Chapter Four-Luc
CHAPTER FOUR-LUC
I don’t often give into my rage. Anger unbound is a destructive thing.
Weaponized, it is downright lethal.
That’s how I feel when I see that asshole reach across the bar for Maria.
Lethal.
Fucking homicidal.
Physical violence is no stranger to me. But I prefer to exact my vengeance in other ways these days.
But every now and then, someone asks for it, and this motherfucker is asking for it.
The second I spotted him moving in aggressively towards Maria, I leave my office where I’ve been watching the security feed for the last twenty minutes.
Nodding at Anna and her friend as I pass, I frown as I move closer to the bar.
To her.
I don’t know how I know shit is about to go bad. But I always know.
It’s part of why I’m the fucking Council.
Violence is not the answer to everything. But it is the answer to some things.
I learned that very early in life.
Usually, I keep certain things locked up tight in compartmentalized boxes inside my brain.
It’s like a filing system.
I am not saying I have a photographic memory, but it’s close enough.
Right now, I’m using my almost eidetic brain to bring up what I know about fighting.
Things I learned on the streets and everything Angel taught me.
I pull it all to me as I stride angrily across the floor.
I am close now.
So close, I hear that motherfucker call Maria a puta , a whore, and I push my sleeves up.
I’m already going to knock his teeth out for that.
But when he slaps his hand drunkenly across the bar, knocking over the full glass of water and hitting her with it, I lose all semblance of control.
I feel our guys surround us as my fist makes contact with that piece of shit’s jaw.
Angel is there, too.
I can hear him calling me off, but I don’t fucking listen to him.
I don’t know what Maria is to me. I have no claim. No reason to behave this way.
I don’t give a fuck.
I’ve come a long way from that street rat I used to be. But deep down, at my core, I am still who I am.
Luc Batiste.
The last in my family to survive this fucking city.
Lawyer.
Criminal.
Man.
I’ve done bad things in my lifetime. Some under the guise of doing good.
Others, well, others just because I fucking can.
Who we are, what we are, the Vipers?
Well, that’s all I know.
But watching Nico and Anna, I feel like maybe I can be more.
Maybe I can have more.
She might have come here looking for the king. But she’s gonna leave here with me.
It all starts with claiming. And as I spill the blood of this unfortunate fuck across the Den’s floor, that’s what I’m doing.
I am well aware of the consequences of my actions. But I don’t stop.
I can’t.
And with every punch I land across this fuck’s miserable face I feel anticipation rise in my bones.
The crowd’s been pushed back. The music is still thumping. And my heart is pounding inside my chest.
My opponent, though he isn’t much of one, goes limp, and I drop his sorry ass on the cold floor.
Then I spit on the ground beside his head.
My gaze meets Maria’s wide-eyed one, and I address her directly for the first time since I stomped over there.
Her shirt is clinging to her big tits, the silk hopelessly ruined and showing her nipples blatantly to any motherfucker with eyes. She’s got water dripping from her hair, down her face, and her mascara is smeared.
Last thing I notice, there are shards of glass everywhere.
That’s it. I can’t take it.
“My office. Now.”
I’m shocked I can even form sentences. My chest is heaving. Even though I just finished bashing my fist into this asshole’s face, I’m still amped up.
But the idea Maria is hurt, possibly by some stray shard of glass, that she’s just standing there soaked and stunned has me ready to go another ten rounds.
I turn my back and start walking to my office. The sounds of men getting the fuck out of my way reached my ears, and I hear Angel barking orders.
But those aren’t the sounds I want to hear.
I close my eyes. And finally, I hear it.
Her footsteps. Right behind me.
Fuck. Yes.
I’ve been watching Maria for months. I know just the sound her leather boots make when she walks across the barroom floor.
Stalking her from the shadows has become my guilty little secret.
My obsession.
My passion.
I’m always watching her. Always wanting her.
But I never act. Except for now.
Tonight, by walloping that dude, I claimed her in front of the whole fucking nest of Vipers.
Tonight, Maria is finally mine.