The boy looks confused. “I was just being friendly. That’s what this is about? You’re pissed I was nice to your girl?”
“Nice is one word for it. Audacious, flirty, way-out-of-fucking-line are the words I’d probably use.” Caden turns back around, the blade of a large butcher knife glinting under the fluorescent lights.
The boy leaps out of the chair. I’m there behind him, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and yanking him back down.
He starts flailing around. “Come on, what the fuck, this is crazy!”
“What’s crazy is that you haven’t answered my question.” Caden takes his time coming over to us. “Do you know Elodie?”
“What – no, never seen her before in my life. But the rumours and shit, I’ve heard them. Everyone has,” he’s speaking rapidly, trying to get his defence out before Caden closes the gap.
Once he reaches us, he leans nonchalantly on the workstation behind him, folds his arms over his middle, butcher knife hanging loosely in front of him. “So you really are just that stupid? You think you have the right to touch my girl?”
The boy laughs nervously, manically. “This is insane. You’re acting like no one’s touched her. She’s a who-”
I give him one crack to his jaw before he finishes getting that word out. “Careful, kid.”
He groans and shakes his head, dazed from the punch. It reminds me I haven’t unleashed my full strength on someone for a while. My muscles tingle, eager for another taste.
“I’m not acting like that.” Caden uncrosses his arms, brings the knife up to inspect it. “I’m acting like no fucking man except me will touch my fiancé, now she’s mine.”
“Alright, got it, message received. Now let me the fuck go.”
Caden sighs, rubs his free hand over his forehead. He’s exhausted. It’s almost an effort for him to keep talking. I know he’s not been sleeping lately, know his brain’s too full to let himself rest. Yet he still wants to do this. Is still mustering the energy to prove this point. “I don’t send messages with words, Brandon, you know this.”
He pushes off the workstation, comes over to us, crouches in front of Brandon, and sneers. “You want to touch my girl? You won’t touch another woman in your sorry life. Not with both hands, anyway. I’ll let you keep the hand that didn’t touch my woman. I’m feeling nice tonight. Alfie.” He straightens up. I grab the kid’s arms, holding them down on the armrests as he fights against me. It’s futile, the boy hasn’t got half my strength, even fuelled by fear and adrenaline.
“Please, no, don’t,” he’s squealing, begging, crying.
“Don’t you miss,” I say to my cousin as he raises the knife. “I’d like to keep my fingers, please.”
Caden snorts. “I never miss.”
The knife comes slashing down.
***
Milo struts in a minute later. He surveys the room. “In a kitchen? Where they prep food? Seriously?” He places his hands on his hips, shaking his head.
Brandon’s still in the seat, unconscious.
“It’s a good thing you’re so good at cleaning up then, isn’t it?” Caden says, drying the last of the water off his arms.
The blood had sprayed us thoroughly. We’ve washed all of it from our skin, it’s just our suits that look like a Saw movie scene now.
I wonder what El will say. I wonder what Caden would say if she asked what happened.
Milo just sighs. “Alright, I’m on it. I’m gonna call someone to help though, this will take all fucking night otherwise.”
“Whatever you need to do,” Caden says, walking up to him and shaking his hand. “Appreciate it. We’ve text a friend of his to come get him and we stemmed the bleeding. Just keep an eye on him until his friend comes.”
“You got it, boss,” Milo says and salutes.
Caden thanks him again and we leave. I give him a fist bump on the way out.
Once we’re out of the building, I say, “Told you, you like her.”
“Oh, please,” he says, rolling his sleeves back down. “This was to prove how serious I am about my reputation. That’s all.”
