“Don’t take long,” Razer told her before she left, going inside the church.
As Winter talked to the couple, Lily took one of the twins and placed it on her hip.
Shade felt a lump in his throat at seeing true joy on her face for the first time. Lily being carefree and happy was a sight he didn’t want to end, but then her attitude changed when the man who considered her his approached, handing her a cup. Charles took the cup back when she finished, putting his arm around Lily possessively and giving the impression of a future Shade was determined wasn’t going to happen. It was going to be his and Lily’s.
Blind fury overtook Shade. Dropping his own cup to the ground, he moved to rip the fucker’s arm out of its socket.
Razer, who was standing next to him, saw his reaction. “Don’t do it, brother,” Razer warned.
Shade didn’t answer him, too fueled with possessive rage.
Razer placed a hand on his chest, trying to hold him back, but Shade raised his fist, smashing it into Razer’s face. Train and Rider butted in next, at first simply trying to break up the fight.
“Stop him,” Razer told them, putting a hand to his bloody lip.
Shade didn’t feel any remorse, wanting the others to feel the pain he was feeling at watching Lily and Charles together. He managed to break away from the brothers. Then Viper tried to stop him. Getting madder every second that Charles touched Lily, he swung his foot out and nailed Viper in the balls. As Viper hit the ground, Shade stepped around his prone body, and Rider and Train tried to interfere again. He just smashed them together.
Unfortunately, Razer had recovered and, with Knox’s help, managed to slow him down long enough for Rider and Train to get a good grip on him.
“Shade, calm down. He’s moved away from her,” Razer hissed close to his ear.
“Fucker touches her again, I’ll kill him,” Shade snarled, seeing Razer was telling the truth and Charles was going to a car in the parking lot.
“Let him go,” Razer said.
Shade felt the hands holding him back drop away.
“What in the fuck was that all about?” Viper asked, his face pale and his own anger evident.
Shade nodded toward Lily. “See her?”
The brothers all turned to look at Lily who was once again playing with the children, the twin child still on her hip.
“Beth’s sister?” Viper asked.
“She’s mine. I’ll kill anyone who touches her.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me, Shade. She can’t be yours. She’s messed-up, brother.” Razer took a hasty step backward, his hands raised in surrender at the look of murder in Shade’s eyes. “I didn’t mean it to be cruel, just stating a fact. You haven’t said more than three words to her, so how can you claim her before you’ve even had her?”
“I’m telling every brother here, she’s fucking mine, and I’ll kill anyone who tries to take what’s mine, brother or not.”
“He’s bat-shit crazy,” Knox stated.
“Shade…” Razer began.
“I told you I’d wait until she’s older before I make a move on her, and I will,” Shade grimly broke him off. “But I won’t stand around like a pussy while someone else does,” he warned.
Razer nodded, his eyes going toward Lily.
“Son of a bitch.”
Lily had been playing horseshoes with the children. However, instead of throwing the metal horseshoe toward the sandpit, she hurled it at a young man arguing with his girlfriend, striking him in the back before running toward the couple despite the anger she had incited in the man who had spun around when he was hit.
Shade took off running, Razer and the others following behind. He heard Lily’s words as he silently approached, coming to a stop behind her.
“Don’t touch her,” Lily hissed.
Shade hadn’t been aware Lily had a temper, much less the spunk to stand up to a man. She stood with the baby on her hip, her black hair disarrayed from playing and running around with the kids, and her breasts were heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Shade wanted to reach out and smooth her tangled hair, to find out if it was as soft as it appeared.
“What business is it of yours?” The punk was about to get his ass whipped if he kept trying to intimidate Lily.
“I am making it my business. You were hurting her,” Lily replied.
“Perhaps, Jake, you could take a breather until you calm down,” Viper’s supposed girlfriend, Winter, tried to divert the punk.
“You two cunts need to back off.”
Shade was going to kill him with his bare hands. He just didn’t want Lily to see how he was going to do it.
Viper, who was standing next to him, didn’t seem any happier.
“We can do that. Lily and I were just going to get the kids a drink, and we could use some help. Carmen, would you mind?”
“She isn’t going anywhere. We’re leaving.” The punkass pulled the young girl to his side, shoving Winter out of his way.
Viper almost knocked Shade over to catch Winter, his arm going around her waist, holding her steady until she was able to regain her balance.
Shade motioned The Last Riders into position to protect the women.
“That was a mistake,” Viper said as Winter quickly moved away from him, disappearing in the gathering crowd.
“You need to let the girl go and take a walk with me.” Shade gave the one and only warning he was going to give as he stepped in front of Lily.
“What’s going on?” Lucky hurried toward the group with Beth at his side.
Shade didn’t break eye contact with the punk, letting him see his imminent death. He heard Beth whispering to her sister as the parents came to claim the child Lily was holding.
Winter reappeared, taking the hand of the punk’s girlfriend in hers before tugging her away. Shade read the boy’s intention to stop her so he moved forward an inch, holding his gaze steady, and the little shit stood still, letting his girlfriend be led away.
“Razer, perhaps you should take Beth and Lily home,” Lucky suggested.
Razer led the girls away while Lucky dispersed the crowd, assuring them he had the situation under control.
The little shit tried to hide his fear, yet his eyes darted back and forth between the brothers.
“How old are you?” Shade asked him.
“Why, you want to fuck me?”
Shade gave him a sinister smile. “No, because I don’t kill kids.”
The next thing the punk knew, he was falling to his knees, holding his stomach. Shade reached down, taking a handful of hair in his hand and jerking his head back until he could stare into his face.
“Your dick isn’t old enough to be treating a woman the way you were. Does it get you hard when you mistreat that little girl? She’s too young to know how to deal with you and put up with your disrespect. And you don’t call my girl a cunt. Ever. I’m going to beat the shit out of you, but you’ll be able to crawl away when I’m done. If you go near her again or even look in her direction, you’ll be carried away in a body bag. You got me?”
“Yes…” Shade’s fist didn’t let another word pass his busted lips.
Lucky finally pulled him away when he was barely conscious. “He’s had enough unless you’ve changed your mind about the body bag.”
When Shade backed away, Lucky knelt down to help the kid to his feet until he stood, swaying, Viper knocked him back down on the ground.
“You don’t help that fucker,” Viper ordered when Lucky would have tried to help him again.