Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

“Hey,” a voice barked. “You didn’t thank me for my patronage.”

Jamie glanced back just as Victor’s hand closed over his arm. “Get off me,” Jamie warned, breaking away from Victor’s attempt to stop him. “And get out of my bar.” He pushed through the doors, and the cool air of the kitchen was an immediate relief. Until the loud bang of a hand catching the closing doors echoed through his bones.

“She’s my wife,” Victor said, his fake smile finally slipping to reveal lips tight with rage. “And she’s nothing to you.”

“You’re wrong.”

“She needs a man, Jamie. Not a boy like you.”

Jamie’s vision went dark at the edges, but Victor’s face grew sharper.

“And I have exactly what she needs,” Victor whispered. “A juicy bank account to fund her little bus

iness dreams.”

“Get out of here before I pick you up and throw you out.”

Victor’s next words were drowned out by the band as they finally came back to life. Jamie pointed at the door, but Victor just sneered and took one step closer. “I can only hope you taught her a few new tricks in the bedroom,” he shouted.

The whine of the violin seemed to drag across Jamie’s nerves, and they snapped with a pop he felt through his whole body.

Victor bared his teeth. “God knows, if anyone could use a little livening up in bed, it’s Olivia.”

Jamie didn’t even feel his arm pull back. His first awareness of it was the feel of Victor’s chin as it ricocheted off Jamie’s knuckles and snapped away. Victor’s body snapped with it, and he flew backward, his shoulders parting the doors as if they were weightless.

Before the doors swung closed again, Jamie saw him bounce along the floor. The whole room seemed to gasp at the same time, with a few screams as punctuation. The music died an ugly death as each player lost momentum. Jamie pushed through the doors and grabbed Victor by the collar to haul him toward the front door. A few people assumed Jamie was the good guy and cheered, but Tessa rushed forward like a streak of blond fear.

“Jamie!” she cried.

“Stay here.”

Victor moaned and tried to scramble to his feet, so Jamie gave him a helpful tug. Before the man could regain his balance, Jamie opened the door and pulled Victor out.

“You bastard!” Victor huffed. “You hit me!”

“Yeah, I did.” His knuckles ached and his stomach had sunk as if he was still on a roller coaster with Olivia. He knew what was coming next. He pushed Victor toward the parking lot. “This is a bar, you asshole, not the dean’s office.”

“I’m calling the cops!” Victor shouted, digging his phone from his pocket.

Damn it. Jamie tried to look as unconcerned as possible. “Go ahead. But keep in mind, I’m going to recount every single detail to the police. And the paper.”

Victor’s eyebrows twitched, but he pushed the nine.

“And remember, I’m a bartender. An arrest for a minor assault isn’t really going to affect my career much. But a story in the Daily Camera about a professor in a bar brawl over his ex-wife? That should be exciting for your department.”

The man’s finger hovered over the one.

“And there’s a whole barroom full of people who saw you being a dick. You grabbed me twice. Followed me into the back room… Who knows what happened back there?”

Victor’s hand wavered, and Jamie smiled. “If you’ve still got all your teeth, you should probably cut your losses.”

As if he needed to check, Victor raised a hand to gingerly touch his jaw.

“All there?”

Despite the fact that Victor tucked the phone back into his pocket, he still smirked as if he’d won the argument. “Wait until Olivia hears you attacked me. Do you really think mindless thugs are her type?”

“We’re not even dating anymore, you stupid asshole. Do whatever you want.” Jamie spun to stalk back into the bar, but he was faced with a wall of people piled into the doorway. Front and center was Tessa, her expression caught somewhere between worry and outrage.