Page 101 of Bad Enough

“Flame, do you know how TB got his name?”

She shook her head. “He just said it was because he was cruel.”

Nemo nodded. “He is. But believe me, when he shows that side of himself to someone, you’d best believe they deserve much worse. One of our first jobs, we were hired to track down a drug boss and rescue his daughter. Her mother’s family was very wealthy, and it sounded like an easy project. Go in, get the girl, bring her home. What we didn’t know until TB caught him in the act was that this particular asshole was shooting up his ten-year-old daughter and selling her to his men. TB went into berserker mode. I’ve never seen anything like it. None of us have. That man didn’t deserve to live after what he’d done to that girl. But what TB did to him? It’s probably why he’s wanted dead in so many countries.”

And I’d fucking do it again.

“That man’s daughter was there for the whole thing. Her father had her so brainwashed, she screamed at TB to stop. She called him selfish, cruel, and sadistic. Selfish for taking her father away. Cruel for murdering him in front of the daughter who loved him. Sadistic for causing so much pain. And it was painful to watch, let alone for that man to experience.

“But you need to know this, Flame. TB isn’t a good man. He’s righteous.”

What the fuck?

“He’ll tell you he isn’t worthy of anything good because of the blood on his hands. He believes he has to be alone because his anger at those who hurt others is so terribly strong. But he doesn’t see what we see.

“You know why we call him Total Bastard? It’s not because he is one, although that’s what his pea-brain believes. We call him that because he rids the world of Total Bastards. The men who are selfish, who are cruel, who are sadistic.”

Flame’s tears were free-flowing.

Nemo continued, “So when he pushed you, like he clearly did this morning, it was because his heart cut off all of the blood flow to his brain, making him stupid for a few minutes.” Nemo turned her arm over and pushed the sleeve up to the elbow. “He saw this, and I’d bet my life he was suddenly back in that moment when he caught that man, and his men, raping a daughter who should have been loved. Protected.”

“So he panicked,” Midas piped in. “He feels like he can’t protect you because this jackwagon keeps finding ways to reach out to you. Worse yet, he feels like he doesn’t deserve you, and that means he’s terrified to admit he loves you, Flame, because you might leave him if you ever figure that out. So he keeps pushing you away, even though he has a burning need to pull you closer until you’re so bound to him that the two of you become one person.”

TB stood frozen, watching his woman’s heart break and his friends betray him.

Betrayal? Really?

They had no right to share that story.

Why? It’s their story, too. All of them did and saw horrific things on that project. Everyone’s soul came back stained, not just yours.

She’ll never forgive what I did.

She doesn’t have to, dumbass. You need to realize that you saved that child’s life. That child hated you then. She might still hate you. But she’s alive today because you killed that sonofabitch.

But the way I killed him…

Doesn’t matter. It’s done. The girl is safe. End of story.

It seemed like the screens stopped recording because there was no sound from the conference room. No one looked as if they were even breathing.

Demon’s voice was the first to cut through the silence. “How long, Flame?”

She inhaled, let out a long exhale, and looked to the medic.

He pushed her to speak. “How long have you been free of it?”

“I’ve been clean since I left… home. Six years.”

The word sounded like it tasted funny in her mouth. Almost like it was foreign or not the right word. TB felt his heart speed up.

She shuddered as she took in a deep breath, exhaled long again, and began to talk.

“My parents were addicts. My father was a dealer. My mother was a prostitute.”

TB felt his body turning cold. He could feel himself emotionally and psychologically shutting down. Instantly, he pictured that drug boss, but instead of seeing him abuse the little girl, he saw Flame. Pictured her as a teenager.

“My earliest memory in life is walking down the street with a little pink backpack. I was five, maybe? I don’t really know. I don’t know when my actual birthday is. I can only guess at how old I actually am.”

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