Claws.
My fucking girl has claws.
Pride surges through me at her fight as I pounce on this monster. Jordy doesn’t stop me. I pin Ryan down, slamming a fist hard into face. His nose pops the second it breaks. He sobs and struggles, but he’s no match for my rage.
He hurt my girl.
He hurt my girl.
He hurt my girl.
Punch after punch, I lay into him, desperate to turn his face into a fucking pulp. Ryan’s breathing becomes ragged and shallow with each punch I land on him.
Time passes.
I grow weak, my punching slowing, but I don’t stop. The muscles in my bicep and forearm scream in pain. Each one of my knuckles is split and burning. Still, I continue beating him.
Voices grow louder.
Chaotic.
I don’t stop until someone finally pulls me away. I’m spent of energy. I want to fight this person off, but I can’t. All I can do is fall against them, a sob of defeat caught in my throat.
“Shhh, son,” the man says. “It’s okay. Calm down. You’re okay.”
People rush in to help Ryan. This sets me off. I scream and rage, trying to get to that monster, but the person holding me is too strong.
“He needs to die,” I choke out, tears leaking shamelessly from my eyes. “He needs to die.”
“Fitzgerald,” one of the EMT says, “get him out of here.”
I’m hauled up off the floor and dragged out of the room. I can’t keep my own body upright, relying on Fitzgerald to do it for me. Terrence and Jordy loom nearby, somber expressions on their faces.
“Charlotte,” I whisper. “Where is she?”
“She’s in an ambulance, son,” Fitzgerald says in a calm voice. “Let them take care of her.”
“She’s alive?”
Both Terrence and Jordy nod in unison.
Thank fuck.
“Let’s get you into the car,” Fitzgerald rumbles. “We can get all this sorted out quickly at the station. Then you can get to the hospital to see your girl.”
My fucking girl.
“I, uh, I need my dad,” I croak out, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by sights and sounds. Like my world is closing in on me.
“David Hutton has been a thorn in my ass for the past hour,” Fitzgerald states with a small chuckle. “Your dad is already there, waiting on us. Everything’s going to be okay, son. I promise you.”
As he leads me out of the building, an officer approaches. A woman.
“Michael Cunningham is in critical condition.”
Fitzgerald grunts. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”
“He raped my girl. He raped my girl,” I murmur, leaning against him. “He raped my girl.”
“I know, son. I’m so sorry.”
“Please don’t make me go to prison. She needs me.”
“I already let one kid go to prison for protecting the one he loved. I’ll be goddamned if I let it happen again. Just keep quiet and let me handle things.”
“Oh, honey,” Mom coos, “I’m pretty sure it’s broken.”
I try to pull my aching hand from her lap, but she won’t let me. It’s been hours since I was taken to the station where my parents were waiting. It was a total shitshow considering it was one of their cops who did this to Charlotte. I’d been told to keep my mouth shut while Samantha did all the talking. Apparently, Fitzgerald reported that the damages to Michael and Ryan were considered “self-defense” inflicted by the victim and that I threw a few punches to protect the victim. The bat—which Terrence scooped up and tossed in the truck—and my broken hand were left out of the report. Dad warned me I could be looking at aggravated assault charges, based on our Oregon laws, but Fitzgerald wasn’t having any of it.
“I need to see her,” I murmur, my eyes drooping with exhaustion.
“She’s fine,” Mom assures me. “Garrett already called your dad with an update. They’ve put her in a room, but she’s going to be okay. Why don’t we get your hand looked at first?”
“No.”
She sighs. “Stubborn boy. Fine. You can see her. Five minutes, but then you need to be seen.”
I don’t agree because I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave Charlotte’s side when I finally see her. The ride to the hospital is a blur. Dad talks to Samantha on Bluetooth, as she fills him in on how we will proceed going forward in case Michael or Ryan speak out against me, and Mom hugs me in the back seat. When we arrive, I stumble out of the car and rush inside.
The lobby is full of people I recognize. The Hoodlums. Loden. Penny and Tierra. Hollis. Jace. Ms. Frazier with a sleeping Sebban in her arms. Kelsey’s man, Mike. The only people missing are Charlotte and her parents.
“He’s going to break his other hand if he doesn’t get to see that girl,” Dad states, trotting in after me.
Hollis nods and then disappears. A few moments later, he returns with Kelsey.
“You can go on back,” Kelsey tells me, pulling me in for a hug. “Maybe Garrett can look at that hand too.”
Hollis clutches my elbow and leads me to a room. He’s still covered in her blood like I am. The fact that he flew into motion to save his sister—my fucking girl—just won him ultimate hero Hoodlum status in my book. I grab the back of his head, bumping our foreheads together.
“Thank you,” I grunt out, before releasing him.
I push into the hospital room, making a beeline straight for the bed where Garrett stands over her.
Using my good hand, I take her small hand in mine. “I’m so, so sorry.”
My sweet Charlotte is battered nearly beyond recognition. Her head and neck are wrapped in gauze. Both of her eyes are blackened and her nose is swollen from what looks like a punch to the face. Anger at those motherfuckers has my eyes flooding with tears. I want to kill Michael and Ryan both. Smashing their fucking faces in isn’t enough.
“She’s
