Chapter 19 Diego
NINETEEN
DIEDO
“You worthless piece of dogshit!”
I heard Puck’s words as I watched him charge me, and the first thing I thought was to get in front of Ruby.
She held her arms out, trying to push me behind her as I slipped off to the side.
Puck’s eyes stayed with me, as if he were tracking me like some sort of A.I.
robot. And just as I lunged in front of his sister, his arms reached out for my neck.
So I grabbed his upper arms and twisted him away from Ruby.
“Dude, come on. She’s going to get hurt,” I grunted.
“Puck, no!” she shrieked.
He slammed me into a wall, knocking the wind out of my lungs. “I’m going to make sure you never see the light of day again, you sorry excuse for a man.”
“Puck, stop!” Ruby shrieked.
That was the last thing I heard before Puck’s fist connected with my jawline.
My body collapsed onto the floor and I kicked my leg around and brought that asshole right down with me.
I scrambled to get on top of him, hoping I could defend my wound better if I had the upper hand, but the second Puck wrapped his meaty hand around my throat, the pain from my shoulder ricocheted throughout my entire body causing me to go limp.
“Stupid bastard!” he growled.
Ruby rushed to him. “Get off him. You’re going to hurt him more! Stop it!”
The next moment happened almost in slow motion.
I watched Puck knock his hand back, dislodging Ruby’s grip on him.
I watched her eyes widen as she stumbled backwards, with her brother still swatting at her.
And when she stumbled into my nightstand, I watched the lamp fall on her head before she collapsed to the ground.
But not before she knocked the back of it against the corner.
“You’re gonna die for what you were trying to do,” Puck growled.
Ruby groaned out in pain and my vision dripped with red. I scrambled up from the floor and met Puck face-to-face, where he clenched his hands at his sides just as I readied myself for a fight. My eyes darted over his shoulder, watching as Ruby pulled herself up from the floor.
And when I saw blood on her fingertips, I lost it.
“She’s bleeding,” I said flatly.
Puck stood to his feet. “Not as much as you’re going to be.”
My shoulders hunched. “She’s fucking bleeding, you stupid fuck.”
Puck narrowed his eyes. “Oh, now I’m going to actually kill you.”
Ruby whimpered. “Please, stop.”
I charged him this time and sent him flying.
I shoved my hands into his chest and watched him stumble on his feet before I swung my arm around and cracked him with the back of my hand.
Ruby screamed and footsteps rushed up the stairs before I felt hands on my body physically pulling me away from Puck.
I wasn’t sure how I got him down on the ground beneath me, but it wasn’t until Ruby’s voice towered over all of us that I refocused.
“I’m a grown ass woman that can take care of myself, and the only thing you two are doing is embarrassing yourselves!”
I looked over at her, ready to acknowledge how she was right, and I had been an idiot to even think of fighting her brother, who I honestly hoped to win over one day. But the cock of a gun silenced everyone before I turned back to Puck.
And found his gun leveled with my forehead.
“No!” Ruby exclaimed.
I tilted my head. “You don’t have the balls.”
Puck’s hand shook. “Wanna bet?”
“Enough!” Stone roared.
But Ruby didn’t listen.
In a flash, she lunged in front of me and pulled out the gun around her thigh. She aimed it right at her brother, who stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. And as Texas released me, I softly reached my hand around her body to disarm her.
But she swatted at my hand.
“Ruby,” I murmured.
She shook her head. “Put the gun down, Puck.”
He cocked his head. “Not before you do, sis.”
She shook her head again. “No can do. You’re the one that pulled first. That means you’re the risk. You holster, then I do. Otherwise…”
“What the fuck is going on!?” Stone bellowed.
I heard one last rush of footsteps before Notch’s voice soared over my head. “What in the absolute hell is happening right now?”
Puck growled. “Diego’s a fucking spy and he’s trying to get close to Ruby. I told you guys she was the weak link. I told you this would happen.”
I blinked. “Wait, you think your sister’s weak? Are you insane? She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met.”
Ruby snickered. “Yeah, you’d think that. You always think I’m the weak one. It makes you feel better about your pin-needle dick.”
Stone stepped in front of all of us and held out his hands. “Why don’t we all just calm down and talk like reasonable people instead of doing exactly what the cartel wants and ripping ourselves apart from the inside out. Yeah? Sound good?”
I sighed. “He’s just being overprotective of his sister. I can’t fault him for that.”
Ruby scoffed. “An overprotective asshole, sure.”
“Puck?” Notch asked.
And when his eye twitched, he quickly put down his gun.
“All right, Ruby, your turn,” I murmured.
She peered over her shoulder at me before she uncocked her gun and put it back in the holster around her hip. And had we been alone at all, she would’ve gotten the innocence fucked out of her for what she had just done for me.
I love this woman beyond compare.
“Whatever. You’re all assholes,” Puck hissed.
Then, he marched out of the room, leaving all of us to look around with our thumbs up our asses while our lips stayed zipped.
“Well,” Stone said as he turned to face me and Ruby, “anyone want to tell me what the fuck that was about?”