Slamming my fist into his jaw, I wrapped my good hand around his throat and squeezed. But instead of seeing fear or anger, he laughed at me. Even as I slowly drained the life from his body, he was mocking me.
He had won, and he knew it.
“Does…Bailey…know?”
“I will fucking kill you if you go near her!”
He choked out a laugh as I cut off his oxygen. “You’re…alone and…miserable. Always…will be.”
His eyes slowly drifted shut as I cut off the last of his oxygen. Peace washed over me, but in the next instant, anger replaced it and I released him. He slumped to the ground, choking for air.
I couldn’t do it. If I killed him, then what the fuck had I broken Bailey’s heart for?
“You piece of shit,” I snarled, slamming my boot into his ribs. Once wasn’t enough. I kicked him over and over again as he laid on the ground, not even bothering to fight back. Blood dripped from his face, coating the ground beneath his mouth, but still, I kept going, not stopping until I landed one last kick to his face.
Breathing hard, I stepped back, feeling slightly better for the ass-kicking.
“Not sure how helpful that was,” Mav said from behind me. “Couldn’t you at least have chosen a dark alley? Fuck, you do like making my job difficult.”
My cheek twitched as the remnants of anger ebbed. I’d most likely just made things worse, but I couldn’t allow this fucker to ruin my life. He could come after me all he wanted, but Bailey was out of the picture now. I made damn sure of that.
“He doesn’t even give a shit about Bailey,” I snarled. “He as good as admitted this is all about me.”
“Well, yeah,” Mav snorted. “It’s not like he wants Bailey.”
“No, I mean, he just wants us all miserable. He doesn’t care if he does that by removing Bailey from my life or making me do it. Now that she’s gone, he’ll leave her alone.”
“Until you find something else that makes you happy,” he grunted. “What you need is to even the playing field.”
“Yeah? And how the fuck do I do that?”
“Easy,” Mav grinned. “Take away something that he loves.”
“The piece of shit doesn’t love anything,” I snapped, staring down at the unconscious prick at my feet. “There’s not a thing I could take from him that would make him give in.”
Mav clucked his tongue, getting my attention. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
26
BAILEY
I’d crieda lot of tears in the last forty-eight hours, but I vowed that it would be the last time I ever cried over Liam Parker.
I woke up as refreshed as I could be and threw myself into my work. What other choice did I have? It wasn’t like I could lay in bed for the whole week, pining over a man I’d dated for less time than it took for the whole thing to implode.
So, I stood over this engine and worked harder than I ever had in my life.
“Word around town is that Parker broke your pretty little heart.”
I stiffened at the voice, but refused to show any fear. Austin was a bully, and I was not in the mood to deal with him.
“Did you need something?” I asked as I continued to work.
“Just wondering if you wanted some revenge.” His hand slid across my ass before cupping my cheek. I jolted forward, nearly banging my head on the hood of the car, before spinning around.
“Keep your hands off me,” I snarled. His face was mangled and bruised, but that didn’t stop him at all from trying to get in my pants.
“Baby, I could show you a good time. Way the fuck better than that prick ever did.”
