Page 154 of Stabby Little

There he is.

The boy who manipulated me at the coffee shop.

The boy who promised to hook up with me and abandoned me at my cousin's wedding.

"Relax, Uncle." I tuck a strand of hair over my ear and tug my uncle's fist back. "You hurt him enough. Let me speak to him."

Uncle Michael growls as he turns to me. "I said you could watch, Crystal. Not prevent me from doing my goddamn job. Stay in your fucking place."

"My father won't be pleased to hear that." I narrow my eyes. "You're already in hot water for employing Khalid after he was busted for sex trafficking. Dad and Uncle Zaire are ready to beat your ass."

A primal grunt escapes Michael as he reluctantly lowers his fist. He scorches me with the fiercest glare in his arsenal. "You're leaving after you speak to him."

I stick my hand in my uncle's face and push him back. "Walk to the door. Let me talk to the wedding crasher."

I turn to face Ollie. Tied up and shivering from the cold, he doesn't look like the cocky boy who lied to me to sneak into my cousin's wedding. He looks vulnerable, young, pathetic. If I had an ounce of sympathy in my body, I might try to help him.

No way, José. After Michael told me who he was, I knew he had to pay. No one fucks with my family and lives to tell the tale.

"Hi, Ollie." I run my index finger over his bruised cheek. "If that is your real name."

Ollie glares at me. "I have no desire to speak to you."

"You little liar." I jab my nail into his cheekbone. "I thought your name was Trevor and you were a comic book artist."

"I am."

"No, you're not. I searched for the comic book artist's convention you claimed to be attending in LA. Guess what?"

"What?"

"It doesn't exist. There's a major convention next month—but nothing right now."

"I don't know what your point is."

"You saw that a convention was coming up and created a fake persona to trick me. I found your prosthetic nose, Trevor. My uncle's underling traced it to a special effects movie shop and saw you enter."

"That's bullshit. I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do." I wrap my fingers around Ollie's throat. "You concocted a fake identity and used me to get into Tiffy's wedding."

"You're full of shit."

"You didn't fuck me because you're gay. You're not a virgin and you certainly don't have erectile dysfunction. At least, you didn't when men fucked you in my uncle's warehouse."

Ollie's eyes flash with anger. "I didn't make up a false identity. I don't know what you're talking about."

Michael sneers. "Good work, Crystal. You caught this piece of shit in a lie."

I reach into my bag and pull out a knife. "You pathetic fucker. You didn't even call me."

"You weren't my type."

"Then why hit on me in the coffee shop? Why did you lead me to believe there could be something between us?"

"I never did. You built this up into something it's not."

"Gaslighting. That's what the fuck you did to me." I drag the blade across Ollie's throat. "You're not Trevor. You're a sad, helpless little boy who runs around trying to get revenge on his masters. The masters who planned to put you in charge of all the boys in the warehouse."

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