“I just wanted to know why you’ve been ignoring me,” the man asks.
I place my fingers behind my ear and lean my head forward like I didn’t hear what he has to say. Being the bitch that I can be. Too bad their music isn’t louder. At least then I’d have a legitimate excuse for ignoring the fucker.
His friend taps him on the shoulder. “Oh man, she’s deaf.” They laugh.
“Run along,” Grave announces to the guy and his friends, still holding my hips. He hasn’t seen my face yet. He has no idea who I am.
“You can have her, man. A deaf bitch is useless. No fun when they can’t take orders.” The man laughs at me.
I open my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but Grave pushes me to the side, my side hitting the bar. Then I see Titan walk up to stand next to Grave. Neither one of them looks at me as they advance on the man and his friends.
“What did you say?” Titan asks.
A shiver of fear runs up my spine. I almost forgot what his voice sounded like. Powerful is an understatement. The Kings ruled everything they touched. If their words didn’t get the job done, then their fists did.
“You know what I mean, man.” Mr. Blue Eyes laughs, and his friends follow.
“Enlighten me.” Titan lifts his chin.
“How is a man supposed to be in charge if a woman can’t hear our commands.” He spells it out.
“That’s what I thought you meant.” Titan speaks and looks at Grave. He starts laughing, and Grave follows suit.
Then without warning, the laughter stops, and Titan clocks Blue Eyes in the face, knocking him back into the other three guys he walked over here with. Like dominos.
Shit!
Then they’re dragging him through the crowd of people and to a back door that readsexitabove it. I turn to face the bar, and the bartender places a shot in front of me. “I didn’t order that.”
“Titan did. And don’t worry, he paid your bill.” He slides the cash I put down back toward me.
Just fucking great!
I pick it up as he walks away and inspect it.Never drink anything given to you by a stranger.My mom’s words remind me. Titan isn’t a stranger, but that also doesn’t make it any safer. The guy could have poured acid in it for all I know. They were mean in high school, and college wasn’t any different.
Pure. Fucking. Evil.
The older they got, the more power they wielded.
The Kings ran the school, and the staff and their parents had their backs no matter what. They threw their weight around like fucking bulls in a china shop. Titan, Bones, and Cross all played baseball for the school. The staff kissed their asses because they could hit a fucking ball. The school wanted recognition, so they let them have their way. It always went badly.
And as for my mother? What does she know?
She left my dad, and for all I know, it was for his sleazy best friend and business partner.
“What the hell.” I throw back the shot and slam the glass down on the bar. “Thanks,” I mumble as he takes it away.
I pull my cell out of my pocket and check my messages. I have one from George. But he totally avoided my last message.
Motherfucker: Meet me in my office when you get home.
His office?He’s taken over everything. Including my life. My freedom. He’s going to use me for as long as my mother is alive.
I went to an attorney a couple of days ago, and he told me I needed twenty thousand for him to even look at my case. A retainer he had said. And I think George knows that I can’t afford legal help at the moment. He has me cornered in every situation. Now I’ve got fucking nothing since my card doesn’t work.
A girl bumps into my shoulder, and I delete the messages and put my cell away. I make my way back to the bathroom. I was gonna leave when I saw Titan and Grave were here, but now that they left, I might as well stay. Knowing what’s waiting for me at home, I can’t return unless I’m drunk. The fifty dollars I have in my purse should do the trick. I use the restroom and dry my hands off and then pull out my cell when it vibrates in my pocket. I’m expecting it to be another text from George, but it’s not.
Jasmine: Not gonna make it. Something came up. Find a stranger and let him fuck you raw.
