Merciless Punks: Enemies to Lovers romance (Dolls and douchebags Book 3)

“You put my precious in danger and caused my unicorn harm! I’m going to cut you open. I’m going to enjoy ripping your intestines out and shoving them down your throat until they spill out of your stomach all over again. But I won’t, at least not before you tell us why you were at the rave. After that? Well…” I smirk and shrug my shoulders before holding my knife up to the single light bulb hanging in the middle of the room and squint my eyes… Is that a scuff mark on my knife?

Fucking great. Another thing tonight that puts me in a bad mood. First, Tillie almost gets hurt in a shootout of guns, my stuffed unicorn’s head pops off, and now a scratch on my favorite knife. Where did I go wrong in my life to deserve this? All I want is to stab this fucker like five minutes ago, give my knife a nice polish to make her shine again, and bury my face in Tillie’s neck or pussy. I’m not picky as long as I get to draw in her sweet cinnamon and vanilla scent.

“Tey, focus,” Nicky orders as he circles around the gang member tied to the chair like a shark drawing closer to its prey, the deep timbre of his voice causing a shiver to trail down my spine in delight at the quiet demand.

When he’s ready, I’ll be bottom. Of course I won’t tell him that just yet. He’s got to work for it. If he wants to shove his big, tattoo-covered cock up my tight ass he’s going to have to open up for all the love I have for him. Jin pushed him and beat him since I’ve known Nicky, and if his father ever finds out that his heir, his son, likes the taste of men too… his body would be found behind some restaurant dumpster in downtown Chinatown with everyone turning a blind eye. I don’t think my Nicholas will resist the temptation of me much longer. I’ll keep him safe no matter what, and I mean, come on, have you seen my glutes? Fucking squeezable, I’ve worked my ass off to get these muscles on my butt.

How can I focus at a time like this when all that’s been playing in my mind for the last two nights is him and Tillie sharing my cum in a kiss that made me hard in one second flat all over again. He’s not helping matters when he steps around me, his long fingers skimming the back of my neck as he moves to crouch in front of our latest torture victim. I’ve been dreaming for a couple years now of those skilled fingers wrapping around my thick cock, coating his hands with squirt after squirt of my delicious cum.

Maybe next time I’ll carve my name into his chest, and watch as his pale skin turns red with his warm blood. Anyone who would look at him would know he belongs to me. Oh! Maybe we should get matching tattoos? I’ll let him tattoo my cock if I get to pierce his and if I’m lucky, Tillie will let me tattoo her pussy? A nipple piercing on her would be fucking delicious too. Ugh! There’s so much to consider! I would love to see my name on her body, placed over one of her scars that will now bring her only memories of me instead. She might not let me mark her body with tattoos or piercings but then again I’ll just have to knock her out with one of Nicky’s drugs if it comes to that. She’ll just wake up all dazed and bam. New artwork that I created forever on her skin! God, she could wake up with the needle piercing her pink nipples and cursing me in Spanish once she realizes what I did. Just the thought alone has me ready to come, my balls aching. I bite my knuckle to quiet my groan and Nicky glances over his shoulder with his eyebrow raised before his eyes slide down to the obvious tent in my pants with a smirk.

“This can go two different ways. You talk and I can make your death quick with just a shot to the back of the head, or I can drag it. Pain is like breathing and hours after I’ve had my fun by peeling layers of your skin off, all you’ll know before your lungs expand one more time is pain,” Nicky threatens the gang member, his green gaze unyielding and he slowly shakes his head at the stupidity when our guest remains quiet.

“So be it, buddy. Silence it is. It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out which gang you belong to. You should have covered up those tattoos, Amigo.” Nicky sighs like he has better things to be doing but I know he loves torturing those who deserve it just as much as I do.

I walk over to the chain-link fence in the corner of the room that has all of our favorite tools on hooks just for this occasion. I play with my lip ring, sucking it in and out as I debate which device I want to start with. Why is this so hard? The pliers or tire iron?

“Nicholas, help! Broken bones first or slow torture?” I glance over my shoulder to see his forearms rippling with muscles as he stands over our struggling guest.

Nicky grabs the jaw that’s been clamped shut under our questioning while placing his other hand over the tattoo of a skull on the gang member’s forehead to hold him still as Nicky pries his mouth open.

“Fuck you! I’m not saying shit!” He screams through the pain and tries to wrench his head away but Nicky has a tight grip on him.

“Since you made your choice, I’m not seeing why you need your tongue,” Nicky replies back casually like he’s talking about a grocery shopping list and not about removing the fleshy meat in this asshole’s mouth.

I’m starting to think maybe after he’s done with his tongue, I should put it in a glass jar and give it to Tillie as a gift? Actions speak louder than words! I like this idea. With that in mind, I grab the pliers off the fence and practically skip over to Nicky’s right side like a schoolgirl, but only because this is the exciting part of having a torture session.

“Any last words?” I laugh in the gang member’s face as he glares up at me with a hint of fear in his eyes just as I grasp his wiggling tongue between the pliers and bend down to grab my knife out of my boot.

“Wa–wait! Jesus Christ! J-just wait, I’ll tell you everything!” His words are hard to understand, likely due to all the saliva coming out of his mouth from his incessant babbling.

Gross.

I release the tool from his mouth just as the sound of Nicky’s phone blares from his back pocket. I give him a nod that I got this as he steps away to answer with his shoulders dropping in disappointment. Like I said, that stone-cold expression doesn’t fool me. He loves the sounds of screams when the flesh parts under his scalpel blade. With my back towards him and my focus on the fucker in front of me, I block out every other noise and pocket the pliers for now.

“Talk. Was this an attack on Franco or Dom?” I spin my knife between my fingers, already getting bored as he gasps for breath and tries to wipe the drool off his chin onto his shirt.

“You’ll let me go if I talk, man? I’ll flee the state and you won’t ever see me again. I’m as good as dead if Hector catches me…” His voice trails off as I give him a blank look, not giving a shit that his boss is going to kill him.

“Yeah, pal, I’ll let you go,” I lie through my teeth, playing along, and hold up my finger in a pinky promise but drop it quickly when I remember his hands are tied behind his back.

I’m really not good at lying. How embarrassing , I think to myself with a low whistle through my teeth.

“Hector wants the girl.” I watch his lips move, form words, but my whole body goes still and it’s like the only thing I can see is blood before it even spills.

If he’s talking about our Tillie, I’ll kill every fucker who thinks they can take her away from me. The thought alone makes me see red. Red as I slit their throats, color my painting in gang members’ blood, and more red as I display my artwork in Tillie’s bedroom right over where she sleeps. She’ll have only peaceful dreams at night knowing I’m cleaning the streets up so that she’s protected.

I think I like this plan.

“What girl?” I ask very slowly, deadly, as I stop my knife mid spin.

“The slut who was dancing all over Dom. Demon Jokers want their property back. Cunt thought she could run away but when your daddy is the president of a fucking motorcycle club, word spreads fast. A pretty penny for her return. I heard the prez is already in Los Angeles.” He shrugs his shoulders and looks up at me with hopeful eyes.

“His daughter?” I whisper the words and my expression must be scary as shit because he shrinks back in his seat and glances nervously around.

“You gonna let me go now? That’s all I know. I swear.” He nods his head in fast movements and wiggles in his seat before clearing his throat.

“I believe you. You’ve been most helpful,” I say as I grab his head in a headlock and tip him back so he’s looking up at me.

I eat up the fear in his eyes, especially as I raise my knife and hold it over his forehead, right above his ridiculous tattoo.

“The fuck, man! You said you would let me go!” he grunts out, his face turning a bright red as he struggles in my grip but it’s useless.

“I lied. Now hold still. I’m just going to cut off your tattoo and have it delivered to Hector as a gift. Oh, and my lady is going to love having your tongue on her shelf. Souvenirs, am I right, man? The best gifts for someone special.” I feel my body relax as the blade skims along the corner of his skull tattoo and blood begins to trail down his face.

I get in the zone, ignoring his ear-shattering screams, and slide my blade through his skin, the cut smooth like butter. The moment the missing piece of flesh off his forehead falls to the ground, I step back to admire my work. He does look better this way. If he was going to live after I’m done with him, I’d bet all the ladies would be falling all over him. My artist work is known around these parts. He would be fucking popular on display, even being dead and all.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the glint of metal and hear the resounding boom before I feel the gang member’s blood coating my face from the bullet wound between his eyes. I blink a couple of times and slowly face Nicky with my mouth hanging open like a gaping fish. Why does Nicky have to ruin my fun? I wasn’t nearly done and I was just starting to have fun.

“What the hell?” I cross my arms, tapping my knife against my bicep as I glare at Nicky.

“We need to go now. Tillie called on Logan’s phone sounding frantic and saying what sounded like a goodbye. We need to get to his house. Now.” His muscles are tight, ripping under his suit jacket and he turns without looking back at me, striding fast to the door in an almost robotic way.

I don’t ask any more questions, not even glancing back at our guest with regret. I’ll come back for the tongue later. My angel is in trouble. I just know it by how stiff Nicky is. By the time I’m busting out the door, his headlights are shining brightly at me as the engine purrs to life. He even reaches across the console to open my door before I can reach the car. Fuck. I hop in like my life depends on it and slam the door as he shifts gears, peeling out of the warehouse parking lot. The tires squeal from the burning rubber at the neck-breaking speed he takes off at.

I smell death on the horizon, bodies are going to drop tonight if someone harms one single hair on her head. Why did she call from Logan’s phone? Did something happen to my brother from another mother? I urge Nicky to drive faster, picturing all the worst possible ways they could be in danger and my chest tightens at the thought of finding them dead. I’ll protect my family at all cost, even if I’m up until dawn burying bodies to hide the evidence. The guys haven’t admitted to having feelings for our girl, but I think it was love at first sight for me… pretty sure those dark eyes sucked my soul out and I just had to have her no matter what. I don’t care what lengths I have to go to keep her by my side even if it requires her being handcuffed to my side for a very, long fucking time.

Our worlds collided like a car crash with shattered glass, our bodies airborne until we reached each other with open arms to embrace, the perfect fit, and now she’s ours. I don’t care who the fuck her dad is, he could be Jesus himself and I’d still corrupt her soul until she comes to terms that I’m never letting her go.

I ask myself how the hell I get into these messes, like how I’m scaling the side of Logan’s house like a freaking ninja under the cloak of darkness and not falling to my death? Gripping the stone wall on the side of his home that leads to Tillie’s balcony, tiny grains of stone bite into the palms of my hands but I grind my teeth as every muscle strains and I take the final leap over the ledge, out of breath like a chain-smoker.

“Fuckkkk. I need to lay off the junk food.” I pat my abs while laying on the stone slab of her balcony, amazed at how defined my stomach still is after I’ve been stuffing my face with Twinkies along with flaming hot Cheetos.

Smoking weed makes you eat the craziest shit. I swear, I was craving pickles and ice cream like a pregnant woman just the other night. It’s easier to lay off the drugs when Tillie is around but the moment she’s out of my sight, it’s like the itch under my skin burns until I’m digging my nails down my arms. I need to get the edge off and weed seems to make my mind go quiet, at least for a little while. Out of all the drugs, Tillie is the best. She’s a dose that goes straight to my system and leaves me feeling like I’m floating.

Bouncing to my feet after catching my breath, I duck beneath her windows and sneak along the side of the house with my calf muscles burning from the climb. I look into her room through the windows only to see the bedroom coated in darkness. The French door’s handles twist with ease under my hand, only a small squeak grinds on the hinges of the door as I slip through the open gap. I can hear my own breathing, loud to my own ears as I pad on silent feet across her carpet. The sound intensifies when I notice a dark spot on the floor at my feet that trails towards her closest.

I’d recognize that copper smell anywhere. Blood.

My heart pounds in hard, rapid beats. For the first time in my life, fear lives and breathes inside of me. What if… What if it’s Tillie behind that closed door? It feels like forever as my hand reaches out to grab the door handle and open it.

“What the hell?!” I grunt out as I’m tackled to the ground.

Without thinking about it, I instantly reach up, wrapping my hand around the guy’s neck as we roll across the floor, but joke’s on me because I find strong fingers grasping my neck in return. Once we smack into the bedframe, the moonlight shines down on us, and I see a flash of light brown eyes. I instantly start cracking up, even if it sounds choked, and loosen my grip from around his neck.

“Damn it, Tey! I could have killed you!” Logan whispers angrily in my face and groans in pain as he rolls to land on his back next to me.

“What a way to go. I always thought I’d die with someone choking me. Either fighting or fucking… maybe both.” My grin spreads across my face at the thought.

“You crazy fucker. We need to find Tillie. Now. I got jumped and her soon to be red ass dragged me into the closet even when I told her to run just before I passed out. My fucking head hurts like a bitch,” he grinds out through clenched teeth and rolls over to his knees before climbing to his feet slowly.

I’d offer a hand to help, but Logan’s pride won’t let anyone help him even when he needs it. I jump to my feet and wait by his side just in case he faints, his skin is a little pale around the edges.

“I know. Nicky and I spotted Demon Jokers out front. He’s going to take out some of the members we spotted while I came to your rescue, princess.” I bow dramatically and quickly stand to dance out of his reach when he growls in anger at my antics.

“How did you guys know to come?” he asked, confused, shaking his head as if to clear it while swaying on his feet.

“Tillie called from your phone. This isn’t good, man. I think there’s more to the story that we overlooked and messed up big time,” I say seriously for the first time ever as I head towards her open bedroom door and peek quickly into the hallway, looking both ways.

It’s quiet, the murmur of voices coming from downstairs grows louder at someone yelling the longer we stand here to see if the coast is clear. I almost miss it but my head swings back towards the staircase when I see a shadow move towards the landing.

“We got company. Thirty seconds,” I whisper with a hand signal which he ignores as he walks behind her bedroom door while I plaster my body against the wall across from him.

I’m going to take the soon to be dead fucker by surprise. Sneaky is my middle name. Actually, that’s a lie. It’s Herbert, but I’m taking that to the grave with me. Gotta protect my reputation. The floorboard creaks outside the doorway and a scuffed up boot appears over the threshold. I quickly grab the leather vest and swing the asshole into the room as Logan shuts the door to block out the Demon Joker’s surprised shout. Logan kicks behind the club member’s knees, making him drop down to the ground with a thud. I wrap my forearm around his throat before he can even recover, my bicep squeezing until he’s turning purple in the face.

“How many downstairs?” Logan asks, getting in front of us and nodding at me to loosen my hold slightly so the asshole can talk.

“I ain’t tellin’ you wannabe thugs shit!” This guy really must be stupid, not seeing the hard, cold look in Logan’s eyes.

I swear his normal light brown eyes turn dark, his pupils expanding with his anger climbing at being called a thug. I think the term he should have used is Mafia. Like, show some fucking respect. Logan completely ignores the dry blood sticking to his eyelid from the wound on his head, his gaze focused on the club member with an intensity that makes me raise my brow. This guy might not make it to answering our questions with the way Logan is staring him down. Gone is the cool and collected guy I know, replaced with a furious Logan that hardly ever comes out to play.

“Is Tillie alive? Is she working for you?” Logan’s voice comes out raspy and stilted, almost like he didn’t want to even ask that last question.

“That cunt?” His laugh comes out dry but cocky and I take a look down at the front of his vest over his shoulder so I can remember his name.

Whiskey… Oh please. Weak ass bitch just likes the drink. He keeps talking even as I tighten my arm around his windpipe in warning. His name is going in my burn book after I kill him. A photo album full of good memories, but bloodier.

“Payne doesn’t let his property inside the club business.” His words come out taunting as a maniacal smile takes over his face. “Have you been inside her tight pussy? Even when it’s dry and bloody, her screams telling us to stop echoes in my ears. Best fuck I’ve ever had.”

Blind rage. That’s all I’m feeling. It’s like a forbidden door with warning signs swinging open and I’m running through it without looking back. Before Logan can stop me, I release my hold on his throat and grab Whiskey by his chin and wrap my other hand across his forehead to break his fucking neck. The loud, twisted crack is like music to my ears, my own kind of music that only I can understand, making my ears ring for more. I drop his dead body to the floor in disgust, wanting to wash my hands to get the dirty feeling off me. The things he said about our girl… I’m going to kill everyone who’s hurt her. I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll get it done. We all will.

“I’m done with this shit. Did this city forget who the fuck I am? I think it’s time we reminded them what exactly we can do. They touched her… Tey, I need you to have my back more than ever tonight, brother.” Logan’s chest heaves up and down as he bares his teeth at the crumpled body at our feet before sending a swift kick to the corpse of Whiskey.

That seems to calm him down a little bit. He takes a deep breath and pushes his hair off his face until he looks somewhat put together. I hold my fist, bumping his, and nod without saying a word. I have his back no matter what comes our way, always have and always will.

“Let’s go save our girl and beg for forgiveness. Nothing hurts her anymore unless it’s us.” I slap his shoulder and start making my way down the dark hallway towards the stairs.

I don’t hear him following but I can feel his menacing presence behind me. The rage is radiating off of him in waves, it feels good to soak those feelings up because it fuels my own. That rage is probably the only thing keeping him from passing out, adrenaline will do that to you too. My phone buzzes in my pocket and when I check the text message flashing on my screen, a grin slips over my lips.

Nicky : Bodies piled out back by the fire pit, going to cause a distraction with some gunpowder. Wait for my signal.

Me: What’s the signal? Does it have to do with the corpses you are collecting of club members? That’s hot.

Nicky: Let’s just say that I’m in a mood to start a bonfire. If you smell burning meat, it’s not BBQ. The signal won’t be hard to miss, trust me.

Me: Ohhh, keep talking dirty to me. Are we sexting now? Okay, let me have a try. So I just had another man in my arms, whose name was Whiskey. My hand around his throat, I could feel his pulse pounding under my fingertips. I held him real close to my body, gripping him tight… just before I snapped his neck and felt him go limp in my arms. How was that? Turn you on?

Nicky: … Tey…. just get ready. Focus on Tillie… but tell me more later.

I have to hold back a chuckle as I send him a kissy face emoji and put my phone away in my back pocket. Glancing up, I realize Logan and I are at the bottom of the stairs with his fist clenched on the front of my shirt as he guided me down each step since I was sexting.

Shit.

His face is like thunder as he glances back at me and smacks the back of my head. I easily get distracted but always get the job done at least. My fingers move in random signals, trying to tell Logan what the plan is but he just stares at me before pinching the bridge of his nose. He looks both ways and shoves me across the hall into the living room next to the kitchen.

“What?” he whispers roughly in my ear, patience thin as he peeks around the corner when we hear Diana screeching like a dying pig in a slaughterhouse.

God, she’s fucking loud. Hopefully someone duct tapes her lips shut so I can concentrate on killing instead of that awful noise coming out of her mouth.

“Nicky is going to cause a distraction so we have a clear path to get Tillie.” I keep my voice low and crouch down by Logan’s legs to see what he’s looking at.

He doesn’t reply, and when I look up at him, his whole body is still. I don’t think he’s even breathing and that alone tells me I’m not going to like what I see. The moment I look back down and glance around the corner, I have to bite down on my knuckle to contain the snarl that climbs up my throat. I take in everything at once. There’s a gun at Diana’s temple as she struggles in a club member’s arms, his patch on his vest over his pec indicates that his name is Poe. I couldn’t care less if she dies. My main focus is on Dalton and the stab wound in his stomach that is bleeding in a steady flow. I can’t tell if he’s breathing from here, he’s not even moving, his still form slumped motionless in the chair. I almost miss it but I catch his arm muscles shifting. My gaze goes straight to the windows behind him to see his fingers moving in the reflection of the glass as he works on those knots of rope around his wrist. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath. Knowing he’s alive makes the tightness in my chest ease, but not a moment later, that tightness is back when I hear her, my heart stopping at the sound.

“No. No. No. No.” Tillie keeps muttering the word under her ragged breath and I’m almost scared to look at her to figure out why her voice comes out desperately broken and lost.

My hand grabs for my knife before I realize what I’m doing, ready to fling it across the room at one of the two fuckers holding her down. Logan grasps my wrist before I can send the blade flying and shakes his head silently without even glancing down at me. I look at Tillie and back at Logan, feeling my body vibrating with the need to do something, anything. Logan’s eyes are veiled, his gaze unblinking as he stares at the back of Franco’s head that’s currently between Tillie’s legs. I’ve never had respect for Franco but never really had thoughts of killing him either. Okay, that’s a lie. I daydream of killing all the time and he’s been in a few of those fantasies but the urge to rip his throat out with my bare hands right here, right now, is unbelievably strong for daring to eat my girl out.

No one can see us, all their attention on Tillie as she trembles like a baby deer under Payne’s relentless, tight hold. I recognize him from all the photos Nicky uploaded on his computer as he’s been digging into the club business and Tillie’s background. This is her dad. Her fucking dad holding a gun towards Dalton as he laughs and watches her stepdad go down on her.

“You’re going to come all over his tongue or I’ll put a bullet through lover boy’s head over here.” Payne waves his gun threateningly in a gleeful tone and makes Tillie spread her legs wider by kicking her feet farther apart with his boot.

I don’t think she hears him, her eyes are hazy like she’s not really here but she whimpers and pinches her eyes closed as her body starts to shake under Franco’s tongue. The fucker’s not even pretending to not enjoy her pussy, he’s practically a starving man as he laps at her lower lips.

She’s going to come whether she wants to or not. Her head is telling her no, the one word she keeps chanting, but she doesn’t have control of her body.

“He’s dead to me,” Logan hisses through his clenched teeth and I know he’s talking about Franco.

There’s a difference between being forced to do something and wanting to. The way Franco groans and picks up speed on her clit tells me he’s happy right where he is. I’m going to cut out his tongue and shove it up his ass. I don’t fucking care that he’s built his own empire, a Don to his mafia, and has hundreds of followers. I’ll be there when he takes his last breath. That’s a promise I intend to keep for hurting my angel.

Logan’s whole body shakes with uncontrollable anger and he moves out from behind our hiding spot before Nicky can even give us the signal. So much for the plan, but I can’t sit back and watch any more of this without doing something either.

“You have one second to get your hand off my girl or fucking die,” Logan says in a deadly calm voice as he steps into the light of the kitchen.

All heads turn our way but Franco’s as I stand next to Lo with my arms crossed, pretending to be bored even though I’m all pent-up with the urge to murder. I notice Tillie’s whole body sinks in Payne’s hold like she can’t hold herself up anymore, relieved that someone is here for her.

Has no one ever been there for her? Well, that’s about to change.

“Ah, this must be the son.” Payne looks at Logan with a raised brow and dismisses him easily like he’s not a threat.

Wrong move. Logan’s the animal you don’t see coming until it strikes, a monster that’s going to enjoy tearing Payne apart, limb by limb.

Franco glances over his shoulder, wiping his gleaming lips on the shoulder of his fancy jacket as he looks at Logan with eyes void of any emotion.

“Logan.” Franco slowly rises to his feet with his lip curling into a satisfied smirk with cold, dead eyes.

My best friend takes a threatening step forward. I’m not sure if he planned to go for the Demon Jokers’ president or his father, but glass shattering from the French doors on the other side of the kitchen causes us to all duck. Guess we’ll never know who would have been on the receiving end of Logan’s punishing and murdering intent due to Nicky’s distraction. I didn’t know he could make a small bomb out of gunpowder, color me surprised when he can make something explode out of something so small and simple. I guess a bonfire turns into a fourth of July firework show when it comes to Nicky…Show-off. The heat of the fire pit blazes so high into the night sky that I can even feel the warmth of the fire from here. I jump into action just as an anguished roar echoes around the kitchen. Dalton tears out of the rope like the hulk and takes off at a run to tackle Poe to the ground in a football move that would even impress a college scout. Diana goes flying off somewhere, but I’m already leaping across the kitchen island to land right by Tillie. I don’t have any flying fucks to give what happens to her mother, she can fend for herself for all I care. I catch Tillie as her legs collapse and quickly guide her out of harm’s way as Logan fights with Payne for the gun.

“You motherfucker! You dare to put your hands on what’s mine!” Logan bellows, delivering a swift punch to Payne’s kidney that has him keeling over with a grunt of pain.

Franco just stands there, fixing his suit jacket so it’s straight then bends down to grab the gun that slides across the floor at his feet. Looks like Dalton got the weapon out of Poe’s hold, and it sounds like he’s going to town punching the club member with his big fists. Maybe beating him to death, I want to watch but my gaze is locked on Franco as he calmly lifts the gun and pulls the trigger. Tillie jerks in my hold as blood splashes against us both like a warm shower spray. Her body goes stiff as she watches Logan slump against the cabinet and wipes blood from his upper lip as he breathes hard.

“No! What have you done?!” Tillie screams hysterically, her voice hoarse as she struggles in my hold like a wildcat.

She slips out of my hands before I can stop her and drops to her knees beside Payne. My angel gazes down at him with tears streaking down her beautiful face, looking at the perfect bullet hole between Payne’s eyes. She makes a fist and brings it down onto the once President of a motorcycle club’s chest. Tillie does it again, harder this time until she’s using both hands and screaming out like a broken animal. I stare at her, knowing this has nothing to do with the pain of losing someone you love.

“Baby girl,” Logan whispers and wipes the splattered blood off his hands before wiping a tear off her cheek with his thumb.

“No!” She swats his hand away and shakily climbs to her feet, turning towards Franco as she sobs uncontrollably. “You had no right! It was supposed to be me! His death was going to be by my hands!” Her voice comes out shaky and defeated, but the look she gives Franco is the strongest I’ve ever seen her.

Rage shines in her tear-filled eyes, even as she chokes on her sobs, she swings back her arm and slaps Franco with everything she has before I can stop her.

His head whips to the side, a red handprint darkening his cheek and he rubs a hand over the spot as he glances back at Tillie with hard eyes. I don’t like that look in his gaze that’s a mix between fury and lust, it has me stepping over Payne’s body to pull her into my body and away from him as she goes limp like everything that’s happened is hitting her at once.

“I’ll let it slide this one time, little girl. You have a week to get yourself together and then come back home by your own will or by my hand,” Franco orders darkly and strides over to Diana, gripping her by the elbow to drag her shaking body out of the room without looking back.

I don’t bother looking at anyone, I know Logan will look after Dalton as I take care of our girl. I pick Tillie up, cradling her in my arms, and hold her close to my chest. Walking over the shattered glass and through the French doors, I keep going until I’m sinking into the warm shallow end of the pool. I don’t care if my clothes get wet, the only thing that matters is healing my Angel who hasn’t said one word to me or protested my actions. She lays her cheek against my chest, inhaling a shaky breath as I switch her position so her legs can wrap around my waist. She lets me walk us deeper into the water until it starts turning a bright red against the light blue water. Her father’s blood washes off our bodies, leaving behind the smell of chlorine instead of the strong scent of copper. I don’t glance over as a shadow falls above us, staying silent as he watches us from the edge of the pool. Not even a minute later, a small splash beside us lets me know he is done waiting. My eyes meet Nicky’s over Tillie’s shoulder when he steps closer and moves her hair off of her shoulder. She doesn’t move, just stares off in the distance and sinks into my body as Nicky steps up behind her back. He places his chin on her shoulder, sliding his arms around until I feel his hands grip my waist and just holds her tightly between our bodies until there’s hardly room to breathe.

“We got you,” I whisper down at her and cradle her closer just so I know she’s really in my arms.