Page 17 of The Addict

Ibounded around the corner into the alley way as fast as I could go without stumbling, and the sight I was met with infuriated me.

The same scene played before me like when I was a child. My mother was crying for help, and I could do nothing but watch and lay with her when it was all over. I recalled her sobbing and rocking me in her arms once David had left the house. We cried together. She still tried to calm me down when it was her that was suffering.

I would not stand by and watch that happen to another innocent being.

The mix of drugs and alcohol had my adrenaline soaring. I was ready to fight when I turned the corner. But what I wasn’t ready for, was Silas. I didn’t expect the screaming girl to be the source of his torment. She was already almost completely exposed, except for her underwear, everything else had been torn away from her body as if it were trash.

What made my blood boil was the fact that the two shitheads from before were there too, watching from close proximity as Silas readied himself to take her as he pleased. The poor girl didn’t even stand a chance.

Silas froze at the sight of me, and the girl turned as well. That’s when I was blessed with the first glimpse of her eyes. They were an emerald green, tear-streaked, and alluring. Seeing her took the wind out of me, like I’d been kicked in the chest. That’s how fucking beautiful she was. I couldn’t help but admire her features.

She looked so relieved to see me, as if I were her hero. I nearly laughed at the absurdity. I was nobody, and here this girl must consider me a savior. Right place, right time I guessed.

I took a moment to calm myself so that I wouldn’t go crazy with anger. My head was spinning a bit. Silas always knew how to press all my buttons. Whether it be sexually, anger inducing, or perhaps to bring on devastation, he knew them all. I had no idea why or how, but he did.

So, I was going to proceed in the best way I knew how. Nonchalant. Careful.

The alcohol in me, directed otherwise entirely.

“Silas, you dirty, little punk.” I chided like he was a small child, feeling overly confident. “Couldn’t get enough of me, so you had to harass this innocent girl?”

The two bozos in crime scurried closer to their boss.

“Hansen. Leave,” Silas spat out, glaring daggers at his men.

The girl cowered away from him, trying desperately to cover herself. She shot another pleading look at me. My heart almost gave out when she blinked those eyes at me and fresh tears fell down her cheeks.

That’s when I noticed her cheeks were bruised, her bottom lip cracked. The skin around her right eye was severely red and swollen, anything more and it would have ended up a black eye. I sucked in a deep breath.

They beat her.

I tried my best to maintain composure and smirked. “Let her go, Thorne. You know she is not what you want.”

Silas grinned sadistically. “You didn’t give me what I wanted.” He placed a tiny pocket knife at the girl’s waist. She whimpered and froze. “I want you to tell this girl that it’s your fault she’s here right now or I’ll cut her,” Silas ordered.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Maybe I was desensitized to this type of behavior, or maybe just too high to care. Silas was so fucking over dramatic, and I couldn’t take him seriously. “You don’t have the balls,” I slurred, without another thought.

“Jesus!” The girl exclaimed, clenching her eyes closed as though she was bracing for impact. “Do you want him to kill me?”

My eyebrows jumped.

She speaks.

If I wasn’t concerned for her safety, I might have chuckled at her comment. She was brazen. To her credit, she was a complete stranger and clearly had no idea who we were, but imagine? The heir of the Pinnacle Investments murdering a girl in a bar alley? Please. This was beyond ridiculous, and Silas was behaving like a spoiled rich brat having a breakdown because he couldn’t get his way.

And I had enough.

I had to steady myself on my feet even though I hadn’t moved much. “Tsk. Tsk. Silas. Just let the girl go. Walk away, and I promise you that I won’t tell my father to lock you up.”

Silas let out a fake laugh. “Your dad can’t do shit. He’s a worthless drunk who beats his woman.”

Beep. Button pushed.

My lip twitched. How did Silas know this?

“That may be,” I whispered. “But he can still throw your ass in jail.”

Silas looked amused, like he didn’t expect me to agree with him. He twirled a piece of the girl’s hair around his finger and she jerked her head away from his touch. “For what? Rape? I hear he does that to your mom all the time.”