Intercepting Authority

Chapter Ten

Rhys

By the time we finally get through dinner, I can tell that Sutton is finally relaxed. Well, that is until her ex shows up at the damn restaurant.

I see him out of the corner of my eye, and I motion to Mathias, not saying a word to spook her. She's already dealt with enough of his bullshit the last few months, and I promised her that he wouldn't hurt her again.

"Can you excuse us?" Mathias asks before moving to stand up. I follow suit, leaning in to kiss her cheek before following Mathias over to where Trevor is standing against the bar.

His eyes are scanning the bar, and when they land on us, he turns his head and continues his search. He knows who I am and that I won't let him go near her again if I can help it.

"And here I thought they kept trash out of this place."

His head turns to look at me, and he just grins.

"Well, I guess even the working class has to eat." He looks over to Mathias and shakes his head. "You need your boyfriend to fight your whore's battles now?"

I don't even think as I move. I grab him by the shirt, pulling him closer to me. "Don't ever talk about her like that again." Anger is radiating through every inch of my body, and I want like hell to deck this son of a bitch.

"Or what?"

I know he's trying to get me to react more than I am, but I'm doing the best I can to keep my cool.

Mathias pulls me back, and I release that fucker's shirt.

"You will never come back to this town. If you do, I'll make sure that you spend the rest of your days behind bars, or worse. Your choice."

I look at my brother for a second, and I see the threat in his eyes. He doesn't even need to say more than he has because Trevor is already moving away from us.

A hand presses into my back and I look over my shoulder at Sutton. She doesn't seem as terrified as she did the last time we ran into this douche bag, but I know it still affects her. His eyes find her, and he starts to move towards us, then thinks better of it almost like he remembers Mathias' threat.

We watch as Trevor walks out of the restaurant and I can feel the air in the room change. All the anger and hostility disappears. Turning around, I wrap my arms around her and pull her into my chest.

Her warm breath fans over my shirt, I can feel her body shake.

"Ex-boyfriend?" Cadence asks.

"The worst mistake of my life," Sutton says wrapping her arms tighter around me.

"I'm going to pay the tab. You guys going to be okay?" Mathias looks at Sutton before looking at me.

"Yeah, I'll take her back to my apartment. He doesn't know where I live." He nods his head before wrapping his arm around Cadence and leading her to the hostess stand to pay for dinner.

Sutton and I don't move from where we are standing until they come back and when Mathias puts his hand on my shoulder, Sutton pulls away to look at him.

"Thank you for everything. I know you don't have to get involved or do any of this, but I want you to know how thankful I am."

"No need to thank me. I wouldn't think twice about it. I have a weakness for the damsel in distress." He looks at Cadence and grins down at her which has her looking up at him like he hangs the goddamn stars.

"Don't forget to email me with your examples." He reaches into his pocket, taking out a business card and handing it over to her.

I watch as she takes it from him and grins. "Thank you for this opportunity." The grin on her face lights up the room, and I know she is worth all the drama that she brings. It may not be ideal, but I wouldn't want for anyone else to have her. I just need to get her to see that I want her, every inch of her.