But I would tell her. I was going to tell her everything. I’d tell her how I felt and what she did to me, and maybe we could make sense of this craziness together. Because a lot of it wasn’t even making sense to me—how I could fall for a girl from another world.

But I had. That’s what was happening here. I had never felt such a strong desire to protect anyone, except for Dylan, but now I felt that way about Estella, and I was sure as hell going to make sure that no one came near her again.

“Are you sure you wanna do this, man?” Goat’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I looked around to find him staring at me. He actually looked worried. Hell, maybe I should be more worried about this, but I wasn’t.

We stood outside The Demon Rest which seemed like a fitting name for the shit ass, run-down bar that we were about to enter. I mean, Allbrook was a shithole by any standards, but The Demon Rest was definitely one of the worst places around these parts.

It was also where the Allbrook Gang hung out and a little birdie had told me that I’d find Conor here right now with only a couple of other guys with him. This was the perfect time to send him a clear message: don’t mess with the people I cared about.

But I knew why Goat was so worried. If I went in there and roughed Conor up, I’d be starting shit with the Allbrook Gang, and I was doing this without Ryder’s knowledge.

If Ryder found out this had something to do with Estella then he would lose it. It wasn’t just about her though—Dylan also had to be protected and the only way I could be sure that he’d be safe was to target the cause of the problem.

“I know what I’m doing,” I said, nodding at the other guys that’d come with me. “Let’s go and show them what it means to mess with a Madden.”

There was no more hesitation; there were no more questions. I had made up my mind and the guys would follow me regardless of how this played out.

I led the way, pushing open the door to the bar and letting the smell of despair hit me—cigarettes, booze, and sweat—this is where the lowest scumbags hung out, so it was pretty fitting for the Allbrook gang.

The bar was almost empty; there were the usual tables and stools scattered around, but the interior was pretty shitty. The scantily dressed girl wiping down tables eyed us up as we strode inside, but I barely glanced at her—my focus was simply on kicking Conor’s ass.

A dart board had been hoisted against the wall close to the entrance as though it was going to improve the depressing surroundings somehow. Nope, no chance in hell of that happening. There was a single pool table on the far end of the room, and my eyes immediately singled out Conor with three other guys as they hovered around the table, in the middle of a game.

Rage filtered through me when I saw how at ease he was; he didn’t have a single care for the fear he’d inflicted on Estella. This asshole was going to pay.

“Fancy seeing you down here,” I said, keeping my tone light as we flanked the four Allbrooks.

Conor flinched and their conversation died down as they all turned to face us. Fear darted across Conor’s face, but he quickly replaced it with an easy smile as though he was greeting old friends.

“Glad you could take time out from your busy schedule of hand holding to pay us a visit, Vincent. I’m touched.” Conor placed a hand to his chest, mocking me.

“Well, Conor,” I said, taking three steps forward so I was in his face, “the thing is, I don’t like it when the people close to me get hurt. It makes me real mad, ya know?”

The corner of Conor’s mouth lifted in a smirk. The son of a bitch was pleased with himself for getting to me through Estella. What a spineless, weak asshole.

“I was just trying to get to know the people in your life, Vincent. I mean, man, I’d love to get to know that piece of ass you’re screwing right now. Estella, right?”

As soon as her name came from his disgusting mouth, a white hot rage snaked its way through my body and coiled around my chest.

I grabbed Conor by the collar of his jacket, lifting him slightly off his feet. “Say her name one more time, asshole. I fucking dare you to.”

The fear was clear in Conor’s eyes as he stared back at me, but he was a ballsy son of a bitch; he had something to prove to the other Allbrooks and the only way he could do that was by standing up to me.

His bottom lip curled. “The more I think about it, the more I want to fuck Estella.”

My vision went blurry and the rage inside my chest exploded. He was going to pay for threatening Estella. He was going to pay for talking about her like that. I didn’t see reason, I didn’t think of the consequences; I wanted to show him what happened when he messed with the people I cared about.

I shoved Conor so hard that his back hit the pool table with a loud thud. The other Allbrooks reacted and rushed at us, but all I could see was Conor. His bravado was gone now—I could see it from the way his eyes darted left and right—but that didn’t mean I was going to let him off easy.

Someone’s fist connected with the side of my face, and I turned just in time to see Todd take on the Allbrook guy that’d punched me. My attention went back to Conor who suddenly leapt out at me and threw a couple of punches at me.

Only one punch connected with the side of my nose before I grabbed his fist, twisted it, and then punched him three times in the gut. Conor immediately doubled over, and I hit him in the face with my knee. My knee connected with his face and blood spurted everywhere.

Conor stumbled back, yelling out as he covered his face with both hands, trying to stop the blood from flowing. But it wouldn’t help. I’d gotten in a good hit.

My boys had easily overpowered the other three guys who were now sporting swollen faces. Todd had the guy who’d hit me in a headlock, and pushed him hard against the pool table before releasing him.

“Let’s call this a friendly warning,” I said, wiping a small trickle of blood from the side of my mouth. “Next time we won’t go so easy on you. Let’s get one thing clear; you touch her, you so much as look at her the wrong way, and I will destroy you. Tell that to Troy and the rest of your Allbrook pussies.”

From the way Conor and the other guys stared at us in silence, I was pretty sure my message had been received loud and clear.

* * *

I knew Estella would be at the house this afternoon. I’d told Three to pick her up and take her there for Dylan’s lesson. What had actually slipped my mind was the fact that I’d been punched in the face and probably looked like shit.

All I’d wanted to do was go home to Estella. I wanted to eat one of her meals and watch her dance and bring her warmth into my home.

I hadn’t expected Three and Estella to be waiting out on the porch with me as I rode up with Goat. As soon as I’d removed my helmet and gotten off the bike, Estella hurried down the steps and ran to me.

"What happened to your face?" She let out a gasp and clamped a hand over her mouth.

Even though I’d done this for her, I couldn’t look her in the eye because I knew she would hate me for it. Instead, I shook my head to discourage her from asking any questions.

I reached out for her. "Hold me, Stelle, just hold me. Hold me like it's our last day together, and tomorrow might not be."

Estella didn’t resist at first—she stepped into my arms and let me rest my head on her shoulder. She even ran a hand through my hair which made me grasp her by the waist a little tighter. But it didn’t last long, because just as quickly as she’d held me, she pushed me away.

Her eyes were fierce, the amber in them dancing like the glows cast from candlelight. It kind of scared me a little the way she was staring me down.

“What happened to you, Vincent?” she asked again—her tone was firmer this time and I knew she wasn’t messing around.

Hesitating, I ran my fingers over the skin of her hand before grasping it in mine. “It doesn’t matter, Stelle. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Instead of meeting her gaze, I focused on Three who had approached us and was now standing just behind Estella. For some reason, he didn’t look as happy as he should to see me.

“Well, I do.” Estella’s words were commanding, but I heard the slight quiver in her tone, as though she was afraid to know the truth. “I need to know that you haven’t done anything bad; that no one is hurt.”

“Well, that depends on your definition of hurt.”

“Vincent, this isn’t funny. I’m being serious; did you hurt someone?”

“He deserved it,” I say, pointedly looking away from her. “He had no right to put his hands on you.”

“Conor did this to you?” Her eyes searched mine, large and concerned.

“Yeah, but you should see what I did to him.”

From behind me, Goat let out a gruff “hmm” of approval.

Tears were forming in Estella’s eyes, and I couldn’t hide the wall of emotion that hit me at seeing her reaction.

“Vincent, this needs to stop. If you love and care about Dylan the way you say you do, you need to stop doing this. You can’t keep putting him in danger.” Her hand tightened around mine.

“I’m not putting him in danger.” My voice came out like a low growl. “I’m protecting him. I’m doing the best I can for him. I’m making sure I win these fights so he can go to a good school and have a future.”

“Don’t you understand? It’s not about sending him to private school or college. It’s about teaching him to be the best that he can be. And that starts with you.” She jabbed the center of my chest with a finger. “You need to set the example for him to become a better person. He’s had nothing but disappointment in his life. Don’t do this to him.”