Chapter 3 #4
Noa smiled. “First of all, my Daddy says I’m adorable. Most recently, this morning when I swallowed his cock. Second of all, bless your little garbage heart—isn’t it obvious? I’m here to let you apologize to my face.”
Good lord, that one pushed a button. He’d brought up the blow job for a reason.
Axel glared at Noa and took another step toward him.
Noa didn’t look fazed one bit.
I would’ve at least tried to de-escalate a little. Things were getting out of hand, and…and I really wanted to answer my phone!
“Do you honestly believe I will apologize to you?” Axel asked quietly.
“I didn’t say that,” Noa stated. “I’m giving you the chance. Trust me, my expectations of you are extremely low. Like, the basement-has-a-basement low.”
Come on, Noa! He’s almost a head taller than you. And possibly three sizes larger!
With only a few inches between them, Axel chuckled under his breath and gave Noa a light shove.
“Or you can fuck off.”
Noa clenched his jaw and flinched forward again. “The first one’s free, fuckface. Try it again and—” He didn’t even get to finish the sentence before Axel pushed him a second time.
I stiffened and balled my hands into fists.
Noa had barely righted himself before Axel moved in for the third strike, and it made me see red. Without even thinking, with blind anger pummeling through me, I swooped in and rammed my elbow up Axel’s jaw, and he shouted a curse and staggered back.
“Don’t! He’s mine!” Noa snarled.
He pushed past me and flew right into Axel, sending them both tumbling to the ground. My heart was suddenly pounding, and my anger dissipated as quickly as it’d appeared. This wasn’t right. I had to end it somehow. Noa wasn’t gonna last long in the fight, and—
“Fuck this.” The friend shook his head and walked toward the house.
“How’s this for fending for myself, huh?
” Noa punched Axel repeatedly in the face, and I sucked in a breath and widened my eyes.
Holy fuck, he was doing just fine in a physical fight.
It was Axel who wasn’t gonna last long. He tried to defend himself against the blows, but Noa was too fast. “I’m so fucking sick of people telling me I can’t do shit on my own.
” He heaved a breath and put enough force into the next punch that I had to intervene. “Tiny little Noa—what does he know?”
“Noa!” I gripped his shoulder and tried to pull him back, but he was undeterred.
Axel grunted and struggled to get out from underneath Noa.
“You don’t know what the fuck I’ve lived through,” Noa gritted out.
I swallowed, queasy—
“Ay, knock it off!” someone yelled.
I whipped around and spotted a man on the porch, and he didn’t waste a second.
He headed down the porch steps and came toward us in a run.
At the same time, I heard a car approaching.
Scratch that—two cars. My heart hammered faster and faster, and everything became overwhelming as I tried to register what was going on.
One car, one truck. Finally, finally, finally, it was James and Ash! They were in Ash’s work truck.
The man who was running was almost here. He had copper-brown hair and didn’t look happy. I swallowed again, nerves kicking in, my stomach a knotted mess, and just stood there, useless.
Right when he reached us, Kit’s Daddy Dom rushed out on the porch too.
“Noa—quit it.” Copperhead had greater success than me. He wrapped his arms around Noa’s middle and pulled him off Axel. Not that it stopped Noa from kicking and thrashing in the air. “Stop, Noa!”
“No!” Noa shouted. “Let me go, Reese! I’m not done!”
Acting on instinct, I planted my foot on Axel’s shoulder when he tried to get up.
“Stay down,” I snapped.
Mister Colt came running too, and the second car didn’t stop in the driveway. Whoever it was drove onto the lawn and didn’t slow down until they were mere feet away. By now, Ash and James had left the truck and were jogging over as well.
I exhaled shakily and racked my brain, trying to think ahead, and my stare landed on Axel again.
“You should fucking ban him,” he growled. “You better believe I’m pressing charges.”
Oh no, you won’t.
I pulled out my phone hurriedly and took a few photos of him. The last one—he glared murderously in the picture.
“Or you start acting nicer,” I said. Copperhead was busy trying to calm Noa, so I bent down and spoke for only Axel to hear.
“Plenty of people know about your bullying, and you started this fight.” As I talked, I quickly sent the photos to my email before I deleted them from my phone.
“If you keep this up, maybe everyone will find out how someone small and defenseless beat you to a bloody pulp.”
By then, it was a party. Mister Colt arrived on the scene when Mister Ash and James did, and James hauled me into his arms. A man with a limp hurried from his car to get to Noa. Mister KC, I presumed.
“What the hell happened?” James demanded.
I swallowed dryly, watching Colt help Axel to his feet.
“I reckon we have some talkin’ to do in the office,” he told Axel.
“It better involve calling the police,” Axel rasped, touching his face gingerly. He had a cut in his eyebrow, his lip was busted, and his cheeks and jaw were red.
“We’ll talk first,” Colt replied firmly. “Let’s go.”
Copperhead and KC ushered a rabid Noa inside, followed by Colt and Axel.
Wait, wait, wait!
“Mister Colt!” I called.
He looked over his shoulder.
“Noa didn’t start this,” I said. “Axel has been bullying people—and he shoved Noa twice before he defended himself.”
“That’s bullshit,” Axel growled.
“We have proof, asshole,” I snapped.
“That’s enough, baby,” James cautioned me quietly.
Colt glanced between Ash, James, and me. “Maybe y’all stick around for a minute. We might wanna hear from you too.”
“Yes, Sir,” I replied.
James gripped my chin and made me face him. “Spill.”
So. Damn. Bossy.
I narrowed my eyes. “Can I breathe first? Practice some patience—like I did when you didn’t answer your phone.”
He cocked a brow. “I was workin’, Jordan.”
Ash cleared his throat and lifted both brows at me. “Watch the attitude, boy. Let’s go inside. I wanna know everything.”
Fine. “Yes, Sir.”
Now that the danger was over and I was wedged between James and Mister Ash on the patio, I was so curious to get a tour of the place.
Kit wasn’t here anymore, so I would say hello to him next time.
Maybe he was in their Founders’ cabin? I knew he had one with Mister Colt and Mister Lucas, who were founding members.
“Can you focus, Jordan?” James requested.
“What?” I asked. “That’s the whole story. You showed up like a minute after Sir Copperhead used himself as a straitjacket for Noa.”
Ash’s mouth twitched, and I kind of wanted to kiss him. “Reese.”
Right. Copperhead’s name was Reese. Another Founder.
He had an antisocial twin brother I’d seen online—River.
It was as if he was being charged by the word.
Nine times out of ten, his sparse responses were one or two words.
He didn’t hang out in the brat groups or anything like that, though.
He stuck to his partners’ posts, some journal entries, and the history group.
I glanced over at the pool area and wished I had swimwear with me. I could so go for a soak.
“How long do you think the others will be?” I wondered. “I wanna make sure Noa doesn’t get punished. Like, I mean, I know violence is wrong and all that crap—but he was really hurt by the bullying.”
Noa might not admit it, but come on. Why else would he have gone berserk on Axel?
“I’m sure they’ll be out soon,” Ash said. “But whether Noa gets punished isn’t up to you, sweetheart. I trust Reese, Colt, and KC, though.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I hope Axel gets banned.”
Ash hummed. “Terms of use apply to everyone. We’re not biased with bans out here. Unless he’s broken the rules, he’s welcome.”
“He’s an asshole,” I argued.
He chuckled. “No rule against that, I’m afraid. My guess? His online account will be restricted for a while, and he and Noa will be told to steer clear of each other.”
I huffed.
“How would it look if we banned everyone we didn’t like?
” he countered patiently. “Penelope, one of my closest friends out here—she broke up with her girlfriend a few months ago. The ex cheated. I’d say that’s more than asshole behavior.
But it was a private matter and no ground for a community ban.
” He paused. “I’m not saying this Axel kid is someone I’d like to be around—and I fucking adore Noa—but the community management needs to mind its distance in some matters. ”
Well, crap. I guessed that made sense.
“Besides, these things tend to work themselves out over time,” he went on. “Pen’s ex left Mclean of her own volition, and you mentioned Axel’s not very popular online. Sooner or later, he’ll discover that his behavior is alienating him.”
Okay, that made me dubious. “Do you not know people at all, Sir? They will blame others for their own shortcomings until they’re blue in the face.”
James chuckled, and I knew he agreed with me. My dad and I didn’t have a good relationship because he could do no wrong.
“Then so be it.” Ash shrugged. “Considering he hurt Noa, I can’t say I’m invested in Axel’s future happiness. I can be biased. Reese can’t.”
That was a bias I could get behind. Team Noa!
“Just so you know, it’s usually less drama out here,” he added. “Every now and then, we get some dick who thinks they know better, but other than that, it’s only brats raising hell at Mclean.”
Only…!
“Because Sadists are innocent?” I shot back.
“Yes.”
I snorted. “You liiiiiie. It’s a good thing I’m here, because the Brat Squad needs reinforcements.”
He smiled and leaned in to kiss my nose.
I liked that a lot!
“I think it’s good you’re here too,” he murmured. “Don’t be surprised if Noa asks for playtime.”
That made me laugh. “He already did. He said Mister KC could totally wreck James too.”