Page 87 of See You Again
James underestimated Justin’s determination.
“Please!” His face screwed up with desperation, Justin lunged forward and grabbed Cami’s elbow, yanking her toward him. His movement caught Cami off guard causing her to stumble, and the box of cake flew into the air.
His mouth an O of horror, Justin reached again to help steady Cami, and it was as if everything moved in slow motion. The surrounding air contracted and then exploded in a burst as his voice cracked out.
“Don’t fucking touch her!”
Justin’s chest heaved, his nostrils flaring. Cami stared blankly at the chocolate cake splattered on the ground as if she couldn’t process the last few seconds.
James leveled a menacing glare at Justin and then gently took her hand. “It’s okay, Tig. I’ll get you more cake.” His words seemed to snap her out of wherever her mind had gone, and Cami allowed him to guide her to the car. James bent to buckle her in, pressing a kiss to her temple as he pulled back from the car.
As he straightened, Cami let out a horrified giggle and then pressed her fingertips to her mouth. James wasn’t sure what had prompted it, but before he could ask, something hit him hard in the side of the head, stunning him. He heard the valet shout and Cami scream.
Instinct had him slamming Cami’s door shut as a barrier against further attack. He whirled around to find Justin staring at him in shock, a smooth landscape rock clutched in his hand.
James registered a smear of color, marring the edge of the light-colored rock, and lifted his fingers to the throbbing on the side of his head. When his fingers came away red, a feral smile crossed his face. Justin looked at the rock in his hand and then back at James, who had squared his shoulders, waiting for Justin’s next move.
James really hoped Justin wasn’t going to be a coward now. Justin looked to where Cami now sat in James’s car, her shocked face framed in the window. His expression changed. With a snarl, Justin charged forward, swinging the rock in a wild arc. James dodged the blow, bringing an arm up to deflect the rock. The impact sent sharp pain streaking through him, but he welcomed it. The pain focused him. Gave him the excuse he needed.
“You never deserved her!” Justin cried, his decades long anger finally finding an outlet.
James watched Justin carefully, reading his body language for how he’d strike next.
“No doubt.” James feinted to the left and when Justin swung the rock in that direction, James seized the opening with a quick jab, followed by a powerful cross. “At least I’m not stupid enough to believe I do.”
Blood dripped from Justin’s nose, and even though his eyes were slightly unfocused, he swung the rock again, aiming for James’s head. But James was done playing. Ducking the blow, he delivered a round of powerful hits to Justin’s torso and face until the man crumpled to the ground.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Terror filled Cami as she watched Justin attack James with the rock. It felt like forever, but logically, she knew the entire fight had lasted less than a few minutes. Justin lay curled in a ball on the sidewalk, moaning.
James wiped his palms on his thighs before pulling out his wallet and handing the valet what looked like a business card. Then, without a word, he calmly climbed in the car and drove away.
Cami’s heart pounded. She’d never seen anything like that, and while part of her brain told her the violence should horrify her, it didn’t. Her body tingled as she remembered the powerful way James’s body had moved. To defend her… them… against the man who had ruined their lives.
The enormity of what had been revealed hit her, and her leg began to jump. James’s large palm came down on her knee to steady her and then slid higher to clasp her inner thigh.
“You’re bleeding.” Her hand tentatively stroked his fingers, careful to avoid the broken skin of his knuckles.
When he didn’t answer, Cami shifted to face him. James’s pulse beat a harsh staccato under his skin, and the corded muscles of his neck were drawn tight.
“Are you okay?”
James didn’t answer.
“Hey,” Cami said softly, her hand lifted to stroke the silky hair on his nape and then down his tense neck. She kneaded the tight muscle absently. “Are you hurt? Should we go to an urgent care?”
James’s mouth flexed in what she guessed was supposed to be a smile. “I’m fine. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Cami’s hand stopped for a moment, and then she resumed lightly scratching her nails along his neck, gratified when he leaned his head into the motion.
“I’m not,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m sorry if you were injured, but he had it coming.”
James’s head turned to look at her before returning to the road, and he huffed a little laugh. “You’re serious. I didn’t think you had it in you, Tig.”
“Even if you ignore the fact he attacked you first—Should we have waited for the police?”
James’s eyes flashed to his mirror as he smoothly merged onto the road leading to her neighborhood. “I gave my card to the valet. Enough people got it on video. It’s clear self-defense. I’m sure I’ll get a call though, to make a statement.”