Page 66 of A Hurt So Good

“Who the fuck is that?” I growl when I see a man coming toward her. I’m reaching for the door handle when Denz stops me.

“Wait. Let’s see what the hell she’s doing first,” he says. I nod, and we keep watching. They seem to be arguing. Her hands are flying through the air, and his mouth keeps moving. Then I see her run her hand over her face like she’s tired of all this.

“What the fuck?” Harlon whispers while we keep watching. The argument seems to pick back up when the guy reaches for her. She bats his hand away, but he moves in again. This time, he grabs her and jerks her body toward him. I don’t even get thechance to move first because Denz is already out of the car. He’s storming down the road as Har and I climb out and follow. She doesn’t even see him coming.

Denz snatches the man off Arya and slams his fist into his face. Arya screams because she doesn’t realize it’s us at first. She turns her head as if looking for help when she sees me and Harlon coming.

The two guys are on the ground fighting each other as I step up and watch.

“Are you going to stop them?” she yells.

“No. Why would I?”

“We’re in a neighborhood, War! They’re going to call the police,” she snaps at me. Yeah, maybe she’s right. They might call the police. But right now, that guy who had his hands on her is getting exactly what he deserves. So I do nothing but watch.

The two of them beat the shit out of each other when someone comes out of the house right up the road, yelling about calling the cops just like Arya said they would.

“How did you know where I was?” she asks as Harlon moves in now to pull them apart.

“Tracker on your phone.”

“You put a tracker on my phone?” she snaps, her hands balling into fists at her sides. I just smirk at her.

“Cops are coming,” Harlon says as Arya runs her hand through her hair.

“This is so fucked,” she smarts off.

“Is it? What the fuck are you doing with this guy?” Harlon yells now.

“He’s my ex! He called and said he was giving me back the money he stole.”

“He stole your money?” Harlon asks.

“He stole everything I had. That’s why I moved in with my mom,” she tells us. Har is pissed when he spins around and grabs the guy, punching him in the face. I just laugh.

“Stop him!”

“Nah, he’s fine,” I tell her. Harlon beats the shit out of him just like Denz did. Denz stands off the side, wiping blood off his lip onto his shirt but still watching Harlon. Arya moves to go stop it but I grab her arm and shake my head.

“He stole from you, little bird.” She doesn’t try to fight me on it. She just blows out a big breath and stands with her hands on her hips, watching. When Har’s done, I pull my knife out and walk toward the asshole laying on the ground.

“Oh my God! Don’t you dare, War! Don’t fucking do it,” Arya yells as I lean down next to him. I can hear the sirens in the distance getting closer as I open the asshole’s hand and sprawl out his fingers. Arya runs toward me, but Denz grabs her. She kicks and screams and begs me not to kill him. I’m not going to kill him with the cops on the way. I’m not that reckless.

Instead, I lean down close to his ear and whisper, “If I ever find out you come near her, text her, call her, or even breathe in her direction, I’m coming back for more.” Then I cut the piece of shit’s finger off. The asshole screams as I stand up and tossit over the ledge next to us. Arya looks shocked and doesn’t say anything else.

“I can’t go back,” Denz announces. We all know he can’t go back to jail again because of Sasha.

“We got this,” Harlon tells him. “Take Arya and get out of here.” Arya still stands there with her mouth open, not saying anything until Denz grabs her and drags her toward the car.

“We can’t leave them!” She snaps, trying to get out of his grip.

“We have to,” he tells her.

“They’ll go to jail!” She screams louder this time as she fights him. There’s our girl.

“They’ll be fine,” Denz snaps as he shoves her into the car. He gives us a nod and climbs in, pulling off quickly right before the cops show up.

It’s the same old shit on another day. Hands behind your backs. You have the right to remain silent.

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