My blood fires through my veins at warp-fuckin’-speed, red hot, while I get up to just a couple inches behind him.
“Hey, Lenny!” I shout with a kick to the back of his knee that sends him forward.
He stumbles, almost falling over onto his face, but he uses his arms to get his balance back and turns to face me. “What in the— I know you.”
“Sure fuckin’ do.”
My fist connects hard with his jaw, and he’s lights out before he even hits the ground. I kneel over his body, anyway, pounding my fists against his ugly fucking mug with a knee pressed hard against his chest.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Right. Right.
My forty-five is held securely in the holster that rests in the waistband of my slacks, and I could easily just pull it out and blow his brains onto the sidewalk, but I don’t. I want to feel his bones break under my fists.
Hell, I think Ineedto.
Even unconscious, he lets out a groan every now and again that lets me know he can still feel everything I’m doing to him.
Good.
People start to scream around us as I grab onto the collar of his shirt, lifting him up, and I slam his head backward into the ground. I hold onto him with my left hand and the fist of my right slips on the blood spilling out of his face, making it splash up onto my own with every punch I land. But I don’t give a shit.
Images of his hands on Sophia’s body flood every corner of my mind; his and every other motherfucker that touched her when she didn’t want them to. I can hear the sound of her crying when she told me about all the times she wanted to use her fucking safe word, and only in the time since we met, because no one even told her safe words fuckingexistedbefore then.
I can barely make out the sound of a voice yelling ‘shit shit shit shit!’ from behind me, seconds before someone tries to shove me off the guy. “Jesus, Davis, shit,” Colt pants, trying to force my arms back. I think he ran here from the office. “You’re going to kill the guy!”
“Yeah. I fucking am.” My fist lands against Lenny’s face again with a crack, sending more of his blood in my direction.
“Stop!” Using his body as a barrier, he shoves mine away from Lenny, who is still unconscious on the ground, bleeding and already swollen enough that his face is damn near unrecognizable. My leg swings out to whack him in the ribs with a booted foot. “You got him, alright? He’s down.”
I smile down at Lenny’s limp body, letting a little chuckle escape between heavy breaths, while Colt holds me in place so I don’t go back in at him. “Fucker.” I rear back and spit at the ground next to Lenny, then look at my bloodiedhands and the bright-fucking-pink nails on my fingers with a laugh as the sounds of approaching sirens flood the street.
•
I bounce the back of my head against the smooth wall with rhythmic thumps, resting my outstretched arms over my knees. I’m not a stranger to these cells, but there’s usually someone in here to chat with for an hour or two at least. I’ve left here with new friends a couple times before, it’s not unheard of. It’s surprisingly empty in the middle of the damn day, so all I can do is sit here on the cold cement floor, humming to fill the silence while I wait for Colt and the guys to come through.
My hands are sticky with the mix of Lenny’s blood and my own dried onto them; I must have sliced a knuckle open on one of his teeth or something and not realized it until after the adrenaline wore off. Lenny’s unfortunately still alive – his face’ll never be the same, though. Colt did his good-guy thing and called for an ambulance while I was loaded into the back of the cop car, promising me he’ll meet me here with some help.
I’m not worried about it; Alec is still owed his birthday gift for this year, and he’s helped with worse than this before. I’ll be home with enough time to order supper.
It’s another three hours before Colt and Alec walk through the door together, their conversation stopping as they enter. “She told me that she would slash the tires on the Bentley if I didn’t let her come with,” Colt tells me. “I believed her.”
Sophia steps out from behind him with her arms crossed over her chest and wearing a scowl on her face. It doesn’t last long, though. Her eyes scan over me for a second, taking in the blood that I still haven’t gotten to wash off of my hands or face yet, and the rest of it splattered on my shirt, and her features go soft. I throw her my best playful wink while Ipull myself from the ground to a standing position, leaning against the wall of the cell.
“Can you just get him out of there already?” She barks, shoving Alec forward with every ounce of strength in her little body.
She looks almost panicked.
He fumbles with his keys for a minute before landing on the right one, finally slipping it into the lock and sliding the metal door open. I wait until the door is fully open before moving from the back of the cell and into the space where my friends are waiting, and Sophia grabs onto my shirt, pulling me close to her.
“Are you okay?” She’s on the tips of her toes, keeping her voice quiet.
“I’m fine, Sugar. Promise.”
She rounds on Alec, slapping a hand down against his chest hard enough that it surprises even me, and Colt meets my eyes with a furrowed brow. “Don’teverlet him get locked in that cage again. I swear to god, I’ll—”
“Not threaten police officers,” I laugh, pulling her into my chest. Her arms wrap so tight around my middle, I think she might be trying to squeeze me to death. I throw Colt a grateful nod, telling him, “Thanks for the rescue, rat bastard.”
“Thanks for calling me first, asshole.”
