Chapter 20 #2
The walking dead man doesn’t even bat an eyelid and instead winces.
“Oh shit. The bitch didn’t even tell you?
Oh man, sorry to tell you this, but yeah, she’s got some kind of bust pussy or something.
Can’t have kids. Although that’s probably for the best, since she’s borderline crazy and has so many problems. Too many for one man to deal with long term, but she’s perfect as a short-term fuck.
” He just rambles on, completely unaware that we’re seconds from killing him and not Ollie.
I don’t listen to his words. They could be lies for all I know, and the state of Ollie’s reproductive organs or mental health are none of my business. No, I have bigger things to deal with. Starting with this fucker.
I grab the man by the throat and slam him back against the perimeter wall. He makes a choked squeak, his muddy eyes widening with a mixture of horror, fear, and disdain. Alex moves to my left, using his bulk to hide us from any wandering eyes, while Theo stands to my right, boxing Ethan in.
“I suggest you listen to me very carefully because I’m only going to say this once,” I growl as I flex my hand around his throat, feeling it bob as he swallows.
I’d rather just kill the prick now, but there are too many witnesses around, and the last thing we need is to get into a fight with the entire community.
It’d be a waste of bullets and time, so I’ll have to settle for threatening the fucker and scaring the shit out of him.
Judging from his quivering mess of a body, I’d say I’m doing a good job of that.
Killing him would be more satisfying.
“If I ever hear you talk about Ollie or even so much as fucking look at her, I’m going to rip your limbs from your body and leave you for the infected to eat. You got that?”
The shit stain nods jerkily. “Y-yes,” he whimpers, barely able to get his words out around the hand clenched around his throat.
“And that’s after we cut your balls off with a rusty knife and feed them to you,” Alex says, sounding more like a pissed off bear than a person.
He’s usually the softest out of the three of us, but not today.
His body is vibrating with barely restrained rage and he looks every bit like the intimidating rugby player he once was.
“And don’t even think about telling anyone about this,” Theo adds, his eyes like steel even as a bloodthirsty grin stretches across his lips.
“Otherwise, everything they just threatened you with will be a walk in the fucking park compared to what I’d do.
I’m a former paramedic; I have ways of making you suffer for fucking days without killing you. ”
Ethan’s eyes practically bug out of his skull at Theo’s words, and I can’t help but chuckle darkly. He may be the comedian out of the group, but the guy can be a fucking psychopath when he wants to be. There’s a reason he took up MMA fighting as a side gig and it’s not because he enjoys fitness.
I squeeze Ethan’s throat once more before releasing him. He collapses to the ground, coughing and gasping as he rubs his bruised neck. “Run along now before I change my mind.” I rest my hand on the hilt of my knife.
That threat is enough for him to scramble to his feet and race as fast as he can away from us. Sometimes people forget that there’s a reason why the three of us are the ones that always get sent out of Haven.
“Do you think he’ll keep quiet?” Theo asks in a low voice.
I shrug. “He’s a coward, so probably. But if he doesn’t, I’ll handle him.” My lips curl into a wolfish smile.
He nods. “Good. But we still need to talk about—”
“What are you guys up to?” Ollie asks, her voice thick with suspicion. She somehow snuck up on us with her horse and dog in tow while we watched Ethan run away with his tail between his legs.
“Nothing,” I say as I turn toward her. “Just talking strategy in case something happens.”
“Sure.” Her eyes narrow. She can tell we’re hiding something from her, but I think we all agree that she doesn’t need us to tell her what a piece of shit her ex is. Or that he told us something incredibly personal about her, which I’m sure will piss her off if we knew.
“Are you ready to leave?” I ask her, steering the conversation away from that whole can of worms. I don’t want to stand here and think about my overly protective feelings for her, not when I know for sure she’ll never want me back.
And that’s without considering that there are two other people vying for her attention.
She eyes us for a moment longer—or, well, Theo and me, she’s still avoiding any contact with Alex—before nodding. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Good. Let’s get moving. The sooner we’re on the road, the better.” I march off toward the front gate, eager to get out of this place.
Maybe if we’re quick enough, we can save Ollie’s brother and have her on her way back home before things get too serious between her and us. And then I won’t have to worry about losing my best friends that are like brothers to me.
However, as we make our way through the gate and along the road, I have this sinking feeling that it’s too late. We’re already in too deep.