“At your school. Just outside your dorm. Why?”
“Good. I have to talk to you. Stay out there.”
“You don’t give the orders around here.”
“Stay there. I’m coming down to meet you.”
I lifted my head and watched Dani’s room light turn on. And not too long after that, I felt my phone vibrate in my hand, signaling that she had obeyed me.
Good girl. “You’ve got two minutes of my time. Make it quick.”
I hung up the phone and opened the message, smiling at the little heart she left me. The words I made it safe. Thank you for a wonderful time warmed my heart. And I immediately saved her number in my phone. Then I slipped it back into my pocket and waited for the little asshole that had really been testing my patience lately.
Crossing a line no man ever wanted to cross with me.
With that stunt he’d pulled on Dani at the pool, I had a great deal I wanted to say to him as well. But not just about that. The shit he’d pulled with my father, running to him like a fucking tattle tale, I couldn't let that stand.
This ended now.
I flipped my kickstand down and slid off my bike. I leaned against it, watching the dorm door and waiting for Benji to come out. After two minutes had passed--clocking them by the second in my head--I reached for my phone.
A voice sounded behind me.
“Oh, no you don’t.”
I felt something wrap around my neck before a hard force slammed against my jaw. My eyes widened, my presence completely caught off-guard. And that was hard to do most days. My legs buckled and the harness around my neck let go, causing me to plummet to the ground face first, where my cheek crashed against the pavement.
“You’re ours tonight, little girl.”
I growled. “If you say so.”
I turned around and counted the goons around me. Three of them, all staring at me with spit practically dripping from their fucking fangs. I threw both of my boots up, knocking two of them in their balls. And when the third one went to punch me, I wrapped my hands around his forearm and dragged him to the ground, rolling him over before I straddled his body.
The men had black masks over their faces. But, for some reason, a pair of eyes looked familiar. I wailed on the man beneath me, landing punch after punch directly to his face. I felt something snap underneath my knuckles before someone pulled me off, and I whipped around with my arms outstretched, wrapping my hands around the man’s neck and closing off his ability to breathe. And when his eyes widened, I wonder where I had seen them before.
Why do I feel like I know you guys?
I took stock of what I could as fists flew and legs kicked. All of them had gold rings stacked on their fingers. Gaudy, disgusting rings that hurt every time a punch connected. Fucking hell, I hated rings. All kinds of rings. Every single fucking ring.
Because they always tore at skin, no matter what direction they came from.
Cheap fighters. Might as well have brass knuckles, assholes.
I slammed my knee into the stomach in front of me, then turned around and clocked my bleeding fist into another stomach in front of me. I watched two men hit the ground before I looked around, searching for the last one. My nostrils flared. My blood pumped through my veins. One more asshole to take down before I dragged them into the woods to beat the ever-loving shit out of them.
“Looking for someone?”
A searing pain ripped through my neck. I felt those damn rings sink into the nape of my neck before tearing back, bringing skin along with them. I growled as I fell to my knees, and someone landed a punch to my gut. As I bent down onto all fours, trying my best to keep myself upright, a boot came sailing into my ribs.
Taking me down for the count.
“Puny fucker.”
“Bullshit man.”
“You’re a piece of shit. I hope you know that.”
Their gruff voices rang out in my ears. I felt blood working its way up the back of my throat. I heard people yelling in the distance. Shrieking, way off. As if someone had finally seen what the hell was going on. I saw the light on the ground growing brighter. I felt a hand fist my jacket before pulling me up. And when my head rolled back, I gazed at the two men standing behind me. Upside down.