Page 11 of The First Cut
“Nevaeh’s my old lady, and she was disrespected first—and more than once. It’s her right to defend herself. It’s just unfortunate that she has to, but I’m not surprised. I’m done playing nice here, Khan. You wanted to talk, so talk. But I’ve got better fucking things to do than waste my time on you.”
“Now you listen to me—” Khan starts, jabbing Havoc’s chest with his finger. But he doesn’t get the chance to finish as Havoc moves closer, towering over him.
“The next time you point that finger at me, I’ll rip it off and shove it up your ass. My days of taking orders from you areover. I outrank you, Khan, in case you’ve forgotten. I can have you replaced just like that.” Havoc snaps his fingers and leans forward, snarling in Khan’s face. “Try me. I fucking dare you.”
The clubhouse is deathly quiet as everyone waits to see what happens next. I look around, wondering if I can slip out without anyone noticing.
Eventually, Khan backs down. “It’s been a tough time here for us,” he hedges. And it takes everything in me not to snort—he’s so full of shit.
“Then let’s go to church and hash this out. Kruger, Mac, Toot—let’s go,” Havoc says to his men as the room slowly starts buzzing again.
I see Khan give Driller a nod, and they head toward church, with Havoc’s men following behind. Havoc turns and gives his old lady one last look—one he never gave to me before—before he walks away.
I stand there numb, while people go back to their business like I’m not standing here bleeding out all over the floor.
Havoc’s new old lady looks over at me for a second before turning her back and heading to the pool table. And that’s my cue to leave—I’ve officially hit my limit for the day. I grab my book and shove it back into my bag, and head for the back door.
But I’m stopped by Gunther before I reach it.
“Driller wants you to stay.”
“I don’t really care what Driller wants, Gunther. Something tells me I’ll get my ass kicked either way.”
He frowns, but I don’t explain. What’s the freaking point?
“Can’t let you leave. He told us you might hurt the baby?—”
“And, of course, you believed him,” I say, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
“Look—”
I shove past him and run outside, and I keep running. I’m halfway across the yard when my legs finally give out, andI collapse onto the grass. Sensing something’s wrong, Bandit comes running over to me, and for once, I don’t have the strength to push him away. Instead, I wrap my arms around him and let his fur soak up the tears I swore I wasn’t going to cry. The fact that I couldn’t stop them upsets me even more.
When I’m all cried out, I press a kiss to Bandit’s nose. “Thank you, boy. Now off you go. No sense in both of us getting into trouble.” He tilts his head, like he understands, then licks the side of my face before trotting off.
I get to my feet and jolt when I see Gunther standing in the doorway, watching me with a worried look on his face. Taking a deep breath, I walk back toward him, keeping my eyes on the door, knowing I need to head back inside before Driller realizes I’ve gone. Gunther steps aside and softly says my name, but I ignore him. I can’t trust anyone here. Anything I say or do is turned against me.
I retake my seat and pull my book back out with shaky hands, tuning everyone out as I stare at the page, the words blurring together—not taking anything in.
I know the second Havoc walks back in, but I keep my eyes down and focus on breathing. In. Out. In. Out.
By the time I finally look up, Havoc and his old lady are gone, and the tight band around my chest loosens a bit.
That is, until I see a pissed-off Driller storming across the room.
Driller grabs my arm and yanks me out of my seat, pulling me past Gunther, who narrows his eyes on Driller’s grip as we head outside. Driller slams the door closed behind us before tossing me to the ground. I twist as I fall, making sure I land on my ass, my arms moving instinctively to protect my baby.
“What the fuck did you say to that bitch?”
I have no idea what he’s talking about, so I shake my head. “I haven’t spoken to anyone, Driller.”
“Bullshit. You think I couldn’t feel the tension in there? You must’ve fucking done something.”
I exist. I think before answering. “Nothing, I swear. They didn’t speak to me, and I didn’t speak to them.”
He grins at my answer, then unzips his jeans and pulls out his dick, pissing right in front of me. I have to scuttle back, narrowly avoiding being peed on.
“Seems he’s done with you. What does it feel like to see your replacement?”
