Austin's Revenge (The Townsends Book 4) Read online

  “I bet you, I could change your mind if you gave me a chance,” he smirked, bobbing his eyebrows up and down.

  This time when he reached for her, he reached out with both hands, intending to grab her hips. She knocked his hands away and snarled, “You try to touch me one more time, and I’m going to deck you.”

  He obviously didn’t take her seriously. He grinned at her and reached out, saying, “Ah, come on, Baby. You know you won’t do that.”

  A split second later Mindi felt a very familiar arm wrap around her waist from behind. She saw a fist fly at Grant’s face at the same time that she was jerked sideways. Grant crumpled to the floor like a rag doll, obviously out cold.

  She knew who it was that had grabbed her. She knew the feel of him well enough. “Well, that was effective. I’m guessing you broke his nose. At the very least.”

  “Hey, Zane, get a pitcher of ice water to throw on him. I’ve got a few choice words I’d like to say to him,” Luke said, staring at the guy like he’d like to stomp right in the middle of him.

  “Luke, you might need to calm down first,” Mindi said, turning to face him, so she could place her hand on his cheek. “You’ve already broke his nose. You don’t want to put him in the hospital.”

  “Are you sure about that?” he asked, still glaring down at the guy.

  “Luke!” she exclaimed at the fire in his eyes.

  “No one gets away with messing with you,” he snarled, barely resisting the urge to kick the guy in the head. He wasn’t sure he would have held back if he hadn’t been holding Mindi in his arms.

  “He didn’t,” she huffed. “You broke his nose.”

  “I won’t hit him again, as long as he’s learned some common sense.”

  Just then Zane walked up and without a word dumped a gallon of ice water in the guy’s face before putting an arm around Amanda and holding her close.

  The guy sat up, sputtering. When his eyes landed on first Zane and Amanda and then Luke, they grew to saucers. “What did you do that for? I was just talking to her.”

  “Nobody touches my wife, except for me,” he growled.

  “Gee, Man,” he scoffed. “If you can’t handle the competition, maybe you should check yourself.”

  That caused Luke and Zane both to chuckle. “You’re not competition,” Luke scoffed. “Not even close. I know for a fact she doesn’t want you touching her.”

  “Really?” he smirked. “How so?”

  “See, Mr. Bradley, she’s told me about you. About how you creep her out and won’t keep your hands to yourself. She doesn’t hide anything from me. She’s told me she doesn’t want you touching her and that you won’t listen. So, maybe you’ll listen to this. If you don’t stay away from her, I’m going to beat the day lights out of you. Your broken nose will feel like a walk in the park.”

  Grant got up and literally ran toward the bathroom. Luke waited till he entered the bathroom, then turned back to Mindi. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, irritation ringing in her voice.

  “Well, then why are you mad at me?” he asked, holding her tighter when she tried to push away, at first.

  “Did you have to punch him in the face?”

  “What did you want me to do?” he chuckled. “Greet him with a kiss?”

  “All I’m saying,” she huffed, throwing up a hand, “is you didn’t have to punch him in the face.”

  “He wouldn’t keep his hands to himself. Aside from the fact that today wasn’t the first time, you had already thrown his hand away twice by the time I got over here.”

  “Oh,” she breathed, meeting his gaze. “You saw that, did you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you not trust me?” she asked, feeling a little hurt.

  “Don’t give me that hurt look,” he snorted. “You know I trust you.”

  “You didn’t have to break his nose. And I’m sure both of his eyes will be black by tomorrow. Probably swollen shut, to boot.”

  “Did you want him to touch you?”

  “Of course not,” she grouched, rolling her eyes. “You’re the only one I ever want to touch me that way.”

  “Did you not tell me about the other two times because you were worried he might need a stronger type of persuasion?”

  “Well…, yes,” she sighed. “But you didn’t have to get violent.”

  “Are you sure about that? Didn’t he already know you are married?”

  “Yes, he tried hitting on me about two seconds after I met him. I told him then I was a very, happily married woman.”

  “What did he say to that?”

  “You know all of this already,” she grumbled, knowing exactly what his point was. The problem with being married to someone who could read others so easily was, they were very hard to argue with.

  “Humor me.”

  “He said he didn’t believe in happily married.”

  “I wasn’t surprised then, and I’m not surprised now. Didn’t you say he’s been married three times?”

  She sighed, answering, “Four times.”

  “It doesn’t sound like he takes marriage seriously. Wouldn’t you say, if he’s been married that many times, he’s probably a large part of the problem in his marriages?”

  “Well yes, but that...”

  He was shaking his head before she even got the first word out. “No buts, Mindi,” he said, cutting her off. “I’m not going to let some guy grope you. You are my wife, and I do take marriage seriously. I will protect and defend you against unwanted advances.”

  “You didn’t have to break his nose,” she grumbled again.

  “What would you have had me do?”

  She shrugged, dropping her eyes to his chest. “You could have tried warning him first.”

  “That might have worked, but a broken nose and two black eyes will make a far more lasting impression.”

  “He could still try to sue you or press charges,” she blurted, finally getting around to telling him what her real concern was.

  He shook his head at her. “There were too many witnesses. That’s not going to happen.”

  She turned pleading eyes on her brother. “Zane, help me.”

  “No, I agree with Luke. I’d have done the same thing in his shoes.”

  “Zane, you’re a cop.”

  “He was well within his rights. The guy was sexually harassing you and wouldn’t keep his hands off of you. Luke was only defending you. I’ll testify to the fact.”

  She sighed, realizing she was going to get no help there. “Well, did you have to follow it up with threatening to beat the day lights out of him if he didn’t stay away from me? I still have to work with the guy. You nearly caused him to pee himself.”

  Luke couldn’t help it. He ended up smirking. “Yeah, I think I did. I’m not going to stand by and let some guy put his hands all over you. You’re mine. I’m the only one who has the right to do that.”

  She groaned, rubbing her temples. “We’re getting nowhere fast.”

  He nodded his head in agreement. “Well, let me ask you something else. What would you have done if the roles were reversed, and some woman was getting fresh with me despite the fact that I had told her not to, and that I was happily married?”

  She stood there staring at him for a few minutes, before finally mumbling, “Point taken. I think I’ll go ahead and go to the truck now.”

  With that, he dropped his hands, letting her go. When she turned and walked out of the building, no one noticed the guy followed her out.

  “Do you seriously like being married to that brute?” he asked, walking up behind her.

  Mindi spun around to glare at him. “My husband is not a brute.”

  “I’m sure I could make you a whole lot happier,” he said, reaching out to try to grab her. “He probably doesn’t even know how to be gentle.”

  She stepped back, slapping his hand away. “He is very gentle with me. And if you think what he did was bad, keep in mind, he stay
ed above the belt. I won’t be so considerate.”

  He obviously didn’t take her seriously. This time when he reached out and tried to grab her, she let him get close enough to bring her knee up, hard, nailing him right between the legs. He dropped to his knees, groaning. He was caught unaware when she lifted her booted foot to his shoulder and toppled him over. He was still too busy groaning to realize her intent. She got a lot of perverse pleasure out of grinding the heel of her cowboy boot into his already tender groin before she walked away.

  He still hadn’t made it to his feet when the rest of the Townsend clan came out the door. When he noticed Luke walk out with a smirk on his face, he sprang to his feet, wincing with his effort.

  “What’s wrong with you now?” Zane asked, giving him an amused look.

  “Nothing. I’m fine,” he said, turning and heading across the parking lot as quick as he could, still smarting from Mindi’s attack.

  He had no way of knowing that Zane and Luke had both witnessed the scene with him and Mindi. Or that Zane had barely been able to restrain Luke long enough for Mindi to make her own point. He would never know just how lucky he was that it had been Mindi who had gotten the point across that time.

  Chapter 14

  Tuesday, August 12

  Zane walked through Harris Grocery, heading toward the deli in the back of the store. He waved at the store owner, Joe Harris from a little-ways away. “How’s it going this morning?”

  “Pretty good,” Joe answered, waving back. “Running late this morning?”

  “Not really late,” he shrugged. “But later than I like. I like to check for anything I need to be aware of from the night shift. Most of the officers I work with do the same.”

  “Well, I’m not a cop, but I can see where that might be a good idea,” the older man nodded. “Did you oversleep?”

  “No,” he answered, turning unbelievably red. “I haven’t over slept since before high school.”

  Joe chuckled, nearly doubling over. “Did you really just blush? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that, in all the years I’ve known you. I thought it was physically impossible for you to get embarrassed.”

  “Thanks, Joe,” he retorted sarcastically, blushing even more.

  “Of course, you’ve never lived with a certain stacked brunette before, either.”

  “There is definitely that,” he grinned, thinking about exactly what it was that had delayed him this morning.

  “I can tell by the look on your face, I don’t want anymore information than that,” Joe laughed, waving once again as Zane continued on his way. “See you later. Stay safe.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” he nodded. “You have a good day, now.”

  He continued on his way to the deli, whistling as he went. Until he ran across someone else. This time, they weren’t such a welcome distraction.

  “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Hot-shot Police Officer,” Austin sneered, stepping in front of him.

  Zane went to step around the other man, intending to just ignore him. This prompted the guy to step over in his way again. He gave the smaller man a dirty look, continuing to step forward anyway. Austin reached up to shove him back in retaliation and nearly fell on his butt. He grunted, stumbling sideways, giving him the opportunity to step around him. He continued on his way, not bothering to look back.

  “I’ll sue you for trying to knock me down,” Austin shouted, following behind him.

  He chuckled, shaking his head, not bothering to turn back to look at the other man. “I never touched you. You assaulted me.”

  “But you can’t prove that,” the other man grinned, not realizing there had been a witness of sorts.

  Zane stopped long enough to turn and point at three separate locations back where they had come from. “See those security cameras? They’re all over the store, and I know for a fact the security cameras in this place work. What they’ll see is, I tried to walk around you, then you stepped in my way and shoved me in the chest. It’s not my fault you’re so weak, you nearly fell on your backside.”

  “You think you are hot stuff, don’t you,” the other man snarled, straightening and dusting at his clothes like he had been in a major scuffle. “I wonder what Amanda would think if she knew you were the reason she has suffered at my hands all this time.”

  Zane stopped a few feet of the deli counter and turned back to glare at the man. He took a menacing step forward but stopped when he saw Joe hold his hand and shake his head no. He was close enough to Austin to hear everything going on but standing where the man couldn’t see him unless he turned completely around. He noticed the older man had his phone out and realized he was probably recording once again.

  He relaxed his stance only a little bit and growled, “What are you even talking about?”

  Austin crammed his hands in his pockets and chuckled. He stood there with his feet spread apart, his chest puffed out and his head thrown back. He was grinning manically, like he obviously thought he was some kind of hot-shot. It made Zane want to punch him in the face. “I don’t even like fat chicks.”

  “Amanda’s not fat,” he growled, gripping his fists so tightly, his knuckles were turning white. “And if you think she is, you’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”

  “Why would you want a fat chick like Amanda over a babe like Ashley Mullins?” Austin asked in an almost conversational tone, shaking his head in genuine confusion.

  “Like I said, Amanda’s not fat,” he snarled, unable to stop himself from taking another step forward. “And if you want Ashley Mullins, you’re welcome to her. But none of this explains why you would say it’s my fault you’re making Amanda’s life miserable.”

  “High school,” he said as if that was enough of an explanation.

  He shook his head, giving him a blank look. “Get to the point.”

  “Janetta Wilson,” he grumbled, glaring at him.

  “Janetta Wilson?” he said, shaking his head. “What about her?”

  “Like all the other girls we went to school with, she wanted you, and not me,” he snarled. “Why do the women in this town think you Townsends are so great? If it’s not you, it’s Phillip.”

  “Look, I don’t know anything about Janetta Wilson wanting me. She wasn’t my type then and if I’m not mistaken, she’s been married to the same man since we all graduated from high school,” he replied, giving the guy a hard look. “I still don’t understand what all of this has to do with Amanda.”

  “I didn’t get the girl I wanted, and it was your fault. So, I’m making sure you suffer by making the woman you love so much suffer,” he sneered, then grinned manically again. “Just remember, every time I hit her, you’re the reason.”

  “You’re sick, Man,” Zane grumbled, feeling sick to his stomach. He was afraid if Amanda found out about all of this, she was going to end up hating him. “Besides, even if she hadn’t wanted me, that’s no guarantee that she would have wanted you.”

  “You may think so,” he laughed. “But I’m betting right now, that’s not your biggest problem.” The man had the nerve to walk off laughing and whistling as he went.

  Zane stood there, doing his best not to let the bile in his throat rise any farther up. He startled and jumped in surprise when he felt someone lay a hand against his shoulder. He looked over to find Joe standing there with a concerned look. “What?”

  “Don’t let him get to you, Zane,” the older man said in almost a whisper. “It’s just a mind game. Don’t let him win.”

  “But what if it’s true?” he asked with a shake of his head, nearly moved to tears. “What if the only reason she’s suffered at his hands is because he realized I was in love with her?”

  “It doesn’t matter what his reasons were,” the older man said, shaking his head. “He was still abusing her and it’s not your fault. It never was. All you can do is keep her away from him. Keep her safe.”

  ******

  Zane had been stewing all day over what Austin, the little creep, had told him. It was
now five o’clock, and he still had no clearer picture on how to respond to what he had learned. On one side, he thought walking away from her might be for the best. Maybe if Austin thought he was done with her, he’d leave her alone. On the other side, he knew better. He knew this was Austin’s attempt to get him to walk away. Problem was, he was afraid it might be his way of justifying keeping her close.

  He shook his head in frustration as he walked out of the station to where his motorcycle was sitting in the front parking-lot, where the security cameras were. After his jeep had been vandalized, the chief had instructed him to park in front. Besides the cameras, it was also a much more populated area. People were constantly going in and out of the building. Not to mention, there was always activity across the street.

  He knew for a fact his new parking spot was irritating Austin. One of the guys that works the night shift was heading home after filling out reports last Friday and saw him standing across the street with an angry look on his face. Zane couldn’t have been at work more than thirty or forty minutes himself. He figured Austin was between jobs at the moment. He and the chief went over the security footage for that day. The creep stood out there for almost three hours before he finally gave up and went on about his business.

  He sighed, yanking his phone off his belt. He knew one thing for sure. He was going to have to talk to someone before he could make any kind of clear decision. “Hey, Mom, I’m going to be a little late. I’ve got something I need to do.”

  “Okay, Son,” she replied, sounding a little suspicious. “This isn’t something like the day Austin messed up your jeep, is it? Is there something wrong and you’re planning on telling Amanda and I after everything’s taken care of?”

  “No,” he answered on a sigh. “I just have something I need to do.”

  “Okay. Do you and Amanda want to eat supper here tonight?”

  “That sounds good to me but ask her. She might have had something special planned. Just tell her, I’m game for whatever she wants to do.”

  “Okay, I’ll let her know.”