Page 90 of Forbidden Heroes

“The only thing you ever needed me for was dope money. I’m not your money bag anymore. Now leave.” Probably not the wisest move to antagonize the man, but I can’t help it. Because of him so much bad has happened in my life, and I’m done with him and his problems.

“You need to leave before Maddox gets back,” I warn.

“Your fuck buddy ain’t gonna do shit to me once I tell the school what you two have been up to all alone out here.”

My blood runs cold. “And we have pictures to prove it.” Trixie jumps in waving her gun an inch from my face, phone in the other hand. They have me pinned in and I can’t get past them.

“You wouldn’t dare! How did you even find me here?” I seethe with anger.

“Easy—we followed him back here this morning, you little whore. I shoulda known you’d be just like your momma. Selling your pussy to any man to get what you want.”

My blood is molten lava in my veins as my father slurs the feelings I have for Maddox, and I want to heave knowing my father looked.

“You watched?” I ask unable to fathom what kind of man would do such a thing.

“I did.” Tori waves her phone at me and takes another step toward me. “Got the pictures to prove what a dirty little tramp you are.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I command, sounding a lot braver than I feel. But I hold my scowl in place, knowing one slip up and he would exploit even the slightest of chinks in my armor.

“You wouldn’t dare use those against me. He’s a nice decent man and we’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Dare me. All we want is simple. Give me a little money and I’ll be outta your hair. You’ll never see me again.”

“Yeah,” Tori snorts, waving her gun in my direction. “Money is all we want and it seems you have plenty of it,” she says looking around Maddox’s pristine lawn.

I stumble back but find the door locked behind me. I try the handle only to find it locked.

Shit. Now what?

“Or the school head honchos will love these little nuggets of gold.”

“Look, let’s talk later. Why don’t you come by the school around noon and I can show you around? We can talk then and I can get money from Maddox. All you want.”

The deep ruts in my father’s face scrunch with a scowl. “Nah you call your boy toy down here instead nice and quiet like? We don’t want trouble.”

“Not on your life or mine,” I counter like an idiot and when the back of my father’s hand raises, I turn, anticipating the harsh feel of his knuckles across my already battered cheek, only it doesn’t come.

I hear a snarl and a crack before I open my eyes, and my father is flat on his face in the rocky driveway.

Stunned, I don’t realize Tori had weaseled her way behind me until I hear the hammer of the gun cock.

“Let him go,” she squeaks, and Maddox is right there in front of me his chest heaving and eyes trained on Tori. I peer behind him and see my father knocked out cold with blood trickling down the side of his face and feel nothing for the man.

“I’ll give you anything you want. Just put the gun down.” Maddox winks at me. What the hell. Odd but okay.

He slowly takes out a stack of bills pinned with a silver clip and tosses it on the ground a few feet away from my father.

“Just keep your eyes on me, sweetheart. You’re safe. I have you.”

My heart rate is beating every record it’s ever set, and to be honest it’s hard to breathe with a barrel pointed at my head. Fun fact I’d rather not know.

Only thing keeping me from passing out or doing something crazy like telling Tori to fuck off is Maddox’s calm, steady voice. I keep my eyes trained on his chest and match my breathing with his.

He jerks his chin in the direction of the money. “There’s over three grand in that money clip and it’s all yours, but you better grab it and leave. Cops are already on their way.”

As Maddox predicted Tori can’t resist and dives for the money, but the second she moves so does he and somehow manages to strip her of the gun and restrain her on the ground alongside my dad.

He looks up at me as sirens blare through the morning air in the near distance and he makes quick work grabbing my dad’s cell phone from Tori. With a few flicks I watch as he erases all the private photos that were snapped of our intimate moments.

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