Page 64 of Dirty Love

Your baby hurt mine.

But of course I can’t say that to her.

“Your baby knows too much,” I whisper instead, keeping my voice low to ensure she can’t tell it’s me, ignoring her cries while I gag her with a hand towel.

“No—”

I shove the fabric down to the back of her throat and steal the scarf from her neck, covering her eyes with it to ensure she can’t see. I triple knot it at the back of her head—which takes me fifteen seconds too long because she won’t stop fucking moving—then I leave her there and head back out to the car.

“You’re twenty one seconds late,” Nicky informs me, feigning a pout while I help him up to his feet.

I breathe a laugh and shake my head at him, my pulse hammering against the side of my neck while I lead him to the front door. The two of us walk through the house in silence, nothing but the sound of the quiet, muffled noises coming from the kitchen as we make our way to the patio doors on the back wall. Nicky side eyes me, but he doesn’t say anything as he follows me out into the rain, his pupils blown thanks to the drugs running through his system. Our feet hit the decking and I stop him with a light touch to his abs, smirking to myself when the scent of cigarettes and weed hits my nostrils.

As sad as it is, the fact that the cops don’t give a fuck about a gay boy being beaten to death actually works in my favor. These bastards aren’t in jail for what they did this morning. They’re not even being questioned for it. Instead they’re here, right where I knew they’d be because I know how they think. Parker and Austin spend almost every night at this massive house, anyway. And Jasper… I’m betting he’s only with them because they’ve forced him to be here, threatened him to go along with whatever plan they have to get rid of me.

The thought brings another smirk to my lips.

Nicky moves beside me and I slide my eyes down to his, slowly guiding him back against the wall where I’ll be able to see him at all times.

“Don’t move,” I mouth, tilting my head down to the gun in his pocket. “Same thing as before. If one of them gets around me, you shoot until they’re on the ground.”

He nods his obedience and I walk away, making a quick stop at the fully stocked shed on my left. I grab Mark’s favorite baseball bat from its space in the corner, flip it around in my hand, and walk to the wooden canopy at the end of the yard. Their hushed voices get clearer as I get closer, but they soon stop altogether when they realize someone’s coming from behind. Parker spots me first and immediately tries to make a run for it, but he doesn’t get far before I smash the bat into the side of his face, knocking him back down to the cushioned couch with one hard hit. Mark looks from me to Nicky and I go for him next, hitting the brave fucker in the nose when he turns like he’s about to take a swing at me. I hit him again and then do the same with Austin, snatching Jasper’s white hair from behind the same way he did with Nicky earlier.

“Fuck! Kad—”

I pull the scrawny little bitch backwards and shove him down to the ground, enjoying the flash of fear in his eyes as I swing the bat down to his stomach. The rain soaks my face through my mask and makes it hard to see what I’m doing, but I don’t stop.

I don’t talk.

I don’t make a fucking sound.

I just break every bone within my reach.

Every nose, every rib, every kneecap…

I beat them until they’re the same color as the boy standing behind me, making their bodies shake and bleed until their pain-filled screams fill my baby brother’s ears.

It’s not enough.

It’ll never be enough, but I don’t have time for more.

As soon as I’ve got all four of them crumpled up on the gravel, I smash the bat into their skulls one after the other, starting with Mark, then Parker, then Austin, and then I get to Jasper. He drags himself along the grass on his stomach, somehow still moving despite the fact I’ve broken both of his legs in four places. I walk around him and kick him over onto his back, cocking my head while I look down at his bloody face.

“You’re obsessed,” I point out, unsure whether it’s with me or Nicky or both of us, but it doesn’t really matter now. “You’re crazy, aren’t you?”

“So what if I am?” he taunts me, trying for a grin as he looks upside down toward the deck. “I thought Nicky liked crazy boys.”

My nostrils flare and I kick him in the face, leaning over to lift his head off the ground and pull his eyes back to mine. “Why did you move here?”

“Not f-for you,” he stammers, his body shaking with a choked out laugh. “Honestly, Kade, not everything is about you and your stupid little brother, you know? I moved here because h-he forced me to.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“He’s that gay teacher’s son,” Nicky guesses, still leaning back against the wall by the doors, speaking quietly to ensure Mark’s mom doesn’t hear. “The one Dad was talking about right before he showed up the next day. Your dad got fired when they found out he was gay, right?” he asks Jasper. “Then everyone at school probably turned on you, too, so you had to change your names and move here.”

“Great choice of town, I know,” Jasper says dryly, breathing heavily while he stares up at the sky. “I’m not that mad about it, though. The guys at my old school weren’t half as hot as y—”

I drop his head and stand up to my full height, pulling the gun from my pocket to shoot him in the face. Nicky sucks in a breath and the woman inside screams loud enough for us to hear it, meaning it’s time for us to go. I empty three more bullets into the other three faces beneath me, then I drop the bat on the ground and walk back up to Nicky.