Page 100 of Being Us (Next Generation 4)

I coughed, shaking my head. “Sorry, buddy. You don’t do it for me.”

“Trust me.” His eyes snapped to mine. “I do it for everyone. Doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. I can make anyone bend to my will.”

“Maybe he has someone at home,” the baby-faced guy said, stepping closer to his friend.

I frowned. “Now I really feel like I’ve met you before.”

The smaller guy laughed, resting his arm on top of his friend’s shoulder. He ran his tattooed fingers over his mouth, his smile widening. “I think we’d both have fun breaking him.”

“Are you done?” Rat asked, grimacing.

“You know, I seem to recall you being a little homophobic.” In a quick move, I swung the pipe and bashed it against his knees.

He screamed, falling to the ground beneath him.

“That’s right. On your knees like a good little boy.” I crouched, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling his head back. “Next time you will think twice about insulting anyone for their sexual preferences because remember, I know where you live. I know where your parents live. I even know where that pretty little sister of yours lives.”

Rat’s face paled. “You wouldn’t.”

He was right. I wouldn’t. But no one needed to know any different. The rumors had gone on for so long, might as well let people believe them. As long as Busy didn’t, that was all that mattered to me. I tried for so long to correct them that I just finally gave up. There was no point.

I rose to my full height, looking back at Tommy who had been watching the whole ordeal play out before him. “I have questions. And you have answers. I know you will give them to me because you want to watch me squirm and beg for what I want.”

Tommy’s brows narrowed.

“He’s actually right,” one of the guys murmured behind me.

“Where’s the rest of the crew?” I asked no one in particular.

“Around. Some of them are in the actual club, doing who the hell knows what. Some are on a run. Some are probably even sitting on their thumbs, doing fuck all.”

I looked back at the younger guy. “Really?”

He shrugged. “Everything’s gone to shit since you’ve left, Tanner.”

“It wasn’t like I had a choice.” But before we got into that, I stepped over the body on the ground who still hadn’t moved and backed up down the hall. “Can I trust you?”

“We’re not with Tommy, if that’s what you’re wondering.” The bigger guy and the one who was clearly into anything that gave him the go-ahead, gave me a curt nod. “We’re not who you think we are.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that but instead of asking, I walked toward Tommy. “Office.”

“Why would I do that?” Tommy pulled a pistol from the waist of his jeans and aimed it at me. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“If you wanted me dead, you would have had me killed a long time ago, Tommy.” I shoved him back when he didn’t budge. “Office. Now.”

“Fine, Tanner. Go into the office. But you won’t like what you see.” Tommy opened the door for me and pushed me into the small room.

I stumbled a few steps, my eyes landing on a woman kneeling on the floor. Everything gave out from beneath me. All breath left my lungs as I stared at the one person who had become the only reason I no longer wanted to do something stupid. Besides Trigger, she was the very reason I was still alive.

My chest tightened.

I fell to the ground as my knees gave out from under me. “Busy.”

Tanner

A DARK SINISTER LAUGHsounded from behind me. It slid over my skin, digging into every nerve racing through my body. It had reminded me of when my uncle would laugh every time I cried. Or every time I screamed when my aunt wasn’t home, and he took things to a whole other level of depravity.

“Busy,” I repeated, my voice hoarse. I dropped to my knees in front of her. I never wanted this. She deserved so much better than the wrath and destruction I brought with me every single time I got close to someone.

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