Sadie took a step back. “What have you done to Lorenzo?”
Al affected a look of innocence that wouldn’t fool a particularly oblivious five-year-old. “Me, nothing.”
Sadie narrowed her eyes. She bet he sent some of his dumb friends over to beat him up. That’s what they did when his friend, Duke’s wife was cheating on him with a twenty-two-year-old semi-pro tennis player. They put the guy in traction. His wife still left him though – she’d always loved tennis. Duke was now married to someone half his age and frequently told everyone he was glad his ‘bitch ex-wife’ left him. Why couldn’t Al want the same for himself?!
She shook her head. She knew she didn’t have to worry too much – Lorenzo was a big, tough boy. His meathead friends didn’t know Lorenzo was a shifter, or that his huge shifter father was with him. If anything, she thought his friends would be the worse for an encounter with them. She just hoped his mom would be okay.
“I’m taking Mandy and leaving,” she said decisively.
Sadie started for the stairs, and Al dropped his drink, running over to block her.
“No, you’re not going anywhere.”
“Move out of the way,” she said coldly.
“You belong here with me,” he hissed.
“No, Al.”
She tried to step around him, and he moved in front of her. “You can’t leave,” he growled, his face flushed with anger and desperation.
“You can’t make me stay.”
Al cupped her face. “You’re mine – you’ll always be mine!”
Sadie pushed against his chest as he tried to kiss her. “No, Al, let go of me,” she snapped.
They were struggling together. Al was trying to kiss her, trying to keep her close, and Sadie was desperately trying to get away from him. He was becoming less and less rational by the second.
“What is going on here?” cried an irate voice.
They whipped around to see Karen standing in the doorway.
Sadie gaped at her while Karen scowled in return.
“I just came to get my toothbrush, and I find you like this, trying to take advantage.”
“You need to leave,” snarled Al.
“I quite agree,” huffed Karen striding forward. Sadie nearly squawked in laughter as she realized Karen was talking about her. She actually thought Sadie was trying to take advantage of Al! What the fudge!
“Honestly, Sadie,” fumed Karen, “I know you want Al back, but forcing yourself on him!”
Sadie let out a snort. “Yeah, sure!”
She tried to get out of Al’s grip, but he wasn’t letting go. He was watching Karen in frank annoyance that completely seemed to fly over Karen’s head.
“Al’s with me now, and you’re just going to have to get over it,” she said primly.
“Uh, Karen, you’ve got this all wrong, and I think you should leave,” said Sadie more than a little kindly, because Al had the same look in his eye he got right before the jaw-breaking incident.
“No, I think you should leave.”
She strode forwards and tried to dislodge Sadie from Al. He pulled Sadie to his side and glowered at Karen.
“Get out!” howled Al.
She stared at him in astonishment. “You’re joking, right?”
“Get out and leave my family alone.”
Karen looked between Al who was swimming with fury and Sadie who was frankly desperate to get her daughter and get the hell away. She’d always known that Al was using Karen, but she hadn’t wanted to be there to see the fallout.
“You’re joking?” said Karen doubtfully.
Al grunted at her, and she shook her head with a determined look on her face. “No, you love me – you said you did. You said we were getting married…”
Oh brother.
Karen sneered at Sadie. “She’s just going to leave you again. She’ll just leave you for someone else again – like last time…”
Unbelievable!
“Baby, please don’t do this,” entreated Karen, grasping his free hand. “We’re so good together, and she is just a complete slut…”
Thwack! Sadie flinched as Al smacked Karen. Karen staggered away, clutching her cheek, hurt and incredulity marring her features.
“Don’t ever speak about my wife that way again,” he said in a dangerous, low voice.
“Karen, please just leave,” said Sadie breathlessly.
Karen was not safe from Al’s violent tendencies, and although she was a complete cow bag, Sadie didn’t want her to get seriously hurt.
Karen stared fiercely at Sadie, and, yep, even after the crack to the face, she still considered that Sadie was to blame for this.
“Al, don’t let her ruin our future!”
She surged forward, and Al hit her again. Sadie gasped and managed to twist away from him.
“Daddy?”
Al snapped to look at Mandy who was halfway down the stairs, staring at her father in horror.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmured, “go back to your room.”
“But, Daddy…”
She looked down at Karen who was whimpering on the floor and then at Sadie who nodded at her, trying to encourage her to go back to her room. She really didn’t need to see any of this.
“Go back to your room!” he shouted furiously.
Mandy ran upstairs, and as Al turned back to look at Sadie, she brained him with one of his ugly ‘businessman of the year’ awards. He had two, and they were large phallic-shaped monstrosities. She was only sorry that in hitting him with it, she didn’t break it.
Al gurgled and dropped to the ground. She hit him again for good measure.
“Sadie!”
Lorenzo burst through the front door, and she cried in happiness as she leaped into his arms.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Love you, too,” he growled.