Page 46 of My Shining Stepbrother

“That’s where you're wrong. You abused me.” I stand up in front of him and look down. “You heard the things my mother would say and do. You used those words against me and made me feel smaller like no man would want me. You were wrong, though. I have a man who wants me for who I am.” I look over at Reese and give him a reassuring smile. I know he is here. I know he won't be going anywhere.

Ronnie laughs maniacally, throwing his head back before looking at me. “He wants you for your body, not you. Haven’t you learned that? Everybody uses you for what you are and what they need.”

Matty's grip on Reese releases as he lunges in front of me. Before we can stop him, he throws his fist into Ronnie’s face. The blood leaks from Ronnies busted lip, but he still smiles.

“You will not speak to her like that, do you understand me?!” Reese shouts in his face, with spit flying everywhere.

“Fuck you!” Ronnie yells into Reese's face. I watch Reese clench his fists into a ball and pull back. Before he can swing, I softly grab his arm, pulling him back.

“I can handle him, baby.” He relaxes under my touch and tone as he steps back. I can see the fight inside of him as he controls his anger.

I step back in front of Ronnie and lower my voice as I speak. “Listen to me right now. I’m not who I used to be. This man here taught me to be tougher and to love myself for who I am. He accepted me and all my faults. Now I don’t expect you to do the same, but I expect you to fucking listen to me.”

His face contorts in features I can only assume are from the devil. “Only if your sister dearest can handle the wait. My guys aren’t the nicest, especially to pure and young little playthings.”

Something inside me snaps. I turn around, grab a knife, and spin it in my hand. I turned back to him and cut his Achilles.

He screams out in pain, making my insides tingle with pleasure. “What the fuck?! You crazy bitch!”

“I’m done playing nice with you!” I wipe the blade on my pants leg as I stand back up. “Where the fuck is my sister?!”

“Fuck you! You’ll never see her again now!” He spits at me again, which only pisses me off even more. I kick his bleeding ankle and stomp on his foot.

“You’ll break. Do you remember when you used to say that to me? That I would break?” I taunt his own words back to him.

“And you always did it because you are weak.” He sits up as straight as he can.

“No, I’m not the weak one. You will learn that soon enough.” I spin the knife before stabbing it into his left hand. He is screaming at the top of his lungs, bringing me pure joy now. Watching him suffer is my new favorite sight.

“Last chance Ronnie. Where is she?!” I pull the knife out of his hand and trace it to his balls.

He tries to jump back in his chair but being bound stops him from moving too much. “Fuck! Okay! She is at the place we met!” He says it quickly as he stares down between his legs.

“The stadium at the high school?” I leave the knife pressed against him as I ask.

“Yes….” he swallowed the lump in his throat before opening his mouth to speak. His voice is soft and shaky.

I pull back from him and drop the knife to the ground. “Reese, I have to go!” I grab a set of car keys, not caring who they belong to.

“I’m coming with you.” He takes the keys from my hand before lacing his fingers with mine. He turned around, looking at the guys. “Trigger, keep that fucker alive.”

Before we walk away, I grab the knife and stab it into his shoulder. These places mean something to me, but only he knows why.

Reese drops the keys in his hand and grabs his set out of his pocket. It is probably wiser not to play guess the car right now. We start running out of the house when we hear other footsteps behind us.

Reese gets me into the car, but before shutting my door, Matty yells out. “I'm coming with you, boss!”

“Don't call me boss.” He starts to close my door, but Matty stops him.

“I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to Rose. After making a grown man like Ronnie scream like that. She’s my boss now. You have been demoted.” He gets into the backseat of the car, and Reese shuts my door before he runs to his side.

At a different time, I would laugh, but I need to get to my sister right now. It's a twenty-minute drive to the stadium, but Reese manages to get us there in ten minutes.

Ronnie has two men standing there with my sister tied to a pole. She is crying out while sweat pours down her face. I rush out of the car with Reese behind me, trying to stop me. But I don’t care. I run up to her, and the men point their guns at me.

I stand there shaking, but I hear Reese right behind me. I know with him here, I will be safe.

“If you know what’s good for you, you will drop the guns now!” He shouts to the men while I hear his gun click.

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