Page 7 of The Devils Melody
THE ENFORCER
Ah, fuck. Here we go again.
The moment Kage sees the scrawny bastard grab Wren's arm, I’m already on my feet, racing forward. It’s an instinct at this point. Fucking Kage, always in other peoples business, and I’m always there to deal with it, whether I want to be or not. As soon as he laid eyes on Wren, we were all fucked.
When I reach my brother, he’s snarling at the little shit to take his hands off his girl. The look Wren gives him when he sayshis girlmakes me chuckle. She has no idea the shit she got herself into by just existing. The kid from outside is much smaller in comparison to Kage, even Wren looks like she could snap his ass in half. He has his spine stiff, his muscles coiled, and his chest is puffed out as if he’s ready to take on Kage all by himself.
Damn, he must think he's indestructible.
The kid smirks at Kage, sneering something petty under his breath. It’s almost as if hewantsto keep testing my brother, but it’s a fucking mistake. I just laugh at the sightof this John Cena wannabe standing up to Kage, completely oblivious to the storm that he just unleashed.
“Richard, how did you get in here? Get your hand off my arm, you’re hurting me.” Wren's eyes are damn near bulging out of her head and I can hear the pain in her voice.
Richard. So that’s his name? As in Dick?Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. This shit’s too easy.
Wren is trying to stay calm, probably attempting to keep Kage from killing this shithead in front of all these people but it’s not enough. We’ve both seen some shit, Kage more than I, and that little act of hers isn’t enough to fool him.
“You had me banned from the damn bar so I had to sneak in the back like a fucking rat, you bit?—”
Yup, that'll do it.
The crack of bone hitting bone echoes through the bar as Kage rams his fist into Dick’s nose. In less than a second he’s laid out on his back, the wordbitchbarely able to leave his mouth. Kage is pounding his face in, blood already spattered on the floor, and Wren is screaming in the background begging him to stop.
I reach for my brother, ready to break up this little charade but hesitate, watching a little longer. I don’t know what happened between Wren and Dick, but that isneverhow you speak to a woman. Our parents' relationship taught us that much.
Dad, the handsome man that he is, was always the charmer, swooning women with not only his looks, but his words and actions. Grace, Kage’s mom, needed a guy like dad. Especially after the bullshit she went through with her ex; the man who unfortunately shaped Kage into the demon that he is.
Kage came into our family like that, only speaking withhis fists, never his mouth. He would deal with his shit by getting into fights in junior high, and then added drinking into the mix of raging bullshit once he entered high school. Don't get me wrong he still drinks, but now that we're older, the consequences of the actions of shitty people are a little more…permanent.
Dad married Grace when I was fourteen and Kage was twelve, and I've been stuck with the bastard ever since. Always digging him out of the holes he so quickly dug for himself. That’s just how it’s always been with us. The Monroe brothers, raising hell and cleaning up each other's messes. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though.
Looking around the bar, I see we’ve attracted quite the crowd. Most of the patrons have stopped what they were doing, eyes locked on us. I'm sure a little dive bar like this isn’t used to seeing the likes of us very often. I guess the fun here is over.
“Alright, brother, that’s enough. Times up,” I say, my voice low, leaving zero room for argument.
I try to pick up Kage, but it's a struggle. He's two hundred and fifty pounds of straight muscle, and right now he has one thing on his mind—cold and unforgiving vengeance. His whole body coiled with a kind of focus that could crush a man with a single thought as his large hands easily wrap around Dick’s small throat, causing his face to turn a bright shade of red.
“I said that’s enough!” I yell, my voice much louder now, the sternness causing the room to grow silent.
His grip tightens and I know he’s not finished here, but with one final pull on his arm, he lets go. Good timing too, because the bouncer from earlier is marching right for us. His heavy boots thud angrily against the floor, irritationevident on his face. Dick is coughing loud and aggressively. Honestly it’s kind of over dramatic, but no one is paying him any attention.
One look at Kage and you’d know the tension hasn’t dissipated. I know my brother all too well. His shoulders are taut, chest heaving with barely contained rage. The look in his eyes is forced control, a fraying thread pulled taut, seconds away from snapping.
The bouncer doesn’t waste a second as he grabs Dick by the collar and yanks him up like a misbehaving child. “That’s enough of that,” he growls, shaking him slightly for good measure.
Dick groans, clutching his crushed nose as blood pours from between his fingers. Yikes. That’s gonna cost him a pretty penny to fix.
“Are you fucking kidding me?Hejumpedme!”
“I don’t give a shit.” The bouncer barely spares him a glance before dragging him towards the door, the blood from his nose leaving a trail behind them. “You were already banned from this place, now get the fuck out before I call the cops. Don’t make me say it again.”
Dick stumbles, steam practically sizzling off the top of his little head, as the bouncer throws him out the front entrance. He lands on the pavement with a loud thump, and we all follow after them, Wren hot on our heels. Richard gets up off the ground, dusts the dirt off his khakis, and then turns around to face Wren. Dick goes to close the space between them but stops when my brother and I step slightly in front of her.
The kid scoffs, “This your new thing now, Wren? Bringing in assholes to fight your battles for you? Are you fucking them now too, you fucking wh?—”
Kage is already moving before Dick even has a chance to finish his train of thought, Wren starts screaming again, but I hold Kage back. All that bravery Dick had earlier in the bar is nowhere to be found as he flinches and jumps several feet back from Kage’s advance. The look in Kage’s eyes is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. It’s more than just possessiveness. It’s obsession, and it takes all of my strength to hold him back.
Wren regains her composure and crosses her arms tightly over her chest, her jaw locked as she stares at him. “Just go home, Richard.”
