Page 152 of Mayhem
“Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you’re dumb, Erin. So don’t act like it with me,” he shot back through gritted teeth. “Why them? We would have been perfect. So why?”
His tone was laced with anger, and as fucked up as the situation was, there was even hurt in it. He wanted an answer Erin couldn’t give him because Stu wouldn’t understand. She could tell him that she felt worry-free, uninhibited for the first time with them, or that time slowed down with them, and she could enjoy every millisecond. Erin could tell him that when they weren’t around, she couldn’t think straight, she couldn’tbreathe. Yes, Erin could tell him all of that, but she knew it would only serve to piss him off.
“Stu, I understand that you’re upset with me, but you said it yourself. We’re friends, right, and sometimes people are better as friends than—”
“Don’t!” he yelled, cutting her off and throwing the frame onto the floor at their feet, the sound of glass shattering soon forgotten by his raised voice. “Don’t patronize me! Don’t try to treat me like some child, Maly!”
That name, that endearment, sounded wrong coming from his lips, and she realized he’d been around them together. It sent a shiver through her because she never saw him. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”
She didn’t think that getting to her purse was an option any longer with him on her, and until that outburst, he’d been pretty calm, but she knew that could change at any second. This man had admitted to stalking her; he’d broken into her apartment to take pictures of her and her boyfriends that she had displayed. He’d tracked her from Florida to Denver. She wouldn’t put anything past his capabilities, but Erin knew hers, and she’d been attempting to keep it from turning too ugly. However, she had no qualms about doing what she needed to escape the situation. He wouldn’t be the first man she fought if it came down to it.
“Why don’t we sit and talk,” she tried. If she could de-escalate the situation, she would prefer to handle it that way.
“I don’t want to sit and talk, Angel. I want an answer.”
The endearment sounded as wrong as the other one coming from him. “I can’t give you one.”
He grabbed her arms and shook her as the bell went off again. She went to knee him in the nuts but didn’t get the chance as he was ripped away from her. She stumbled, steadying herself on the desk as she heard the impact. Stu was on the ground holding his nose, and Paetyn was fuming.
Paetyn completed the errands he needed to run early. He and Cruz had all their Christmas gifts for Erin made, and Cruz had gotten a call Saturday evening that the final one was ready. Paetyn volunteered to pick them up since he also needed to pickup his gift for his father. All their other shopping was complete, and presents were wrapped for their upcoming gathering.
He wasn’t sure if the supplies Erin ordered had been delivered yet. There was still time in the delivery window, but he didn’t mind waiting with her if they hadn’t. Afterward, he would allow her to choose a place for them to have lunch.
Paetyn found the closest parking spot, pulled his coat closer against him as he stepped out of the vehicle, and slid his hands into his pockets as he walked the block and a half toAshes to Ink.
When he arrived at the shop, the scene he saw through the door’s window instantly put him on high alert. Some man in Erin’s face, and from her body language, he knew it wasn’t a pleasant conversation, and his proximity was too close to his girlfriend for his liking.
As Paetyn opened the door, the man grabbed her, and he eliminated the distance, ripping the man from her, his fist colliding with his nose. The other man hit the floor, and Paetyn looked back at Erin to ensure she was okay. He stepped on shattered glass as he approached her and found that it was a frame that held a picture of the three of them, one of the pictures that had gone missing from her apartment.
“Are you okay?” he asked Erin. He didn’t give two shits about the man on the ground.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Where did you find this?” he inquired, gesturing to the picture.
“If it isn’t the boyfriend,” the man behind him stated, and Paetyn looked over his shoulder to find him sitting, holding his nose.
“He brought it,” Erin responded, but Paetyn had assumed as much. There was no other reason for it to be there when they knew it’d been taken. He only wanted to hear the words. “And he’s been the one calling.”
This man had called his girlfriend nonstop, made her uncomfortable, showed up where they were, and broken into her apartment for whatever reason. He didn’t know who he was, and he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was keeping his word, and here the man was, front and center. He removed his coat and handed it to Erin.
“Paetyn?” she questioned.
“Take a seat for me, baby,” he responded, heading towards the door.
“Too bad you aren’t the other one. He looks far scarier,” the man said as he pushed himself to his feet.
Paetyn locked the door, pulled the curtain in front of the window, and turned back to him. “People often say that,” he replied, unbuttoning his left sleeve and rolling it up. “But,” he started, doing the same to the other. “Looks can be deceiving. I’m not normally one for violence; I don’t get upset because when I do, there’s no telling what could happen.” He approached the other man. “Unfortunately for you, you made the mistake of messing with the wrong woman.Ourwoman. And after you broke into her apartment, I told myself if we ever came face to face, I would beat you until you couldn’t stand. I’m a man of my word if I’m nothing else.”
There was nothing else said as Paetyn threw a left, and the man stumbled back, unprepared, but he should have been. Paetyn had given him time to be. At this point, whatever damage he inflicted on him was his own fault. He should have seen this shit coming. The constant calls, even after she continually blocked numbers, unnerved Erin, and since all they had was an email address, there hadn’t been anything they could do, and Erin had been right regarding the police. They hadn’t taken it as seriously as he would have liked them to.
When her apartment was broken into, the person had been smart enough to stay off the camera in the middle of the door.He was smart, that had been the thought, but he was utterly stupid if he thought coming to her place of business, getting in her face, and putting his hands on her was smart. Paetyn would make him regret it.
It’d been a while since he’d been this angry. Since he’d fallen into violence. In the past, it was like his best friend, his second skin. He was sure his father and Lena got tired of him getting into trouble because he was fighting. He used to say it was because kids were picking on Cruz; the other man used to be smaller than him, but he’d also enjoyed it. He hadn’t realized until later it was him acting out because of the loss of his mother. It wasn’t until he’d started college that his outlet shifted to more carnal activities before then turning to food.
Paetyn could hear Erin’s gasps in the background, and as the other man swung back wildly, landing a blow on Paetyn’s chin, a sharp call of his name. He barely felt it. Barely felt any of the few that landed, his adrenaline running high. It wasn’t until the other man fell to the ground and curled in on himself that the assault came to an end.
“Angel,” he said as he began to roll his sleeves back down. “Call the police.”
