Page 12 of Revengeful Punks (Dolls and Douchebags)

Cruz whips his gaze away from Tillie, staring at me with a snarl on his face as he steps closer, the reek of his breath stinging my nostrils. He doesn’t say anything while he brings his hand up and stabs the burnt end of his cigarette onto the collar of my white shirt. I grit my teeth, embracing the burning pain seeping into my skin, and smirk when he notices he won’t get the reaction he’s looking for. The scars on my back from being beaten over and over by a belt through the years proves that I can feel nothing when I shut off my mind.

“Little bird escapes her cage again, but what will happen when I clip off those wings you love to spread?” Cruz flicks his cigarette, turning his head to stare at what’s mine.

“Eyes on me. You don’t get to look at her,” I growl, about to shoot him in the head before a soft touch pulls me out of my rage of vengeance killing.

“He’s not yours to kill, Logan. I want to leave, please,” Tillie whispers in my ear, standing at my shoulder as she strokes her thumb over the top of my hand holding the gun.

She’s right. I know this, but the urge to just end this waste of space is so strong. He doesn’t deserve to live.

“Well! This has been entertaining, gentleman, but I have places to be. Cruz, Carlos, we’ll see you Thursday.” Jin claps his hands together, standing up as he buttons his suit jacket and squeezes my shoulder as he passes by me. “I’ll be in touch with Franco. Don’t worry, boy, I’ll tell him all about today.”

To anyone else, he would sound helpful, but he knows just how mad Franco is going to be when he finds out I went into gang territory without him, causing a scene in a family restaurant, and showing my emotion for Tillie.

I don’t watch Jin leave, or the men in black suits that seem to come out of the shadows to follow him. Will those in the Triad follow Nicky like that too when Jin isn’t around anymore? We can only fucking hope.

“Bro, we need to leave. Now,” Tey demands, slapping Carlos hard on the back as he passes by, almost causing the gang leader to topple out of his seat. “Good seeing you, Carlos! What service! I’ll give the restaurant a review on Yelp lata.”

“I’ll be seeing you real soon, little bird,” Cruz promises, not once taking his stare off her as she tugs on my arm and gets me to slowly lower my gun.

“Can’t wait,” she says in a strong voice. I wish I could see her face, but I don’t want to take my gaze off Cruz until I know she’s safe.

I push Tillie behind me, seeing Tey out of the corner of my eye come over to lead her towards the front of the restaurant with his hands on the small of her back. The whole place is silent and I’m wondering if everyone left when I pulled out my gun, or the moment I reached their table if they could feel the tension in the air. I know the moment she’s left the building as Cruz glances back over at me and just stares with dead, frigid eyes.

“Just remember this to help you sleep better at night. I had that juicy ass first. Her screams are mine.” Cruz has the last word before he walks away and grabs Carlos’ collar to drag him into the kitchen.

I don’t waste time, quickly leaving and banging through the front entrance with my gaze swinging everywhere for her. I briefly catch Jin talking to Nicky as he disassembles the rifle and puts it back in the trunk of his car. The moment his attention is back on his father, Jin slaps him so hard on the cheek that his head whips to the side. Nicky licks his lip as he slowly looks back at Jin, his eyes cold and his whole body stiff with pent-up rage. I don’t hear what Jin’s saying to Nicky, but I do know there will be hell to pay for both of us. Jin takes off after that, getting into his limo as Nicky stares at me from across the back of the car before he looks over at the back of the building, off to the right. Looking over, I see Tillie wrapped up in Dom’s suit jacket and being cuddled into Dalton’s arms as he strokes her hair. He whispers something in her ear and passes her to Dom, who sweeps her up into his arms and strides over to his car before placing her in the front seat. Tey says something to Dalton then jogs over to Nicky and I. If I had the energy, I’d be rolling my eyes at his peach underwear, but I can’t even crack a smile. Dom drives by, nodding his head as he starts to pull into traffic. My eyes connect with Tillie’s for a split second, but all I see is hurt and pain before she dismisses me.

“You both have some explaining to do. You’re lucky I’ve known you fuckers for a long time. You hurt her. She knows about Paris, Lo. Your favorite journalist did an article about you guys online at Dom’s club with her.” Tey blows a raspberry and shakes his head in disappointment as he stares at Nicky.

Nicky kicks his tire and gets into the car, slamming the door behind him.

“Shit.” I run my hand through my hair before getting into the passenger side as I call myself an idiot over and over again for fucking up the one goddamn good thing in my life.

“Yup!” Tey states cheerfully, popping the P as he gets in the backseat and leans forward over the console. “So, somebody better start talking before my feelings get hurt and I get stabby. Who has my unicorn, by the way? I’m having withdrawals.”

I hate this day.

Tillie

Sometimes I wish life would throw me a whole fucking lemon tree and then my glass would never go empty. In a way, I would have been ignorant of the wrongs in the world, so much hate and violence hidden away from me. It could have seemed like I lived in a bubble, protected, but I’m shit out of luck.

I want to scream, cry, and rage that it’s not fair the life I’ve been dealt. As if my being created was a gamble, just a roll of the dice that ended up on the losing side. I’ve lived in despair and woe is me. I could have it a lot worse. Being human trafficked by Jin and sold to who knows where. Then again, I’d probably take those chances than ever having to be near Cruz again.

God.

Cruz.

I can’t believe I was breathing the same air as him, having him so dreadfully close to me. It really was pure luck that I’m still in one piece right now, but for how long? Cruz has to know about the guys and me. There was no hiding that, and now my worst fear is becoming a reality. I’ve brought so much danger to their door and put their lives at risk. It’s all my fault if anything happens to them. I do wonder how much it takes before a person loses their sanity from having everything thrown at them at once. How the hell am I still functioning? I should just give myself over before my mind splits in half and I end up getting my guys killed.

I think I’m going to be sick.

I feel stuck all of a sudden and the urge to run is very, very strong, as if the car doors on either side are closing in on me. I’m seconds away from opening the door, not caring how fast it's going, and taking a fucking leap out. Either into Cruz’s grasp to get it all over with or far, far away that Tillie no longer exists.

“Stop. Don’t go there, little bitch. Get out of your fucking head or I’ll make you.” Dalton leans between the two front seats and wraps the palm of his hand around my throat, using his thumb on my chin to turn my head towards him. “If you even think about running, I’ll chase after you and chain you to my bed. You get me?” The intensity of his violent gaze burns into mine with so much understanding and a promise to follow through with keeping me in his sights, even if it involves shackling my wrists in metal. How does he do that? He always seems to know when I’m on the verge of freaking out and having a meltdown. Holding his gaze, I swallow harshly around his hand and give him a tiny nod. “Good girl. There’s nothing we can do at this very moment, so sit back and enjoy the fucking ride.” He grips the pulsing pressure points on either side of my neck and gently skims his fingers along my skin as he lets go.

“You're such a dick.” My voice comes out husky as I furrow my brows at how much I miss the warmth of his hand around my throat.

“You like my big dick,” he grumbles and sits back in his seat, taking up the whole space back there with his broad shoulders.

---