Page 13 of Loyalties & Longings

“I thought I told you not to fucking touch her again. I swear, if you so much as look at her the wrong way again, I will tie you up in front of a mirror. Cut your dirty fucking dick off, and make you watch as I fucking force. Feed it. To you.” I accentuate each part of what I will do to him slowly enough for the useless space of a person to understand what’s being said to him. And I mean every single word. It’s not just an empty threat. His eyes betray the strong façade he tries to portray.

At first, I think he has finally gotten the message, but then he spits in my face.

The goddamnmotherfuckerjust spat in my freaking face.

Clearly, he couldn’t take the hint, so now he’ll have to pay. I slowly tilt my head and wipe my face on my shoulder, calculating my next move. I grab his wrist above the hand he thought it’d be good to feel up Lake with.

Holding his wrist in one of my hands, I use my other to grip the two fingers I saw disappear under her dress, bending themback at an uncomfortable angle. I don’t relent and keep bending them until the fucker is growling out in pain. I don’t stop until I hear the audible snap of each finger breaking over the loud music, followed by his agony-ridden cry.

Pussy-ass bitch.

I lay a few more punches into his face, making sure he knows I’m not to be messed with. Grabbing him by the hair and watching blood drip from his nose, I pull his ear to my mouth, close enough for him to hear my threat over the music. “Last fucking warning, Massimo. Touch her again, and you’re a dead man.” I reach into his pocket and take out the keys to Enzo’s car.

I don’t give a shit how he gets back, but it won’t be with us. Standing up, I search the small crowd that has gathered. Some people are filming with their cell phones and others stand back in shock. Unable to see Lake, I turn to the bartender, who points to the side door, indicating she fled to the alley behind the club. I wonder how much she saw or heard.

She probably thinks I’m a monster.

She wouldn’t be wrong.

Not only am I a killer, but I have deep, dark thoughts that would scare other people’s monsters away.

I nod at the bartender in thanks, retrieve the bottle of water he’d placed there, probably when my fist first landed on Massimo, and head for the exit.

Chapter Eight

Lake

Massimo tried that shit on while Blaze was around. Again. I can’t believe it. I’m so embarrassed and angry too. I stopped watching after Blaze had him by the shoulder and punched him in the side of the head. That way, if Dad questions me to settle on who is telling the truth, I can say I didn’t see anything. I can plead ignorance, and ignorance is bliss, so they say.

I just need some fresh air and remove myself from the situation. Seeing Blaze step up to protect me and stick up for me, though, was pretty sexy. I’m not going to lie. The instant he hit Massimo, all of my inner muscles clenched. He definitely has a temper, and it is damn sexy. Somewhere deep inside, part of me is screaming that this is a red flag, but hey, what can I say—red is my favorite color.

While leaning against the grimy brick wall in the shadows behind the dumpster, I try to slow my breathing and gather my thoughts. Before I can get them under control, my mind is thrown back tothatnight when I was only a child, and Massimo was sent to check on my mother and me.

I’m playing in the living room. Mom is in the kitchen doing the dishes and general housework. She’s always cleaning the house, even when it looks clean to me. Maybe it calms her.

There’s a knock on the door.

Mom smiles at me when I look up at her as she walks past to answer the door. When she opens it, I see that it’s only Massimo. I go back to playing with my dolls but listen to them because I thought Dad said he was going out with Massimo tonight. I also want to eavesdrop because whenever he’s around, I get a bad-funny feeling in my tummy, and Momalways says, ‘Trust what your gut is trying to tell you.’

“Massimo? Hi, what a surprise. Come in,” Mom says as Massimo steps into the house, looking at me with a big smile.

“Oh no, Enzo. Is everything all right?” There’s concern in Mom’s voice, and she clutches the locket on the necklace that hangs at her chest.

“Yeah, Enzo is fine. Everything is fine. He actually sent me to come and check on you and Lakey,” Massimo says. I hate it when he calls me that. It makes my tummy feel even more weird. “You know how he can get when he’s been away from you girls for too long. Concerned. A little paranoid.”

“Yes, I do. Everything is fine here, though. Can I get you something to drink or eat?” I can hear the smile in her voice. Mom is always so polite, always trying to feed people, even when they aren’t hungry. Although I don’t usually see her at her worst moments, Dad usually sends me to my room or into the backyard when she’s feeling ‘unwell.’ I know she takes medicine pills to make her feel better, though.

I race to the toilet. I don’t like leaving Mom alone at all, let alone with Massimo. I’ve really got to pee, though. That second hot cocoa Mom let me have after dinner has me almost bursting.

The back door swings open so hard that it hits the wall, making a sound like a gunshot going off. The noise is accentuated by the echo through the alley, snapping me out of the flashback. I duck, sinking further into the darkness, trying to hide behind a giant dumpster.

“Lake?” the deep and sexy voice that could only belong to Blaze calls out. I stand up straight, leaning back against the wall.

“Over here,” I sing out just loud enough for him to hear. I see the silhouette of his hulking figure turn toward me and stalk over.

Blaze hands me a bottle of water, and I assume it is the one I had ordered before Massimo took it upon himself to feel me up. I check to see if the seal hasn’t been cracked. Dad has instilled in me not to trust anyone since I was young. But I made it my motto—trust nobody, especially Dad’s goons. Although I’ve only got the worst person to compare everyone to, that’s not fair to Blaze, but I can’t be too safe.

Actually, the more I think about it, would I mind waking up groggy, coming to with a massive body pinning me down, ravishing me? The answer to that question isn’t so clear-cut. It sounds like something I’d enjoy, but only with someone Itrust. What the fuck is wrong with me?There are some really sick thoughts in my head sometimes, I think as I undo the bottle cap and take a few gulping mouthfuls of the cool water.

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