Page 22 of Tell Me No
“Can I ask you something?” He says, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Shoot,” I reply, zipping and buttoning my shorts, hoping I don’t have that freshly fucked look all over my face.
“Do you think what he said is true? That people are talking about us?” He asks.
“Oh, I guarantee it. I’ve been a hot topic around this town since I moved here. Do I give a damn? Absolutely not. I don’t give a shit what a bunch of old biddies talk about over brunch, honey. And neither should you. I’ve already told you. I know what kind of man you are, Jason. Nothing anyone else says matters to me,” I tell him with complete honesty.
“You’re too good for me, Aurora.” He murmurs, kissing me so gently.
“You’re right. But you’re stuck with me now, Mr. Negan.” Smiling, I kiss him back, pouring every ounce of emotion I can’t say out loud into my kiss.
thirteen
Blood dripsoff my knuckles and onto the floor. I’ve been turning the younger Figueroa’s face into ground beef for an hour now, and he’s done nothing but talk shit and bleed. His dear old dad went underground after we took him. Nobody’s heard from him in weeks. Inhaling deeply, I try to relax my rage and embrace the coppery scent in the air. I don’t enjoy torture. I’m not a fucking psychopath. But every time I bring my fist down onto his face, I see the faces of every woman he’s ruined. Every girl who was too young to be a victim of this monster.
“You’re gonna break a knuckle, bro,” Iris says from the stool he’s been sitting on for the last few hours. He’s always more than happy to help me when I need him, but he’s never been a fan of getting his knuckles bloody.
“Worth it,” I reply, landing another blow against his cheekbone. Saliva and blood fly out of his mouth and onto the floor.
“You think I’m gonna give you motherfuckers anything? You want my father? I’ll be dead and fucking buried before I give him up,” Figueroa spits back at me. I shoot an annoyed glance back at Iris. It’s always the same shit with these guys. They’ll say they’re never giving anything up until they’re pissing themselves from the pain and begging me not to kill them. Then they’d sell out their own granny just for a reprieve.
“I don’t just want your piece of shit father. I want to burn your entire operation. I want every man, woman, and child whose life has been destroyed by you to feel relief when I slit your fucking throat.” I see a flicker of fear behind his eyes when he finally realizes I’m not joking. He won’t make it out of this room alive.
“What do you want? You want money? I can pay. We can all walk away from this,” he begs. They always beg. Iris scoffs behind me, knowing this song and dance like the back of his fucking hand.
“I don’t want your fucking blood money,” I snap back at him, placing my heavy boot on the edge of his chair and pushing until he tips over backwards. He groans loudly when his body hits the floor and the sound is music to my ears. Am I a sick fuck who enjoys listening to people like him suffer? Abso-fucking-lutely.
“My father, he will come for you if you kill me. He will destroy you,” his Spanish accent gets thicker and thicker as the exhaustion from massive blood loss hits him.
“Oh, I’m counting on him coming for me. Do you think you were my target, Alonzo?” I see the exact moment he resigns himself to the understanding that he will die today. “The world won’t miss you.” I tell him, dragging my blade across his throat.
“Dude, did you have to make such a fucking mess?” Iris asks, pulling a pair of black latex gloves on.
“He pissed me off. Didn’t deserve the fucking bullet,” I mumble, pulling on my gloves and helping him clean up the mess.
My phone pings in my pocket for the fourth time in the past ten minutes and I laugh, shaking my head. I know it’s Aurora, and I know she’s freaking out because I invited our friends and my parents to dinner tonight. She’s sent me photos of at least seven different outfits, asked me five times what she needs to bring, and begged me to tell everyone she’s deathly ill. Honestly, it’s fucking adorable. Even though I’m nervous, I know my parents will love her. I think they may be a little shocked to find out how old she is. But once they see how happy she makes me, they won’t care.
Are you sure about this? They’re gonna hate me.
I cuss too much. I don’t cook, I don’t clean. I work at a fucking strip club!
Shit. Cussing. Fuck!
JASON THIS IS A BAD IDEA!! ??????
Three sobbing emojis accompany the last message and I laugh out loud. Iris smirks over at me, knowing exactly who has my attention.
“Oooooooh Breaker’s in loooove!” He says in a high pitch voice. I level him with a glare that says shut the fuck up, but I’m still fighting to hide a smile. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so much in my life as I have since the moment Aurora’s lips touched mine.
“Fuck off, asshole.” I scoff back at him.
“See, I notice you didn’t disagree with me,” he says, using a giant squeegee to push blood towards the floor drain.
“This is definitely a strange time to be discussing my love life, Iris.” I cut him off, hoping he’ll drop the subject.
“You’re right. Let’s talk about Helo’s love life,” he replies, and I chuckle. He gossips more than a fucking woman, I swear. “I was in the shop the other day, adding to my collection, of course. And guess who was sitting in the break room tutoring a teen while a hot single mom drooled over him? Go on, guess.”
“I don’t have to fucking guess, dumbass. I was there when he agreed to tutor Jax. He’s helping Willow out. Cut him a break.” I say, wrapping Figueroa’s body in a plastic sheet while Iris cleans the blood from the floor behind me.
