Page 18 of Careless

I nudge his arm away, and he drops it, but only to grab my thigh with his other one. His fingers are precariously close to my crotch.

“There’s been talk of you coming and going from the Bastard house lately. Girls go there for only one reason, Sorcha.” He leans in even closer, like he has a secret to tell me. “Are you fucking one Bastard in particular or are they tossing you around like a common whore?”

This guy is disgusting. He makes my entire body crawl. Then, he tightens his fingers on my leg and tears collect in my eyes from his forceful grip.

“How much do you think I would have to pay Finn in order for him to let me have my way with you? I’ve heard drugs are a good enough trade for pussy.”

He’s so disgusting. Finn would never sell me. My brother loves me. The way Kia nods tells me he’s on his way. My brother lives only a few blocks away but that doesn’t stop me from my inner plea.

Please hurry, Finn.

The noise of my heart pounding in my ears gets louder at each passing second. I see Kia’s lips moving, but I can’t make out a single word. I don’t know if seconds pass or if it’s minutes. When a hand cups and squeezes my tit, I jump, instinctively trying to get away from the invasion, but Dez’s friend won’t budge. I have nowhere to go.

The table rocks as Kia stands and points at the guys with her free hand. “Get your hands off of her, you shit licker!” She directs her fury toward Dez. “And you!” Her eyes now blaring at his friend on the other side of me, “Move your nitwitted gargoyle ass!”

I grasp at his wrist. “Stop it, Dez. I’m not a whore. I go to that house because my brother lives there, you freak. Get your hands off of me. Otherwise, I’ll file harassment charges against you,” I threaten, but his response is to just laugh. He pulls me closer, his fingers digging into my arm.

“Please. How could you be related to a Bastard and the entire town not know about it? Nice try, but you’re a slut, Sorcha, and it’s time for you to get acquainted with my dick.” My throat runs dry at his words. Whatever is about to happen next isn’t going to be good. “You’ve been playing hard to get for a long time, and I’m done playing nice.” His hand squeezes my wrist and forces my hand against his crotch. I nearly vomit on the spot.

“Fuck you, asshole!” I yank my arm, but it’s like there’s a steel band holding it in place. My hand is still on the prick’s…prick. I glare into the shit brown eyes of the guy who thinks he has a right to my body. The tears I had been trying to blink back begin to spill and I hate myself for it. I hate that Dez knows he can pull this kind of emotion from me.

But then, I feel it. I feelhim. And with tears crawling down my cheeks—I smile. The look of confusion that takes over his face is retribution for my tears. What is about to happen next is retribution for everything else.

“Get your mother fucking hands off her.”

In an instant the pressure around my wrist is gone and the place Dez had occupied is empty. The crunch of cracking bones accompanies this new circumstance and its music to my ears. Dez’s feet fly up into the air as he tumbles to the ground. Rian’s shadow looms over the prone man. My eyes settle on Rian, his face so red with anger I’m surprised steam isn’t billowing from his ears.

The tinkering of a giggle flits across the table. I take a quick look and find Kia hugging my phone to her chest, her smile takes up most of her face.

“Hell, Rian. I usually accept greetings in handshakes, not punches to the face.” Dez laughs as he stands, rubbing his jaw.

“Don’t you dare fucking touch her,” Rian warns, the venom in the words flowing off his tongue are full of hatred. “The only reason you’re not unconscious is because you were too close to Sorcha. Otherwise, you’d be lying on the concrete for so long, the buzzards would be making dinner out of your eyes.”

I should’ve known Finn would bring him.

Finn steps up a moment later, no less angry. Maybe even more so because with the way he’s glaring down at Dez. I can tell he wanted to be the one to lay him out. “Why would you be so stupid as to touch my sister?” he grits out between clenched teeth. I expect Dez to cower in fear because everyone does, but he has bigger balls than I gave him credit for. He laughs openly before looking at me.

“Holy shit. You pimp out your own sister? What do I have to pay for an hour with the slut?”

I cringe but not because of what he said. I’m used to Dez calling me vulgar names. I do it because Rian lunges, murder is clearly written in their depths.

Finn moves fast and grabs Rian’s biceps from behind before he has a chance to get his hands on the asshole. Dez would be dead if he did.

“Calm the fuck down and let me handle this,” Finn snaps at the seething man in his hold.

Rian closes his eyes for a brief moment and sighs deeply, obviously trying to gain a semblance of composure. A few short moments later, he shrugs out of my brother’s hold and stomps in my direction, blocking my view of whatever Finn does.

“Listen, dipshit,” the gravel in my brother’s voice permeates the air around me. “I don’t usually give jackasses like you a second chance, so listen closely. You ever touch my sister, or even speak one word to her again, that will be it. I’ll destroy you. No one messes with my sister and gets away with it. If I do to you what I want to do, they won’t ever find your body. You grew up in Grove Hill. You know what can happen. Touch my sister again and you won’t get away with it, period. I will gladly break any rule to keep my sister safe. Is this in any way unclear?”

“Seriously, Dez!” Christian finally cuts in, shaking his head at his younger brother. He stands from the other picnic table. “I’ve told you to leave Sorcha alone for months.” I know Christian is trying to help, but he has inadvertently just gotten me in trouble.

I curse under my breath as Rian fixes his ice cold, hard gaze on me, the muscle above his brow twitches, but he stays silent. His friend stands and joins Dez as they make their way to Christian. He pauses for a moment to look at me before leaving, the blood dripping from his nose and split lip gives me a sense of vindication. Rian got him good. Serves him right for touching me like that.

“You alright, sis?” Finn asks as he approaches.

I nod. “I’m good.”

“No, you’re fucking not,” Rian growls. I cross my arms at him defiantly. “That asshole has been fucking with you formonths?Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”

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