Page 65 of Deceit

Mills stands there without Marty as his shield, and I think I see him mutter the wordshitas I reach for him, just to pop him in the same spot Marty just had me.

Kyson shoves me from the side, ordering me to stop, but I’m far from done.

I might be the bad guy in a lot of circumstances, but I’m not with Emmy. The things I say to her are to get her to back the hell off, which she has a hard time doing. She doesn’t need to try and coddle me like she does the rest of the guys because I’ve had a sample with a bad aftertaste.

“Three against one, brother,” Kyson recites. “Chill out.”

My lips curl into a menacing smile. “I’ve been waiting to beat all your asses for years.”

Marty tsks. “That’s pretty embarrassing that you haven’t yet.”

I gesture with my hand for him to stand in front of me. “Step right up, I’ll turn my friendly shit off and show you what I can really do with no filter.” Marty’s already on his feet before Kyson stands in his way.

“Alright, that’senough,” he orders, extending his arms between us. “You’re both getting hard dicks from this, and it’s grossing me out.”

“I don’t know,” Mills replies, rubbing the side of his face where I hit him. “Y’all don’t do it for me.”

“Do you even know how to fight?” I snap. “You just stand there and take it like a bitch.”

He hits me with an unamused look. “I’d tell you to step the fuck up, but I don’t need you anymore upset than you already are.”

“From what?”

“From me kicking your entire ass.”

I move forward. “Then let me step the hell up and—“ Mills does the same, and when he’s close enough…heslapsme right across the face. “What thefuck?!”

He laughs, like full gut-wrenching laughter, and I cock my elbow back when a large hand grips my wrist and holds it there.

It’s fucking Marty, always somewhere where he shouldn’t be, and stepping in to save Mills from my wrath.

Jerking it out of his fingers, I shove it backward, connecting with, I think, the column of Marty’s neck, and I rush Mills.

He and I both fall, him hitting the hard ground as I pin him with both knees on either side.

Then he surprises me.

He reaches up and wraps both arms around my back, pulling me downward. Then takes a hand, coils around my shoulder before thrusting with his hips forward, flipping us both to the side where he gets the upper hand on me because nowI’munderneath him.

Some Jujitsu shit that he learned back in the day.

It would’ve been helpful for me to remember thatbeforeI called him out on his lack of fighting me.

He rains down one punch to my cheekbone, sending my head to the side to make his point, then straightens his spine.

“Don’t underestimate me, asshole,” he grounds out before popping me in the balls with his knees like a fucking douchebag. “And that’s for Emmy.”

“You mother—“

“Kace!” The trailer door squeaks in protest of opening too many damn times and slams shut while I’m registering the woman’s voice who just called for me. Then it hurls into me.

Camilla.

Mills rises to his feet, eyes locked with mine before holding out his palm for me to take.

I do, accepting that we’re done with today. There are always other times for us to wail on each other when we need to let off some steam. It’s not conventional nor healthy, but it’s the way we operate.

At least we don’t use each other for target practice.

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