“I knew you wanted her,” he muttered, wiping his busted lip. “Everyone fucking knew.” He laughed before he sneered, “Jesus, you’re crazy. You hate that I’m the one touching her, don’t y⁠—”

My fist connected with his jaw again, snapping his head to the side so fast his body followed it. He crashed to the floor, groaning as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“Jesus Christ,” someone shouted from the hallway.

My knuckles flared with pain. My hands were shaking.

“Blake, stop. Please, Blake, stop.” Beverly’s fingers curled into the back of my shirt. “That’s enough, okay? Let’s just go.”

But I barely heard her. Nathan charged at me, swinging wild, drunken punches. I was sober and angry enough to dodge them and landed another hit, sending him sprawling to the floor again.

“Blake!”

I turned to look at her, my head spinning from the way she screamed my name. “Did he hurt you?”

Her lips parted, eyes softening. “No. I’m fine, he’s just drunk. He wasn’t listening. But I⁠—”

I was going to kill him.

“Just stop,” she said, her voice shaking. “Please… I’m fine.”

For a second, I hesitated.

That was all Nathan needed.

The next thing I knew, his fist collided with my stomach, knocking the air out of my lungs. I stumbled back, my vision going white at the edges. And then he tackled me.

We hit the floor hard. His body pinned mine down, but I didn’t care. Despite the crushing pressure in my chest, my knee came up, slamming into his ribs. Nathan grunted, grabbing a fistful of my shirt, trying to get the upper hand.

“Get downstairs, B.”

“No. No, I’m not leaving you here⁠—”

“Go,” I shouted, louder than I meant to.

Beverly’s eyes welled with tears, but she didn’t argue this time. She nodded quickly before she rushed out of the room.

Nathan swung another wild, sloppy punch, but I saw it coming. I ducked just in time, and his fist slammed into the floor with a sickening crunch. Before he could pull back, my knee shot up again, connecting with his groin. The blow left him gasping for air, giving me the opening I needed. With all the strength I had, I shoved him off. His body flew sideways, and I scrambled to my feet, my hands trembling as I pushed myself up.

I didn’t have time to catch my breath before he lunged at me again. I faked left, then darted right, using the momentum to drive my elbow into his ribs with all the force I could muster.

A pair of hands yanked me back.

I twisted violently, fist swinging on instinct.

Jamal caught my wrist before I could make contact. “You’ve got to be kidding. We’ve been here for one hour, Blake. One hour.”

I shook him off, my focus snapping back to Nathan.