Page 46 of Enraged

Is my adrenaline pumping this hard or is this from the alcohol?

Taking his outstretched hand, I stepped down onto the deck. He flung back the sliding door and stepped inside; his hand still entangled with mine. Before we could make it to the sofa, Jace appeared at the bottom of the staircase, my former friend coming down the stairs behind him.

Oh joy.

I tried pulling my hand away, but Dak only tightened his grip.

That’s not gonna help anything, Dakota.

“What the fuck are y’all doin’ here?” he demanded, his voice dripping venom.

Jace, whose black eye and busted lip was obvious even in the dimly lit living room, ignored him, turning his attention only to me. “Lena, can we please go upstairs and talk?”

“No.” It was a complete sentence.

“Lena, come on.” He took a step towards me, an innocent gesture that looked menacing by firelight. Dakota moved in between us, twisting his arm behind him so he didn’t have to let go of my hand.

“I’m goin’ to talk to my fiancé,” Jace informed him.

“I don’t give a fuck about your history with her. If you so much as glance in her direction again, the place I take you will make hell seem like a happy place.”

Behind Jace, Cassie stood with widened eyes. “Dak,” she purred. “Let them talk so we can talk.”

Dakota laughed. “I don’t give a damn about anything you have to say. Y’all get the hell outta my house. The door is right where you left it.” He pulled me to his side.

Jace’s eyes burned with anger. “We aren’t leaving. The roads are iced over.”

“Should have thought of that before you drove your dumbasses up here,” Dak responded nonchalantly.

With my free hand, I touched Dak’s dripping shoulder. “Let them stay. We don’t want to be the reason a first responder has to get out in this weather to pull these idiots out of a ditch,” I reasoned.

Dak thought it over. “Good point, Lena Loo. Y’all can sleep down here. Firewood is in the rack.”

He finally released my hand before walking over to the kitchen island. “There it is!” He spoke to no one in particular as he bent to grab my bag of candles.

Breezing back over to me, he grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs, brushing past Jace as if he wasn’t standing there. Cassie stood there open mouthed, clearly stunned by the scene unfolding in front of her. She reached out to touch him but failed, thanks to the wideness of the dark stairway.

“Don’t touch me, Cassie.” His voice was lethal.

At the top of the stairs, he barreled into the master bedroom, banging the bag of candles on the doorframe as he entered.

Uhhh, that’s my room.

I followed him into the large space, shutting the door behind me.

“You cannot sleep in here,” I informed him. “They’re downstairs.”

“Fuckin’ watch me.”

He used the flashlight he stashed up here before supper to find the matches. He lifted the bag of candles onto the bed, reaching in and grabbing two in one hand. Walking over to the fireplace, he dragged the match across the brick, using the spark he created to light the candles.

“I know you’re smirking,” he told me. “Yes, the brick is effective”

I know it.

He placed the lit candles on top of the dresser before grabbing two more from the bag. Repeating my brick method, he added two more sources of light to the room.

“Now, the fire”

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