Page 96 of A Little Bit Reckless
But even ghosts could be found.
They could be found by the grim reaper, and I watched as Thatcher threw this guy into the leaves. His name was Patrick Donovan, and the fucker squirmed when he stumbled to the ground. He was obviously drunk off his ass, but he didn’t bother running.
My friends and I surrounded Donovan. It was Dorian who squatted in front of the man. My friend D had no problem getting a little blood on his hands.
None of us did.
Someone else had messed with Bow once in high school. It’d been one of her teachers, and I’d taken care of that shit then. I had the scars to prove it. That fucker had lived, but that was only because he’d been fortunate that I took care of his ass before he could hurt Bow.
Donovan wasn’t fortunate.
Dorian’s expression was deadpan. “He has to die.”
I knew he meant it. I knew for a fact he hadn’t killed anyone before, but he’d come close a time or two.
Even still, I knew Dorian would have no problem taking a life. All my friends and I had been through some dark shit. It was like a blanket of bullshit had surrounded us from birth. We all had various reasons why and mine surrounded Bow.
Something happened to me the moment I allowed that girl at the pool to drown. It changed something in me and I hurt the one person who neverevershould have received the fallout from it.
I’d spend my life trying to make it up to the woman I loved, and, even though I wasn’t worthy of her, I’d damn well try to do right by her.
Donovan was on his back in front of Dorian.
He came from a long line of scholars and his family had almost as many buildings named after him on campus as my friends and I had.
Almost.
I knew it would have taken the right kind of fucker to mess with Bow. It’d takean arrogantfucker to mess with what was mine.
Ours.
Bru squeezed my arm, looking at the filth on the ground, and Donovan’s eyes widened after what Dorian said. Dorian had some stake in this too even if this guy hadn’t messed with Bow. Donovan almost ran Dorian’s fiancée over too.
My boy Dorian was engaged; he told us about it at the football stadium earlier that day. That was probably the last time we all got to be kids before the next leg of our lives took over. My friends and I were brothers through and through.
Donovan lifted his hands, trembling. He may have known something would happen after messing with Bow, but heobviously was still coming to terms with things. Donovan gripped the leaves. “You don’t mean that.”
He thought Dorian was bluffing.
Donovan’s throat jumped. “Now, come on, boys. All of you can stop this right now. I will make sure no words about what you’ve done so far will be spoken. Nothing will come from?—”
Slap.
That was right. Thatcher, a huge-ass dude who could tackle a motherfucker, had slapped this guy.
Like a bitch.
Donovan was lucky it hadn’t been a punch, and he was so shocked by the slap he rubbed his face.
“You don’t talk,” Thatcher said, shaking. I knew it was taking everything in him not to do something more. Bru and I had told him everything surrounding Donovan’s coercion as well as the stalking that occurred after. That Bow offered to tutor me in hopes the guy wouldn’t come around anymore.
Thatcher also knew about the baby. All my friends did, once Bow had given us permission to tell them, which was why my buddies had no problem coming to get this guy.
Thatcher inched toward Donovan, but Dorian held him back. Dorian was normally the voice of reason and the leader to all of us, but even hesaid this guy had to die.
“He does have to die,” Thatcher said, and Donovan’s eyes widened again. Thatcher’s jaw clenched. “For my sister.”
“And mine,” Ares said. He was holding Thatcher back by the other arm. Whatever Dorian did, Ares “Wolf” Mallick followed. We all did. Even still, Wolf was holding back too. He braced his fist. Donovan had almost killed Sloane too in all this, and Ares had just as much rage lacing his already wolfish features. Ares’s eyes narrowed. “This fucker sealed his fate.”
