Page 33 of Laila Manning
“He’s daydreaming like he has been for weeks now,” Jed added with that pissy tone he’d been addressing me with since Laila came to live in the barracks. It grated on the very last nerve I had left in my body, and I felt myself begin to unravel.
“One warning, Jed,” I growled, with my back still turned to him . “That’s all you fucking get, and it’s more than you deserve.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He snapped back, and I sensed him standing up from the couch.
“Enough.” Ryker barked in frustration.
But there was no stopping the freight train collision that had been impending for weeks now.
It had to happen.
There was no way around it anymore.
“It means you’ve stepped out of line for way too long, and I’m done giving forgiveness for it.”
“Forgiveness!” He roared, “You fucking prick!”
I turned as his fist swung, ducking to the side just in time to avoid it.
“Jed!” Ryker bellowed, but we ignored him.
“Learn your fucking place, kid!” I snapped, shoving him backward before delivering an undercut to his jaw. “You don’t run this shit!”
“My place is putting you in the ground for being an old pervert!” He recoiled and lunged at me. His giant fist slammed into my ribs, knocking the wind from my lungs, but I didn’t hesitate. Jed was mammoth, even against me, but my speed was unmatched in this fight against the giant.
“Get it off your chest now, because only one of us will have any teeth left when this is done with, and it won’t be you.” I swung wide, boxing his ear, and as he recoiled off of me, I hit him on the cheek.
“Stay away from Laila!” He yelled in my face, shoving me against the glass, and grabbing for my throat. “Stop thinking about her. Stop talking to her. Stop mind-fucking her every time she comes near your creepy old ass. She’s got enough problems without you hovering over her with your bullshit.”
“Jed!” Ryker yelled, pulling him off me as his hand squeezed my throat. But I didn’t need Ryker to interfere, because I had it. I jammed my knee up into his inner thigh and dislodged him, connecting again with the side of his face as anger like no other filled my body.
“You don’t know a fucking thing about her or me!” I screamed in his face, letting it out. “Don’t talk about her like you know what’s best for her.”
“I do know what’s best for her! She’s my sister!” He yelled back as Ryker pushed him backward, stepping between us.
“You don’t even fucking know her! Or what she’s been through!” I accused, even though I didn’t know that for a fact. I didn’t know if she told Carly the things she told me with her journal entries, but a part of me was sure she didn’t.
She kept it all bottled inside, except for me.
“Fuck you!” He screamed, lunging again, and I stood there, waiting for his body to crash into mine, willing to feel the pain for the truth.
For the claim over her.
“Enough!” Ryker yelled again, getting a hold of him at the last second and throwing him across the room with strength I hadn’t seen out of him in years. Not since he took the throne. “That’s enough!” He sneered at Jed before turning and pointing at me. “From both of you.” He huffed. “Dammit, Zeke, I expect more from you!”
“That’s your problem, Ryker. Not mine.” With a shrug, I adjusted my jacket on my shoulders. “I won’t have this punk stomping around and throwing his weight around like he has a fucking ounce of power over me. I’ve earned my place!” Scoffing, I looked at my best friend. “It’s time he learned where his is! And it’s not standing over his grown sister like he’s her boss.”
“I’m just trying to protect her!” Jed challenged, “From men like you and Diesel who can’t seem to take the hint that she doesn’t want you!”
“That’s not true.” I shook my head. “Admit it, Jed, you don’t know the first thing about her.”
“She’s my sister! Of course I know her!” He sneered.
“You haven’t seen her in decades! And your relationship with her now is superficial at best!” I took a deep breath and stared him down. “I know her.” His face reddened as Ryker threw his finger at him to keep him quiet. “I know her. You don’t.”
“You touched her, didn’t you?” He alleged it angrily. “You son of a bitch! I’ll fucking rip your head off your shoulders and lay it at herfeet!” He blasted through Ryker and ran for me. I braced, taking the weight of his body as he slammed into me, and we both flew through the window out onto the catwalk above the nightclub in a flurry of glass shards and fists.
We both swung at each other, over and over, rolling across the glass, beating the shit out of each other until bouncers from below finally got to us and pulled us apart.
