As the pounding on the door escalated, honest-to-God fear pricked at Brett’s flesh. Troy hadn’t gotten violent with her when they’d been together, but she’d never heard him sound like this before.

“Stay here.” AJ’s low command penetrated the shrieking alarms going off in her head.

She turned to see him buttoning his black trousers, his blond hair tousled and mouth carved in a deadly line.

Her faculties swiftly returned to her. “No,” she blurted out. “You stay here. I’ll deal with him.”

“If you honestly think I’m going to let you handle this alone, then you’re…” He didn’t even finish the sentence.

He was already marching out the door.

Brett hurried after him, her panic intensifying when she glimpsed the inflexible set of his broad shoulders. Bare-chested and barefoot, he painted an imposing picture that would go over like a sack of bricks with Troy. Her ex might not have been violent, but he was possessive as hell, and Brett was suddenly terrified of what he’d do when he found another man in her apartment.

AJ, however, didn’t seem at all concerned. Once he reached the front hall, he threw open the door and took an intimidating step toward her ex.

So much for rehab—Troy was drunk. Very, very drunk. Brett had borne witness to those bloodshot eyes and stumbling posture countless times before.

But the fury was new.

Red-hot and palpable, blazing hotter when Troy looked from AJ’s bare chest to Brett’s oversized and very masculine T-shirt.

“What the hell!” he roared. “You’re screwing around with some loser while I’m standing outside your door trying to talk to you!”

“What are you doing here?” she shot back. “I already told you—I have no interest in seeing you.”

“I don’t give a shit what you want! Tell this loser to go. We need to talk.”

Brett’s heart stopped when Troy tried to elbow his way inside, but she’d underestimated AJ’s reflexes. In the blink of an eye, he’d shoved the slurring man into the hallway, every muscle in his body flexing with power as he pushed Troy against the wall and jammed his forearm into the man’s throat.

“You heard the lady,” AJ hissed. “She doesn’t want you here.” He dug his arm harder, making Troy gasp. “Which means you have five seconds to get your ass out of here before we call the cops.”

“Screw you!” was the hoarse response.

Brett lunged at AJ, grabbing onto his waist in an attempt to pull him back. “AJ. Stop,” she pleaded. “Let him go.”

At the feel of her hands on his skin, his torso relaxed. Slightly. He looked over, and the menacing gleam in his green eyes sent a ripple of shock through her. She’d never seen that look on his face. Lethal and enraged, with a hard glint of protectiveness that evoked an untimely burst of pleasure. He would protect her to his last breath, she realized. Do any damn thing he needed in order to keep her safe.

But there was no way she was letting him.

“He’s not worth it,” she murmured against his shoulder blades. “Let him go.”

AJ’s body was straining again, his breathing labored as he twisted his head to meet her gaze. But it was a costly mistake, taking his attention off Troy. Brett’s drunken ex was as tall and broad as AJ, and he took advantage of the other man’s distraction, wiggling out of AJ’s iron grip and unleashing his fist.

Brett cried out as AJ’s head was thrown back from the blow. The next thing she knew, she was being manhandled, pushed to the side as AJ sprang to action. Troy was ready for the attack this time, fists swinging wildly as Brett watched in horror.

A crack sliced the air when AJ landed an uppercut on Troy’s jaw. Brett had never seen anyone move so fast, and it was hard not to picture that same lethal speed in a fighting cage, those same precise jabs and right hooks as AJ took down an opponent.

The fight was over before it even began. After that first punch, Troy didn’t stand a chance in the face of AJ’s deadly domination.

With an agonized whimper, Troy raised one hand in surrender, using the other one to frantically swipe at the blood pouring from the lip AJ had just split.

“Get your phone, Brett,” AJ said ominously. “It’s time to call the police.”

“No!” Troy burst out. He stumbled backward, until his shoulders connected with the wall. “Don’t call the cops. I’m going. I swear.” His rattled eyes darted in Brett’s direction, sheer misery making his voice crack. “I just wanted to talk to you, damn it. You can’t take this job away from me, baby. Please.”

Confusion joined the adrenaline coursing in her blood. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”