Chapter 7 #2
I squat down and grab his greasy hair so he’s on his stomach with one of his wrists beneath my foot.
When I yank his head up with a hard jerk, his neck snaps back.
This guy is dirty. And I don’t just mean physically.
One look in his puke-colored eyes tells me he’s done some bad shit in his lifetime.
And it’s not the same kind that my brothers and I have done.
The things on his rap sheet are undoubtedly unforgivable.
“Do you know what the word no means?”
Sweat rolls down his forehead, catching on his bushy eyebrows as he stares at me with a little too much arrogance for the predicament he’s in. That’s okay. He’ll understand soon.
Cash stands with his back against the closed door, the deafening sounds of the busy bar drowning out any noise we make in this ragged office.
I grab his cheeks between my thumb and forefinger, squeezing so hard he’s forced to open his mouth. “I asked if you know what the word no means.”
He tries to shake his head, then tries to nod, and I release my grip to let him answer.
“I do! Let me go. The safe is open. Just take it!” he groans as I tighten my fist in his hair.
Cash and I meet each other’s eyes and laugh at the same time.
“Did you hear that, bro? He said we could take the money.” Cash rubs his hands together, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he stalks over to the desk where there’s a shitty safe installed.
I pull Lonny’s head back harder so he’s forced to watch whatever unhinged shit my brother’s about to do because it will surely not make this scum happy.
After lowering himself into the creaky chair, Cash opens a cigar box that’s next to an ashtray with an already burning Cuban on it.
When he pulls several bundles of hundreds out, my brother smirks.
“Thirty grand? We get to keep thirty grand? I’m pretty sure I fucked my wife on top of half a mil the other night.
You think thirty grand is going to impress me? ”
Cash scoffs and shakes his head, disappointed, and I have to say, I’m amused as fuck.
My older brother is still the same prick he’s always been, but Jordyn has lightened him a little.
She’s helped him have fun again. Even if his idea of fun is setting a bundle of hundreds on fire with the half-smoked cigar just so he can use it to light a new one that hasn’t touched this fucking creep’s disgusting lips.
“Stop it! Fuck, what are you doing, you crazy motherfucker!” Lonny shouts as he shuffles like a big, long worm trying to move under the dirt.
I press my foot down hard on his wrist, and he howls as I put all my two hundred and fifty pounds on it.
“Keep those other bundles so when we leave, we can give the employees a bonus for working in such shitty conditions,” I grit out, glaring at Lonny.
Cash comes around the desk and puts his foot in the middle of Lonny’s back, then whips out his gun and pulls the slide with a loud, ominous sound.
“I’m going to ask again, Lonny, because you’ve probably forgotten what my question was. Do you know what the word no means?”
Squatting down, I grab the wrist I was just stepping on and look at his filthy nails with disgust. Fucking foul.
“I know what it means!” he yells, sweat soaking through the stained polo he’s wearing.
Slowly, I hold his index finger, taking time to make sure he feels me grabbing it. “Do you want me to break this finger, Lonny?”
Adrenaline rushes through me. I don’t remember the last time I felt this alive. My heart pounds with the beat of the distant music as I wait for Lonny to answer.
“What? No!” he shouts, struggling against both of us.
Without flinching, I tighten my grip around his single digit and twist it, then rip it back until the bones break with a pop, and his screams fill the shitty, outdated space around us.
How the fuck this place is still in business, I have no idea, but it’s going to be completely gutted and overhauled once it’s in my possession.
Lonny screams and heaves, his body shaking from the excruciating pain.
I keep hold of his wrist and slide my hand around the next finger. “No means stop. It means there is no consent. Do you want me to break this finger, Lonny?”
The pathetic man sobs, and I roll my eyes at Cash, both of us knowing we’re just getting started. When his spit sprays out of his mouth as he wails, I sigh. Fucking pathetic.
“Please!” he shouts. “Please, let me go! I won’t do it again.”
“Yes or no, Lonny?” I shout. “Do you want this finger broken?”
His entire body trembles as he shakes his head. “No. Please,” he mumbles breathlessly.
Multiple bones crunch this time, and it makes my dick hard.
This feels as good as taking a drink. Maybe even better because I know I’m doing it to protect that sweet little ray of sunshine in my apartment building.
Her and women like her. I’m a lot of fucking things.
I’ll cross just about any line in front of me, except when it comes to three things.
Women, kids, and animals. My morals are fucked up, but I was raised to protect those who can’t always protect themselves, and I desperately want to take care of Quinn Summers.
Lonny screams, and when I ask him if he wants his third finger broken, he doesn’t answer me. I snap it anyway.
I hold his pinky and tilt my head, glaring at him. “When my brother and I came in here, what was that woman saying to you? I’m pretty sure she was saying no. Isn’t that what you heard, bro?”
“She was definitely saying no. Did you stop, Lonny? Did you stop assaulting that woman when she said no?” Cash pulls back the butt of his gun and hits Lonny in the head with it, not hard enough to knock him out, but blood immediately seeps out from the gash it leaves.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” he screams, trying to pull his arm away from me, but I only laugh as I yank on his pinky, twisting it sideways and leaving it hanging.
“If you were sorry, you wouldn’t have done it in the first place, Lonny.
Now here’s what’s going to happen, you disgusting piece of shit.
I’m going to break the rest of your filthy fucking fingers, and then I’m going to break every bone in your face.
After that, you’re going to take the wire transfer of two million dollars and sign this bar over to me.
Then you will get off my property and out of my city, or I will bury you somewhere in the hundred-thousand acres we own, surrounding my bar.
Your decision, though.” I shrug like it’s as simple as choosing between tequila and whiskey.
He might not like either of his options, but at least I’m being a nice guy and letting him choose.
We’ll call it estate planning. I think I’m actually being pretty fucking helpful in the grand scheme of things. Lonny really should thank me.
The asshole screams in pain, spit dripping from his mouth as he begs for mercy. Doesn’t he know that Savages don’t believe in mercy? We believe in revenge. And maybe once I get it on this motherfucker who hurt Quinn, I’ll get over my obsession.
My knuckles throb, and at this point, I’m pretty sure they’re never going to heal properly. At least my tattoos will camouflage them once they finally do. I’m just going to have to stop hitting things. Although, beating Lonny felt a hell of a lot better than punching walls or car windows.
Cash pulls up to my apartment building and parks, then looks over at me. “You good?” He holds out his fist to me.
With my good hand, I bump him and smile. “Never fucking better. Thanks for having my back.”
“Always will, without question.”
I nod and get out of the car, then lean in, resting my arms on the roof. “Tell Jordyn I didn’t drive tonight, yeah? Maybe I’ll win some points back.”
Cash snorts. “You really want to win points with her? Come over next weekend for a family pool party. She’s making cherry mojitos.
” He makes a face when he says the last part, and I can’t help but laugh.
None of us understands her love for them, but we’re all straight whiskey drinkers. We’ll leave the sweet stuff for Jordyn.
“I’ll bring chips.” I smirk and wink at him. “Those, I can’t ruin.”
We both laugh, and I slam the door shut, then walk in through the lobby doors.
One of the security guards looks at me in surprise.
I rarely come through here, but this is the fourth night in a row I have.
I keep telling myself it’s because I’ve been taking a car service to and from work ever since Jordyn threatened my life, so it makes sense to come through here.
Why would I go through the garage, even though it’s simple enough to scan my key card and have the driver drop me off in front of my elevator?
The lobby is easier for them. That’s all.
I tip my head at the men and stride toward the elevator just as the doors are closing.
Without thinking, I reach out to stop them, and when they slide open, every ounce of air is sucked out of me.
My entire body lights up with awareness.
Strawberries. The entire space smells like the sweet red fruit. The same shade of red as her lips.
My gaze lands on the lush woman before me, zeroing in on the ruby-red color painted all over her plush, pillowy mouth. Fuck me. What I wouldn’t do to have that lipstick smeared all over my dick.
Her tits are pushed up, and it takes every bit of strength I have not to stare at them like a sprung fucking dog, because Jesus, they’re perfect.
I step into the elevator, tiny needles of electricity tingling at the back of my neck, going all the way down my spine to my cock. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself down, but it doesn’t work.
“Um, hi,” she says in that sweet little voice that sounds like angels singing from the heavens.
Where’d the innocent woman I met the other day go?
Because the woman I’m staring at is a fucking vixen.
She has the same soft gaze I remember, only it’s enhanced with lashes and something shimmery around her eyes that makes them look smoky and seductive.
Those cute French braids are replaced with waves that tumble over her shoulders, covering the tiny straps of her tank top.
All it would take is the flick of my wrist to rip one of those worthless scraps of fabric apart so I could get a glimpse of whatever black bra she’s wearing.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter. “It is you.”
We stare at each other as the elevator starts to move, her cheeks flushing.
“Did you have a good time out tonight?” she asks as she studies my face with curiosity.
“I wasn’t out.” Even if I had been, there’s a more important question I need to know. “How long have you worked there?” And how have I never noticed?
The elevator comes to a stop on her floor, but when the doors open, she doesn’t move a single muscle. “Three years.”
“Fuck.” I take her in from the top of her pretty head all the way down to her flip-flopped feet. I frown when I see the shape they’re in. Perfect pink-painted toenails, but it’s obvious she’s in pain as she shifts her weight slightly. “Your feet are red.”
She drops her gaze to where I’m looking and shrugs.
“Oh, uh, I’m fine. I had a long day. They’ll be good as new in the morning.
” She flashes me a forced smile that makes me want to put her over my knee.
Before I get the chance to scold her and tell her she doesn’t always have to smile when she doesn’t feel like it, she gasps and reaches for my hand.
“Oh my God, you’re bleeding!”
The next thing I know, Quinn starts dragging me into her apartment.
And I can’t find the strength within me to stop her.