Gabriella,” I say sternly.

“That slut. What’s she done now?”

I see red. I don’t wait, I just react. I kick him, ramming the cap of my boot into his rib cage so forcefully I’m sure I’ve broken his rib.

“What the fuck did you just call her?” I yell.

“I…” Patrick tries to speak, but I kick him again. He curls into the fetal position, and I go to strike him again, but Harry pulls me back.

“Okay, we aren’t here to kill him,” Harry says. My nostrils flare, my chest heaving. All I see is a red mist and if they weren’t here to pull me back, I think I would kill him.

I crouch down over him. “Does it make you feel like a man? Hurting women, trying to control them?”

He whimpers and spits out a mouthful of blood. “I, I will have you locked up for this.”

I lean in closer. “See, I don’t think you will, Pat, because if you do, I’ll make sure everyone knows what you did. How you manipulated her, hurt her, for your own personal gain, I don’t think Judge Monroe would be happy to hear what you have been up to.”

“He wouldn’t be happy to know his daughter is a slut, a stripper.” His words are like another red flag to a bull. I ball my fist and punch him in the face. Pain radiates up my hand as I shake it out.

“Ughhh, you…” Patrick whimpers, blood now streaming from his nose.”

“You won’t say shit, you hear me?” I spit.

“I have evidence,” Patrick argues as he wipes his nose with the back of his hand while he pushes himself up to a sitting position.

“Oh, you mean on this?” I turn to see Noah holding Patrick’s phone. He tosses it to the ground, smashing his boot on the screen until there are nothing but fragments of the device scattered across the ground.

“That’s my phone,” Patrick roars.

I stand up and lift Patrick by the collar, slamming him against the brick wall. He whimpers.

“Now, this will be the only warning you get. Got it? If I have to find you again, I’ll kill you with my bare hands and then dispose of your body so that no one will find you.

Patrick gulps, his body begins trembling and the twisted and dark side of me reels in the sight. Knowing he’s as scared as Gabriella has likely been all this time.

“You will never, ever speak to Gabriella again. You won’t look at her, you won’t contact her, you won’t touch her, and you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone, or I will kill you.”

I move closer, so close I feel his quivering breath against my face.

“Got it?” I say through gritted teeth.

He nods.

I release him, and he falls to the ground.

I give one final kick and he lets out a yelp.

I walk off and all I can hear is one kick after the other as Patrick makes a bone chilling cry.

I don’t know who’s doing it. I don’t care.

All I care is that they had my back, they have Gabriella’s back and Patrick won’t ever hurt her again.

The final thing on my to do list: find Amy and get some answers.