Page 165 of Irreversible

A figure staggers out from beneath a streetlamp near the front entrance as Everly passes, his slurred words carrying as he approaches her.

“Hey gorgeous, you looking for some extra tips?”

“Who the hell is this?” My hand slowly drops to my side as I watch Everly’s reaction. Chin up and shoulders back, she shakes her head, dodging around him to continue down the block. The knuckles of my free hand crack with the force of my clenched fist.

“Don’t mean no harm. Just a lonely guy, looking for some company.” He follows her, rubbing his palm over his crotch.

This guy is about to fuck around and find out.

Without taking my eyes off the douchebag, I lift the phone enough to growl into the speaker. “Talk to you later. I’ve got to go kill someone.” Then I shove the phone into my pocketand work my way closer, slow and quiet, sticking close to the building.

“Come on, baby,” he calls after her, “I could give you the ride of your life. You don’t know what you’re missin’.”

Unfortunately for him,he’sabout to be missinghalf his teeth, and possibly his dick, assuming he has one.

The second Everly turns the corner, I’m in front of him, my fist planted in his face before he has time to see it coming.

Stumbling backward into the side of the club, he takes a minute to wipe his face with the back of his arm and recover. Then, with eyes full of venom and blood trickling from his nose, he fixes his glare on me. “Who the fuck are you?”

Is it me, or did this shithead sober instantly?

“You were looking for company.” I grab him by the throat and lift him off the ground. “I’m company.”

After steering him to a particularly dark corner of the used car lot next door, I throw him on the ground. He stays where I put him, coughing and sputtering, while I tower above. “Convince me we don’t have a mutual friend who sent you to tail my ass.”

“You high or something? I don’t want your ass.” He nods in the direction Everly disappeared, grinning like an idiot with a death wish. “I wanthers.”

And that’s it.

I unleash every last bit of rage I’ve been holding on to until he’s unconscious.

If I go any further, he might not recover.

Shaking with the effort it takes to stop, I pull out my phone, open the picture, and hold it next to his face.

Dammit, I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone.

Aside from the fact that this asshole now looks like he’s been through a meat grinder, I don’t think it’s the same guy. Truthfully, it’s hard to tell, but there’s enough doubt that Iprobably shouldn’t finish him off, even though I really fucking want to.

Leaving him bleeding in the parking lot, I hurry down the block. Now I’ve got to catch up to Everly. Fuck, I hate this new job of hers. Why couldn’t she sit in a lab somewhere and study bugs? If I start beating the shit out of every douchebag who looks at her wrong, it’s going to get out of hand fast.

Strippers pretty much make their living off men looking at them wrong.

I catch up to her just as she’s unlocking the door to her apartment building, unaware that I nearly killed a drunken asshole on her behalf. Lucky for him, she’s in one piece.

Soon, I’ll retreat to my motel around the corner, but while I catch my breath, I head to the spot where I’ve been spending more time than she’d probably want to know about. Facing her window, there’s a line of trees that’s good enough to keep me hidden, the grass matted from the time I’ve spent keeping watch.

If she came out here, she’d see the spot littered with cigarette butts.

The blinds in her apartment window close, leaving the tiniest leak of golden light around the edges. She wasn’t so diligent at first. I wonder if her instincts are tingling, telling her someone is watching.

Does she suspect who it might be? My eyes linger a few beats longer than necessary.

Mrrooww.

A black cat sits outside the main door, protesting the rain. Looks offended to have been left on this side of the door. I’ve noticed him running in and out of the complex on the heels of other residents, so I guess he belongs to someone.

The drizzle grows steadier, turning to weighty drops. Looks like the rainy season is coming in early this year.

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