Chapter 12
“I don’t understand why I can’t stay at my own apartment.” I hate not having my own things around me. There’s no reason why they can’t keep an eye on me there.
Hawk’s eye twitches. He’s been looking at me differently since the other night. The longing is deeper. The hunger, more feral. “Because after you and Scarrow decided to send your stalker a video of you giving him a blowjob, it’s not safe for you there. Kane doesn’t know our house.”
“You don’t know that,” I snap. I cross my arms and slump back against the couch. “He could be lurking outside right now.”
Omen grits his teeth, equally annoyed as I am that we have to occupy the same space. “This is pathetic. If she wants to die so fucking badly, just let her. I’m over the attitude.”
Scarrow shakes his head. “Look, the video was my idea. Sorry, it was a hot-headed decision. But Kane needs to understand who he’s messing with.”
Hawk kneels in front of me and rests his hands on my thighs. “We are better equipped to handle things here. Trust me. I don’t know your place the way I do mine. Please, just be good for me, Cherry. Do as I say for once.”
Something about the way he asks, assuming I can never say no to him, makes me wet. The ache in his voice hits deeper now that I know what his cock feels like inside me. It gives me goose pimples everywhere. I want to obey him, dammit.
“Fine. I’ll stay. But I need some more clothes and toiletries.
This place looks like a stale bachelor pad.
” I concede. I give in. Because that’s what I always do for Hawk.
We’re like a broken record. He either saves me, covers for me, or fixes some wounded part of my soul, and then I get on my knees and do as he says.
He lets out a sigh of relief and stalks to the door. He grabs his leather jacket off the chair and motions to Scar. “We’ll grab a few more things for you later tonight. Just be good for Omen and we’ll see you in the morning.”
What the fuck? I bolt up from the couch. “Wait a second. That is not what I agreed to. You can’t leave me alone with the grim reaper again.”
Scarrow grabs my waist and pulls me to him. “Relax, baby girl. He’s all bark and no bite. Unlike you. So play nice and don’t leave any marks.” He winks before heading out the door.
I glare at Hawk. “When will you be back?”
“By the time you wake up tomorrow. Have a few drinks and get a good night’s sleep. Everything’s gonna be okay soon, Cherry. I promise.” He kisses my cheek and then ducks his head like the shy teenage boy he used to be.
I let out a loud groan when he slams the door behind him. “Fuck,” I mutter. I spin around to find Omen glaring back at me.
“You better chill, mama. I don’t like this either. Not one fucking bit.” He storms into the kitchen before I can retort with another snarky comeback.
I need a drink so I reluctantly follow after him. I can’t help but chuckle under my breath though when I hear him cursing to himself. It’s loud enough for me to hear, but all in Spanish so I can only make out every other word. Something about me being a spoiled brat who needs a muzzle and a leash.
I pour myself a double shot of tequila since it’s the only bottle I see on the counter. I don’t want to go rummaging around in their cabinets. The more comfortable I allow myself to feel here, the more I will normalize the situation. I’m not ready to admit my feelings for any of them just yet.
Omen shoots his drink then pours another one, all while glaring daggers at me. “Grim reaper. Fuck you, Cherry. You’re out here collecting way more souls than me.”
I grit my teeth and knock back two shots in a row, forcing myself to bite my tongue even though he enrages me just by breathing. “And oh how you won’t ever let me forget it.”
He rolls up his sleeves before bracing his hands on the table. It’s the only thing between us. The only object keeping him from grabbing onto me instead. I can’t help the flutter in my belly, the tingle between my thighs.
“Because your conscious is clean, mama. Ain’t that right?” He and I both down another shot of expensive tequila while locked in a glaring contest. But it’s hard not to let my eyes wander up the length of his perfectly sculpted forearms.
I blow out a deep breath. “Is that what you really think? That I’m somehow unscathed and unbothered by the fact that I murdered three people? Well, just because I don’t walk around moping about it like you do, doesn’t mean I sleep at night.”
He huffs and backs away from the table. “Could’ve fooled me. All you seem to care about is getting dicked-down by your own brother. You slept real good after that the other night.”
I feel my cheeks heat, my blood boiling. I spring up from the table. “Look, I’m sorry you got stuck with me tonight, but you don’t have to be so fucking mean. He’s my stepbrother. You know this. And that’s not all I care about. I have a life. A business to run. And a—”
He snickers. “What you have is a stalker, a bar that barely breaks even every month, and an obsession with a man who spent most of his life pushing you away. Oh, and let’s not forget your preacher daddy who can barely look at you because he’s so ashamed of what a slut you’ve become.”
I’m murderous. Again. Fucking bastard. All rationale goes out the window when I pick up my shot glass and chuck it at him. He ducks and it shatters behind him, creating a mess of jagged glass on the terracotta tiles.
Every inch of me is shaking. “Fuck you, Omen. You need to shut your fucking mouth. Yeah, maybe I’m not making as much money as the three of you, but at least I’m earning an honest living.
You want to stand there and judge me for what I did?
Well, what about you? How many people have you killed for money?
Or for power? I was fucking sexually assaulted, Omen.
I killed them so they would never do it again to anyone else.
” I’m fucking fuming. I fear my face is bright red now.
He looks away, suddenly not wanting to make eye contact. “Whatever. I got work to do. Just stay out of my fucking way tonight.”
He loosens his tie, slides it off, and throws it on the table before stalking back into the living room.
Oh, no you don’t. You don’t get to just insult me and then walk away.
I chase after him, stomping hard across the hardwood floors so he can hear my rage as well as feel it.
“Maybe if you dicked someone down once in a while you wouldn’t be such a son of a bitch.
Is that what your problem is, Omen? Did your mommy not love you enough?
I think maybe that’s why you hate women so much. ”
Omen backs me up against the wall until we’re nose to nose. “You’re a fucking brat.”
“And you’re an asshole.” I try to skirt around him but he’s got me boxed in.
He pins my wrists above my head. “You better watch what you say to me, baby girl. You got Scar and Hawk wrapped around your little finger… But I’d rather break mine before I let you sink your claws in.”
I hate him so much and yet I don’t. Fuck me. “Fine. Whatever. Let me go.”
“Only if you ask nicely. Say: please, let me go, sir.”
“Fuck you.” I try to get away again, but he’s not budging.
“Say it, Cherry. Please, let me go, sir,” he repeats. There’s a sadistic gleam in his eye. A twinkle of amusement as he humiliates me.
“No. I will not. You don’t deserve my respect.” If this man thinks I’m going to submit to him, he’s crazier than he looks right now.
Omen presses his thumbs hard into my wrists. “You know, just because you have a cunt, doesn’t mean you should act like one.”
I’m going to kill him. Well, when I get free. “Fuck you, Omen.” I gather a huge wad of saliva and spit in his face. It lands on his upper lip.
He licks it off then slams my wrists hard against the wall.
He hovers his wet lips over mine, close enough that we can feel each other’s breath.
“You’re nothing but a piece of white trash with no friends, no man, and no fucking self-respect.
Shit, even your own daddy barely likes you.
Your pussy is the only thing you’re good for. Well, according to your brother.”
The white-hot rage that flows through my veins surges. I spit again, this time landing a decent size glob on his cheek. “You don’t know shit. Fuck you and fuck your tiny fucking dick.”
His nostrils flare as he goes for my throat. He grips it tight. “Lick it off.”
Fucker shouldn’t have let me have a hand free. “Go to hell.” I slap him hard against the side of his head. He doesn’t move a fucking muscle. But my spit slides down his face. Fuck.
He grabs his pistol from behind his pants and jams it under my chin, forcing my head back against the wall. “Has anyone ever made you cum and cry at the same time? Hmm? Hit me again and I’ll show you what that’s like. I’ll make you fucking hate yourself.”
My stomach turns. Shit. I’ve gone too far. He’s unhinged. I think I’m gonna have a damn heart attack.
“What, no smart ass reply? Not as tough as you look, are ya? You think you’re such a badass but you’re nothing but a pathetic little slut with—”
“Shut the fuck up!” I scream in his face against my better judgement. “Did you forget you take orders from Hawk? You’re a glorified bodyguard. Clearly he trusts Scar more with the business. Looks like you’re the pathetic one now.”
His grip tightens around my throat and his pupils dilate, so black they bleed into his irises. “One of these days I swear to god, Cherry… Fuck.”
For a split second I think he’s going to kill me. To squeeze the life out of me until my eyes bulge and I suffocate to death. Or put a bullet in my head. But he lets me go with a huff and stomps off.
I should let him go. I should walk away too. But I can’t help myself. I’m fucking heated, and I don’t like him getting the last word.
Within seconds, I’m hot on his heels and cursing as I chase after him. I follow him all the way down the hall but stop before crossing the threshold into his bedroom.