Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem

Chapter 27

Wrapped in a black trash bag like some bizarre Halloween costume, Gage lay on the ground, howling in misery, while Elysia kicked and punched him with all the ferocity of a schoolyard. scuffle. Her blows might not have been heavyweight, but given she was sporting stilettos, they certainly left their mark.

Looking every inch the drunken mess, Gage didn’t seem to have the strength to fight back. After a short–lived thrashing, Elysia, gasping for breath and making a grotesque face at her victim, dramatically collapsed on the floor beside him.

Gage groaned his way upright and yanked the trash bag off his head, cursing like a sailor, “Fucking hell, who the hell thinks they can mess with me and live to tell the tale? I’ll make them pay!”

Elysia, feigning a groggy awakening, clutched her head. “Mr. Slater, what happened? My head’s throbbing like someone clocked me.”

“I fucking got jumped. Did you see who it was?”

“No, I was out cold too.”

“The nerve, messing with my plans and hitting me. Don’t worry, babe, I’m calling the troops to

sniff out this rat.”

Swearing under his breath, Gage reached for his phone to call for backup.

Elysia excused herself to the restroom, her face a picture of innocent alarm. But once out of sight, her expression morphed into a colorful tirade of silent curses.

Lowell could only stare

could piece together what had happened. Gage had tried to force himself on her, and

to admire

or her

from the emergency exit with a mix of timidity and inner triumph, Elysia’s heart. stopped when she saw

frown, his gaze inscrutable. Lowell, however, greeted her with a smile, “Ms. Thorne, fancy seeing you here

act, swallowed nervously. Before she could speak, Gage’s voice boomed from behind, “Lowell? Hey, man, you’re

saving Elijah, the Slater family was riding high, and Gage was familiar with Tarquin and Lowell. He could only see Lowell from his position, so he sought

twitched manically as she faced an unexpected

1/2

18-57

knew each other!

her luck be

for Tarquin’s cue, Elysia desperately whispered into Tarquin’s ear, “He tried to assault me. Don’t rat me

pushed her away with visible

was just working part–time, and he targeted me. I

“Get off.

happens to me, you can kiss that money

threatening me?” Tarquin’s voice was icy.