Page 113 of Vile Boys

The man slumps to the ground.

Another body on top of the pile of bodies he left.

Caleb fishes all the knives out of the dead bodies, wiping them on his hoodie like it means nothing to him. And as he tucks them all away, he marches to my door and shuts it tight, sealing me in silence.

I swallow the lump in my throat when Caleb gets in right next to me.

“Did they hurt you?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No.”

“Good. Next time, you call me.” He slams the door shut. “So I can chop off some fingers before I kill them.”

He starts the car as panic coils around my heart.

Don’t show fear. Don’t ever fucking show it, Crystal.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Getting us the fuck out of here,” he growls. “I don’t wanna get the cops on my ass.”

I glance at the place he hides his knives. “You killed them.”

“Because they tried to fucking touch you,” he retorts, glaring right back at me. “No one fucking touches you except us.”

He did this for me out of pure possessiveness?

His foot hits the gas, and the car races off.

“Thank you,” I mutter after a while.

There’s a pause. “You’re welcome.”

He’s still looking at me, not just in an angry way, but in a way that almost feels … protective.

I grab my coat and pull it tighter.

“I don’t understand how you were even there to save me?”

“I was watching you,” he retorts.

My eyes widen.

He followed me? The entire night?

“You shouldn’t have gone there,” he adds. “RIVERA clubs are dangerous.”

“I just wanted a night out with my friends, that’s all,” I say.

“It took every ounce of self-control for me not to drag you out of there myself, you hear me?” he says, looking at me sternly.

My lips part, but I don’t know what to say.

“I let you play around in that club because you needed the release after last night, but don’t think for a second I’m letting you out of mysight.”

I swallow. “Why?”

“Because my dad told me to,” he growls.

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