Chapter Ten
Calvin
It’s been a week since I dropped her back in her tiny apartment. A whole week since I slept in my own house; the seat in my car has become my makeshift bed. I move my body side to side to get rid of numbness setting in like it always does when I sit here and watch her apartment building. I’m fucking pissed that the dickhead Malcolm got away from me, but at least he didn’t manage to get her. She thinks he wouldn’t have harmed her, but she didn’t see what the prick had in the boot of his car.
I mean, I’m no stranger to a little bit of torture here and there, but never have I done it a woman, no matter how many of them piss me off at times. This dude was prepared to tie her up and do god knows what to her. I grind my back teeth together just thinking about Nixie getting hurt. That’s never going to happen. Not on my watch. I’ve felt the urge to protect since the first night I saw her in my club, and that’s not going to stop now, whether she likes me watching her from afar or not.
The sound of my phone ringing throughout the car pulls me back from my thoughts. I look at the dash to see that it’s Reid calling. I’ve been ignoring him the past few days, better answer him to put his mind at ease.
Pressing the green answer button, his voice comes through the car.
“Nice of you to finally pick up the phone,” he snarks at me.
“What can I say, I’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, I know. Sitting outside a shitty apartment complex, watching the girl.”
“And how would you know such a thing? Stalking me again?”
“Because I’m your brother, dickhead. Someone’s got to look out for you whilst your guard’s down.”
“My guard is not down!” I shout at him.
“Oh really?” he questions.
“Really. I can promise you, my guard is always up.”
“Hmm, we shall see about that.” He hangs up the phone.
A couple minutes pass and there’s a knock on my window, making me jump a little. I reach for the knife that’s tucked in the center console of my car. I turn to the window to find Reid there, his very own gun pointed at my head through the window. I roll the window down to meet his hard gaze.
“If your guard was up, you would have seen me pull up behind you and walk toward the car. Your guard may be up for protecting her, but you’re not protecting yourself, brother.”
I know he is right, but I’m not going to tell him that. He doesn’t understand the need to protect her. Sure, we know to protect each other and a small few around us. But this is different.
“Anyway,” he interrupts my thoughts again, “I came looking for you because I have news, brother.” The evil smile on his face tells me everything I need to know.
“You found him, didn’t you?”
“Oh, we sure have, and he isn’t as tough as he tries to make out. Jay is with him at the warehouse, if you want to get over there before he has all the fun.” He taps the roof of my car and walks back to his.
Like hell am I going to let someone else have all the fun. That fucker is mine to torment. I take a glance up to where Nixie’s room is. I know she’s tucked in for the night. She hasn’t left her building all week, not even for work. I’m wondering if that’s because she knows I’m out here, and she doesn’t want to see me. I chuckle at the thought that she thinks her being locked away will keep her from me. I start the car and speed off in the direction of the warehouse. I notice Reid following me.
Fucker wants to make sure I don’t go to stupid with the guy. The thought makes me smirk.
Malcolm has no idea what’s about to hit him.
The warehouse is more of an underground bunker that is just on the property line of my house and is connected to the house by tunnels. When we had it built a few years back, we knew we wanted somewhere that could be easily accessible for us both, and this definitely fits the picture. I pull up to the gates and press the button to open them, and the tires roll over the gravel driveway until I stop outside the double garage. Reid parks next to me and we walk into the garage. In the far left corner is the door that we need. Reid walks over first and unlocks it, whilst I go to the tool bench and pick up a few friends to take with me.
“Seriously, Cal, we have enough shit down there for your sick game.”
“Yeah, but these babies haven’t been christened yet,” I tell him as I pick up a pair of pliers, a screwdriver and a rubber mallet. Perfect.
I walk over to Reid and walk past him as he shakes his head at me.
“Our dad really did a number on you,” he quietly says behind me.
“Oh, yeah, he really did, but I like it. Makes me feel feared, brother, and that was something I never had growing up in his shadow. And no offense, but your shadow as well.”
“Cal…you know I did what I did to protect you.”
“I know. But now I get to protect you by being the crazy brother that no one wants to mess with. Now let’s go fuck some shit up.”
“Jesus Christ.” He scrubs his hands over his face.
We make our way through the tunnels until we reach the door. I punch in the code. As the door opens, I can hear Malcolm’s screams echoing from the room at the end of the corridor.
As I walk in, I can see the fear in his eyes; he knows what’s about to happen. Keeping my head low, I set my tools on a bench beside the door.
Malcolm is sitting on a metal chair in the middle of the room, hands tied at the back and his legs are tied to each chair leg. Pants covered in piss, sweat dripping from his head, eyes red from crying.
“Listen, please, I don’t know why I’m here. I haven’t done anything. Please just let me go” he begs at Jay
Jay gets down to eye level, smiles at him and punches him on his jaw.
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”
The sounds of a bone of his crunching fill the room and Malcolm’s head slumps down to his chest. Jay’s power punches are not to be messed with. The guy is a beast.
The sound of me dragging the metal chair along the floor makes him lift his head, and his swollen eyes meet mine.
I stop the chair in front of him and swing it around, taking a seat and leaning my arms on the back of it, waiting for him to come round. His face is a fucking mess, and I love it. His eyes are swelling more as the seconds pass, there’s bruises speckled across his jaw, and what looks like a broken nose. He opens his eyes as much as he possibly can, given the state of them, and he locks those swollen bad boys on me. His whole body locks up when he realizes who I am.
“You remember me? Good. Let’s get the show on the road, shall we?” I smirk.
He starts shaking his head. “Please, just let me go.”
“Hmm, I think that’s going to have to be a no,” I say as I tap my fingers against my lip.
“Why?” His voice shakes as he asks me.
“Why?” I laugh. “Are you really asking that? You know exactly why this is happening to you. You thought you could try and take something from me? And not have any consequences? Are you that fucked in that head?”
“All this because of Nixie? Fuck, you can have the bitch, if that’s what this is about.”
Strike one.
I crack my neck and stand from the chair, walking over to the bench. I pick up the rubber mallet and pliers as I walk back to him. I nod to Jay and he unties his right hand, laying it on the seat of the chair.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Please. She’s not worth this shit. Let me go and I won’t say anything to anyone. I’ll stay away from her.”
Strike two.
Sliding the pliers in the back pocket of my jeans, I take the mallet in my right hand and make sure it sits right. It would be a shame if I missed.
I start to circle around him, his swollen eyes following my every step as best as they can. Stopping again in front of the chair, I bring the mallet up. He flinches and tries to move his hand away, but Jay has got his grip on his arm, stopping any movement. I swing the mallet back down, right onto his hand. He lets out a loud scream and tries to move his hand away.
Grinning to myself, I grab him. “Oh no, we’re just getting started, my friend.” Kneeling in front of him, I pull the pliers from my back pocket and point them in his face. His eyes widen at the sight of them, and I can see the sweat beads starting to form at his hairline.
“Now, let’s start with the big question. Why the fuck were you planning on kidnapping my girl?”
“I just wanted to scare her, man, that’s all. I wasn’t going to actually hurt her.” he shakes his head at me.
“See, I don’t quite believe you. I admit, I have been watching Nixie, which means I’ve been watching you too. And the way you watch her pisses me off.” I spit the last words at him as I sit back down on the chair in front of him. His head hangs low.
I notice a slight movement in his shoulders, and it takes me a few seconds to realize that the prick is laughing. The nerve of this guy.
He lifts his head and locks his eyes with mine, a smirk across his mouth.
Leaning forward I look at him “Ah, there he is. I knew you couldn’t keep up with the whole ‘feel sorry for me’ bit.”
“Fuck you,” he spits out at me. “I had her first. She just needed a reminder of how I made her feel, how hard I could make her come.” He laughs at me.
Rage surges through my body and next thing I know, my fist connects with his face and blood comes flying out of his mouth. He continues to laugh at me.
“Oh, yeah, the way she comes, man…I made her see the stars like never before. Something no man has ever done. Her sweet, innocent look is what draws guys like us in, but trust me, she’s got some fucking demons in her closet.” He spits the words out at me like it’s supposed to scare me off.
We all have fucking demons hiding. She just needs someone who knows how to handle them and make her see that even the demons in our closets are nothing but that.
His face is really pissing me off now. I’ve had enough of this prick taking up my time.
I stand up from the chair and walk around him. Jay hands me his knife from his belt. He knows I’ve hit my limit with him. Standing behind Malcolm, I grip his hair, forcing him back and looking up at me.
“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a little fucked up myself. I’ve got some demons myself, so I reckon me and her are perfect for each other. She needs someone to make her see that her true self is everything, that she shouldn’t hide from it. And I plan on being that person,” I tell him as I place the knife to his throat. I make quick work slicing across before he even has a chance to respond to me. The sight of the blood spurting from his neck doesn’t even faze me as I hand the knife back to Jay, who takes a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the blood off the knife before placing it back in his belt.
I look down at Malcolm. He’s still strapped to the chair, blood pouring from his neck, no life in him whatsoever. The threat to Nixie’s life is gone, and I can’t wait to tell her.
“You know what to do,” I say to Jay.
“Yes, boss.” He nods at me and moves to his body. I turn back around to see Reid still standing in the corner, staring at the mess I’ve left behind.
“Jesus, Cal, was all that really necessary?” He shakes his head as he asks me.
Turning back to look at Jay, sliding the body along the floor. I look back at my brother.
“Yes. Very much so,” I tell him as I walk to the sink to wash my hands.
“I’ll have my people take care of the small details of where he is going.”
“Thanks. Now, if you don’t mind, I have someone I have to see,” I tell him.
“Calvin.” His tone of voice makes me stop in my tracks. I turn my head to the side slightly. “Is she really worth all this mess you’re making?”
“Without a doubt, brother, and I will continue to leave a mess behind me of those who do wrong by her.”
He nods at my response, and I make my back out of the warehouse and back into my car.
With Malcolm gone, I know there’s no real threat against her now. Yet here I am, again parked outside the apartment building, watching out for her. It’s four in the morning and no lights are on, which is an improvement. She’s been having the light on in her bedroom all night since I dropped her off.
Knowing that she must be asleep, and that no harm could come to her again, I decide to speed home.
Walking through the door, I make my way to the kitchen and pour myself a double whiskey and throw it down my throat. Pulling out my phone, I send her a text.
Goodnight, darlin’.