I rear back my right arm, then punch the asshole again. And again. And again. When my fist connects with his cheek for the fourth time, I feel his bone crunching under it, and see his skin splitting open, blooming with my favorite shade of red.
Bloodred.
The left side of his face is swollen now, and is starting to turn purple. I contemplate hitting him one more time, but I don’t want him passing out on me because I’m not done with him just yet.
He’s drooling blood and spit all over his chin, and there’s snot dripping down his nose, which means he’s crying. It’s hard to tell, given the fact that I’ve bloodied him to pulp, but I can’t say that I regret it.
I lower my arm and grab his collar, then read the name that’s printed on the badge he’s wearing. Shaking him once, I slap him when his head rolls sideways.
“Not so smug now, are we, Haroon?” I say, pulling him forward, and then pushing him back against the wall. “What thefuckdid you think you were doing, disrespectingmywoman? Or were you naïve enough to think that you stood a fucking chance?” I punch him in the gut, making him double over, then let go of him before taking off my jacket. “Cigs?”
I hear the click of her heels, and a second later, she’s standing next to me. There’s tears on her cheeks, and her eyes are a little red-rimmed. My anger multiplies at an immeasurable magnitude, and when I see her rubbing her wrists, I immediately grab one of her hands, and my vision fucking blurs when I see finger imprints on her skin.
“He did this to you?” I ask. I don’t know why I’m surprised; the motherfucker had the audacity of pinning her against her will before I threw him off her.
She nods, glances behind her, then looks at me again. “We’re in an open space,” she tells me. “Let’s just not create a scene, Dor, and maybe hand him over to Aras instead.”
“Are you out of yourmind?” I cup her face and scan her from head to toe. “Did he threaten you not to hurt him?”
“No,” she says immediately. “It’s just…I’m thinking about our job, and not about his wel–”
“Screw the job,” I grit out. “The fact that this…thingis still drawing breath – after having done the things he did to you – is fuckingcriminal.” I wipe the tears from her face and tuck a lock of her hair behind an ear. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“I am.” She touches my hand and presses a kiss on my palm. “I’m fine, Dor.”
I study her for a beat, then sigh and place a kiss on the space between her brows. “Okay. But I want you to stay back and holdmy jacket for me, because I’ve got some trash that I need to take out.”
She smiles, and her eyes flash with the kind of madness that truly binds her to me. “Make it hurt, please.”
I grin. “Oh, sweetheart; you can count on it.”
She takes my jacket from me and holds it to her chest, then steps back, but not before giving me yet another smile – this one more relieved than dark.
I feel a tug in my chest, and even though I’m glad I made it to her in time, I’m still pissed at myself, because there’s a strong chance I would have been a few seconds too late in getting here.
But you weren’t, a voice in the back of my head says.And for now, that’s all that matters.
Maybe it does, or maybe I need to be, anddobetter, not only for Cigs and my crew, but also for myself.
I bring my attention back to Haroon, then clench and unclench my right hand as I look down at him. “So, where were we?” When he doesn’t respond, I nudge his shoulder with my foot, to which he grunts.
“Good; you’re awake.” I once again grab his collar, then pull him to his feet before leaning him against the wall.
“You…” he croaks out, then grimaces. “You don’t deserve her.”
I smirk. “And you do?”
“Yes!” he hisses. “I care about her. For me, she is everything. She should be with a man who knows her worth; someone who understands her.”
I laugh. “You don’t know shit about her,Haroon,” I say, leaning in close. “And the last man who tried to take her from me, ended up with a bullet in his head. Among other places.” I pull my switchblade out from my back pocket and flick it open. “You, unfortunately, will not be given the same privilege.”
He glances at the weapon in my hand, and his breathing starts to quicken. “You are crazy,” he pants. “You’re a fuckinglunatic.”
I grin. “Of course I am.” I run the pad of my thumb up and down the embossed handle of my blade, relishing in its familiarity. “Insanity is my favorite pass time. It’s a shame you won’t get to see more of it in this lifetime.”
His body shakes, seconds before he starts sobbing. I’m talking complete hiccups and all that shit. It’s an awkward thing to watch, I’m not gonna lie.
“She’s not worth my life, okay,” he says between bouts of disgusting cries. “She’s just a hot little thing I wanted to fuck, nothing more. I swear. Please,Iswear.”
