Flicking my attention to her because I have to be the strong one here, she just stares back at me. Her frame begins to shake from the aftermath, the fear, the possibility that maybe I’ll hate her and not want her after this.
I see Mac move from my peripheral, gaining my focus but all he does is stand. He doesn’t make a move to help out his buddy, nor does he run.
That’s the thing on the streets, if you want to be taken seriously, you face your shit head-on. You don’t pussy out and dip but fight what’s in front of you.
And here, since we all don’t have a pot to piss in, pride and fear are what everyone wants around here.
The howls and gurgles eerily cease, and I remove my hands from the sides of Camilla’s face then straighten my spine.
“Camilla,” I mutter. “You need to do me a favor.” She nods instantly. “Take this truck and drive home. Park it outside the chain-linked fence at the front, and I’ll handle it later.”
“Kace.” My name is barely audible off her lips, and I press my forehead to hers, smelling male cologne that isn’t mine, and it knots my gut even harder.
“This changes nothing. Do you hear me? I still love you, you’re still mine.”
A broken whimper escapes her pink lips, and she bobs her head again.
An empty grunt sounds at my side, and I know that Kyson is already starting without me. Camilla begins to turn her head, but I lock it between my palms, keeping her eyes on me.
“Take a bath,” I tell her, feeling her tremble under my touch. “With bubbles. I’ll be there soon.”
“Kace…I’m so sorry.”
“No, I am,” I counter. “I wasn’t here. This is my fault.”
“You kick like a fucking bitch,” Mac storms out, creating Camilla to jolt closer into me.
I give Camilla a little shove towards the door, and when she begins to hop inside, she lets out a blood-curdling scream.
Rounding her body, I find that Kyson left the dude he just stabbed to death, chilling there. Blood literally every-fucking-where.
“Fuck,” I mumble. “Uh…I can drive in—“
“I can do it,” she quakes, clutching the door’s handle. “I can—” She suddenly bends over and releases everything in her stomach at her feet.
“Give me ten minutes—“ I gather up her hair in my hand. “—I need you to close your eyes and cover your ears.”
“I promise…I-I got it,” she stammers. “I’m sorry.”
“You can’t drive with a dead dude in the front seat. You’ll never make it.” I rub her back in comfort, hoping it does a little bit of something. I’m shaking too, but it’s not from fear. “It’s alright, I got this. Get in the truck bed, and I’ll turn on the music.”
And I do.
Lying From You by Linkin Park semi-blares from the Ford speakers as Camilla lies down on the cold metal of the bed.
Kyson has a headstart on me, stomping Mac with the bottom of his white Adidas shoes that I stole for his birthday last year. He’s particular about his shit being clean, but right now, he gives zero fucks.
Blood splatters the top of his sneakers and jeans as he kicks, thrusts, and beats Mac into the ground.
Swiping my blade back, I stride in their direction, heart thudding wildly in my chest as visions of my girlfriend broadly spread through my brain. Mac has destroyed the lives of people that are incredibly close to me.
He murdered my father for fun while I’ve had to endure watching him walk around free for years. Burned my father alive in his car while the cops did nothing. I’ve craved to feel death at my hands ever since but saved it for him.
This moment.
And I’m lucky. I get to kill two birds with one stone—one for Dad and the other for my girl.
I believe that was the first time I’ve felt pure white fury. Where circumstances be damned, and justice in prison was made for people who didn’t have the stomach for blood. I was born in the hollows of hell, bleeding was like breathing.
And I was finally going to slaughter one of Bubba’s bitches.
Stopping within a foot of Mac, I say, “Stand up.”
Kyson steps aside, allowing us space as he glances over at the truck where Camilla is currently curled into a ball.
She needs to go to the hospital, but she never will. She won’t want to accept that all of this is real and that it happened.
It’s how I felt when Bubba raped me at ten-years-old. I wanted it to stay a nightmare that wasn’t real, and that’s how I lead on with my life. Camilla being with me at the time helped me plow through that day and onward. Especially since I had nothing left at home.
Hardy and Scarlett are gone, and I’m lonely.
“Two against one, Kace,” Mac quips with a cock of his head. “Is this how we’re gonna do this?”
I remove my shirt, yanking it over my head and tossing it to Kyson. Mac sweeps his gaze over my body, landing on my junk for a second.
“If you wanna fuck me,” I convey. “You’re gonna have to get me down on the ground. I’m a little taller than when Bubba got the chance with a lot more weight.”
“I don’t fuck dudes, asshole,” he snorts back. “I love pussy just like the—“
“Then keep your fucking eyes off my dick and throw the first punch so my buddy can have some fun with you.”
Mac glances over at Kyson then back at me. “I’m not fighting both of you at the same time. We’re gonna do this man to man.”
“And if I lose, you can walk home.”
“And if I lose?”
“Then I hope you like to bleed because what I have planned for you is gonna leave a scar.”
Mac begins to circle me, gaze
