Page 29 of Primal

“Yeah, right,” Joey scoffed. “You were always going to come back to me. You can’t do better than me.”

“Bullshit,” Mason growled while my dad also shot to his feet.

“Call off your guard dogs,” Joey said, sneering at me. “And don’t think I believe this bullshit about these guys being here accidently. It’s too much of a coincidence. I don’t know what the hell your plan was, but I’m not playing this little game. You’re not worth it.”

Rage exploded inside of me, and I had to fight back the urge to shriek in his face. How dare he?

“You know what, Joey? You’re the one who chased afterme.I think you know exactly how much I’m worth. I’ve taken care of you for the past six months, thinking it was an expression of mutual affection that we had. Now, I see the truth. You took advantage of my urge to care for you. And what did I get in return? Maybe two orgasms in six months?” I laughed, even though there was nothing at all funny about his shitty attitude. “You are pathetic Joey, but I’m glad I brought you here. If I’d just ended things after I caught you cheating, I would have spent weeks feeling heartbroken and inadequate. Now, after your shitty behavior here, I realize I can do so much better.”

Andmaybethe actions of my dad and Mason had something to do with that.

Joey’s face contorted with rage. His fists clenched, and the corded muscles of his neck stuck out.

I’d never seen him this angry, and if my dad hadn’t been standing right behind me, I might have been afraid.

But I knew both he and Mason had my back, so there was no way Joey would get away with physically hurting me, and I doubt he had the balls to emotionally hurt me again after everything he did already.

A moment later, I realized I’d underestimated him.

Joey actually took a step backward, and I thought he was just backing down until he reached down to grab my sketchbook from the end table. The move was so unexpected I didn’t even manage to react before he was striding to the front door. My stomach dropped as I realized what he was doing.

“N-no!” I shouted, stumbling forward as I followed him out onto the porch. I’d just stepped out when he flung the sketchbook out into the rain.

My knees gave out as I watched the thing land in the mud, my precious sketches ruined. I would have fallen on the porch if my dad wasn’t there to catch me. I felt like my heart was being ripped out as I watched the heavy rain continue to fall onto the sketchbook, which sank further into the wet sludge.

Suddenly, Mason ran past us, rushing out into the rain and grabbing it. I felt numb as I watched him, barely noticing my dad guided me to sit in one of the rocking chairs on the porch. Then, he was shoving Joey back into the house.

“That’s it, motherfucker. You are out of here.”

“What? You can’t do that!” Joey protested.

“The hell I can’t. You’ve got five minutes to get your shit before I beat the hell out of you.”

Mason hurried back onto the porch, clutching the muddy sketchbook against his bare chest. I saw the pity in his eyes, and it seemed to set off the tears that were suddenly running down my face. I shifted my gaze to the sketchbook again. It was full of a year’s worth of my design ideas. Was any of it salvageable?

Mason moved into the cabin without a word, and when he came back out a moment later, it wasn’t it sight, and he’d wiped his chest clean. “You okay, sweetheart?”

I swiped the tears from my cheeks and managed to give him a weak, watery smile. “Thanks for getting it for me.”

At that moment, Joey and my dad came back out onto the porch. Their words earlier did not really register with me because of my shock and horror, but now I realized what was happening. I stood and stepped in front of them. Joey was now dressed and lugging his suitcase behind him, looking sheepish. I could see he regretted what he’d done.

But it was too late for regret. He’d gutted me.

Still, I had to try to stop this. “Dad, you can’t kick him out. Remember the flash flood warnings?”

“I don’t give a damn what happens to him,” Dad growled, grabbing Joey by the arm and dragging him to the steps. “He’s out of here, Poppy, and I won’t hear another word about it.”

Joey remained silent, neither speaking to me nor resisting my father's hold. He simply left, darting out into the rain and jumping into his rental car. I stood there, watching as he turned the vehicle around and drove off into the distance until his taillights disappeared. It wasn't until Mason's hand on my arm registered that I refocused my attention on the present moment.

“Come on, let’s go inside.”

My dad was already inside, standing in the living room and waiting for us. There was still anger radiating from him, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me. He was still pissed about what Joey did, and so was I. I had a feeling we needed a distraction.

As if Mason read my mind, he came around to stand in front of me with a spark of mischief in his eyes. “Now that we’re alone, take off your dress.”

Chapter16

Mason