3. Daphne Eight Out Of Ten #2
“Fuck you.” Wolfe kicked him hard in the stomach. “She is sick, and she needs to go to the hospital. But you didn’t know that, did you?”
He landed another blow, and Rinley keeled over, gasping for air.
“She could have died while you were plowing some infected piece of ass.”
“She is fine, man.”
“I told you,” Wolfe’s fist hit Rinley’s teeth with a bloody splatter. “I am not your man. And you know what? I’m beginning to think you are not hers either. You can’t even take care of her.”
“What are you talking about? Molls and I have been together forever.” Rinley’s bleary eyes went wide with panic when he caught the warning in Wolfe’s tone.
“And yet, forever hasn’t taught you a goddamn thing. But don’t worry, she’s a club wife, and we take care of our own. Maybe Blade or Nathem could look after her and the kid, huh? Their dicks are clean.”
“No!” Rinley tried a pathetic swing, but Wolfe stepped aside easily.
“What the fuck do you mean, no?”
“I mean… NO fucking way are those assholes touching my woman.” Rinley stood, tucking himself into his pants. “She is mine!”
“Oh, really?” Wolfe jerked him back by the hair, locking into his eyes. “Then fucking act like it. Get her ass to the hospital and don’t leave until she has a care plan and something Jace can follow. Do you understand me?”
“Yeah.” Rinley swallowed hard.
“And you better treat her like a goddamn princess, or I’ll make good on my decision to allow someone else a shot. Now go.”
Rinley coughed, his feet barely shuffling under him as he lunged for the stairs, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw me on the other side of the rail.
“Fucking hellcat,” he spat, a clump of snot and mouth juice landing on my arm. I gagged, wiping it on the wall. “Should have known you had something to do with this!”
“Rinley?” Threx’s voice came from behind him, and terror bled into his eyes. Wolfe was scary, but he wouldn’t cross boundaries unless he had to. But with Threx, there were no lines; there was just me and everyone else.
“Do you want to fucking die tonight? Because I know,” a bitter laugh swept through the room, “that you did not just spit on my woman for trying to save yours!”
Rinley swallowed but did not turn around. He only shot more daggers into me and every other weapon his mind could conjure until he was sure that I was dead.
“Why aren’t you pulling Threx’s dick out of their mouth?” Rinley turned to face Wolfe, who, I presume, was close. Not that I could tell with the shadow caging me in.
Rinley never liked me much when we lived together, but it became worse the second I chose my life over living under one of theirs. In his eyes, I had betrayed them, and still was.
“Oh, that’s right, Boss Man, because Daphne, the do-gooder, sucks yours too!”
Then, like a scared cat, Rinley jumped over the banister, slamming me into the wall.
“I am going to fucking end you,” Rinley licked his teeth at me, but nothing inside me responded. Not my pulse. Not my fear. Not my give-a-fuck. Because I was not afraid of him.
“Take care of Molly,” I bit out. “She is really sick, Rinley, and she needs you.”
The narcissistic bastard rolled his eyes, pushing off me.
“You know I dispose of bodies for a living, right?” He laughed, throwing his hands in the air like the dickwad he was.
I shouted over his threat, “Don’t let her fall asleep in the car,” as I stomped down the stairs to make sure he heard me. “And be prepared.”
“For what?” He turned around to mock me to my face.
“For the worst,” I said, dropping the pretense. I was worried about Molly, and I did not know how to make this dead man feel.
Rinley took a breath, the color in his cheeks burning red-hot.
“You too.” He smiled, but it fell flat when his attention drifted up to the balcony where Threx stood with his arms dangling over the side, smirking at the walking corpse in front of me.
“Rinley,” I snapped, swallowing hard. “Look at me.”
His fretful eyes met mine in a mad dash.
“I’ll get him off your ass if you agree to take care of her.”
His eyes shot up at Threx.
“Rinley?” I threw my hands out to get his attention. “Do you promise?”
He considered the question before twisting his neck into a single nod.
“Good. Go to UW, not Swedish, okay?” I explained as he pulled his shirt over her head and took her by the arm.
I knew this wasn’t over, but I was too tired to ponder all the horrors this man was capable of. Instead, I made my way to the bar and hopped over it, looking for a bottle of whiskey that was mostly full that I could drown myself in.
“You have balls,” Lyla pulled out a glass for a naked customer and raised it in the air at me. “I’ll give you that.”
“Love you,” I planted a kiss on her cheek when I found what I was looking for and slinked around the back.
“Wolfe or Threx?” she shouted, wondering who to charge it to.
“Rinley,” I cheesed with a wink, and Lyla snorted, watching me disappear behind her and out the side door.
I’d had enough partying for one evening. Maybe one lifetime.
My hands reached for the silver knob leading into the cool night air when everything stopped.
“Daphne,” a rough voice brushed against my neck, pulling me back by the hips. “You are in so much fucking trouble.”