His nose was bent and clearly broken.
“Just giving you something to remember me by in the morning. Don’t worry. I have more presents up my sleeve.”
“Cane,” Simon began, his voice frantic. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
I took a step toward him and drew my hand back, making him flinch. “I just heard you owed someone something tonight and I came to collect.”
“There was a misunderstanding.” Simon took a few steps back toward the house.
I leaped forward, smashing my right hand into the side of his face. His head fell to his right but was stopped by my left hand driving his head the other way. His eyes rolled back upon impact, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
Round one—me.
I breathed heavily, my chest rising and falling with such force that it almost felt like I wasn’t breathing at all. I looked down at the piece of shit at my feet as he found his wits.
“We’re going to make sure there are no more misunderstandings. Get up,” I commanded.
“Cane—”
“Get. The. Fuck. Up.”
Simon scooted back in the gravel, his eyes filled with absolute terror.
“Max,” I called, turning my head slightly to the side. “Get this motherfucker up.”
I heard the rocks crunch behind me.
“No!” Simon got up to his knees, bringing his hands back to his face again. His nose was already swelling, his face stained with his own fluid. “Let’s figure this out.”
“I’m losing my patience.”
Very slowly, Simon rose to his feet, squeezing his eyes shut. He braced for the impact he knew I was about to deliver.
I threw a roundhouse kick right below his knee, causing his legs to sweep out from under him. The sound of snapping bones pierced through the night.
He landed forcefully back onto the ground, a whooshing sound escaping his mouth as his breath was knocked out of him. He lay on his side, his face in the decomposed granite, his hands wrapped around his calf. He groaned as he rolled onto his back, still holding his leg.
I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. “I’m disappointed, Powers. I expected more from you. I really did.”
I moved until I was standing over him. He looked up at me, tears rolling down his face.
If only I gave a fuck.
“Let me help you up.” I reached down and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him to one foot. He winced in pain, trying to pull away, but we both knew he wouldn’t be able to move without assistance.
I helped him get to the front of his Avalanche, and he leaned back against the hood, breathing harshly. His nose made a wheezing sound as he tried to inhale around the mixture of tears and gore swirling around his face.
“Now, let’s make sure we are on the same page before I go home, okay?”
He nodded, leery. His eyes were beginning to swell shut, and the slits that were left were clouded by tears and blood.
“When you get up in the morning and you can’t walk or breathe or see, I want you to remember not to fuck with me ever again. You got it?” I grabbed his chin in my hand, pulling his eyes to mine.
He nodded again against my palm.
I released his face and patted his cheek sharply before wiping my hand on his shirt. “If you call Jada again—no, fuck that. If you ever breathe the same air as her again, I will break both of your legs and make you permanently unrecognizable. Are we clear?”
His head moved slightly.
