Page 50 of Vicious Little Darling

“And what’s that?”

“I think I love her,” I blurt out the words, regardless of how fucking elementary they sound. “And I’m about to do whatever it takes to protect her from an asshole in her life.”

“Don’t hurt yourself—”

“Shut up,” I snap, cutting him off. “I’m not going off myself. I’m taking care of some prick that thought he could touch what’s mine. I’ll give you the address. God knows what kind of fucking mess this is going to be.”

“Okay,” is all my uncle says.

“Okay,” I echo him, pulling the phone away from my ear to drop the pin. I’m just about to hang up, when his voice catches my attention.

“One more thing,” he calls out.

“What’s that?” I put the phone back to my ear.

“I’m proud of you. I told you it’d just take the right one to straighten it all out.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, and then hang up.

There’s nothing about this situation that’sstraightenedout, but this is one step in the right direction. I grab my hoodie from the backseat, and consequently my mask. I fully intend not only to annihilate this motherfucker but also to scare him shitless in the process.

I gear up, put the mask in place and climb out of the car. I head around to the back entrance of the bar, rather than the front. It’s the entrance that Josh uses, allowing him to park his car a few feet away; probably thinking about a safe exit. For that reason alone, I think this might be an easier fight than I think.

But, I have backup.

I tuck the pistol in my belt and try the door handle, surprised that it’s unlocked.You fucking idiot.I grin under my mask as I slip inside the bar, and I lock the door behind me. The backroom’s lights are off, which gives me another advantage. I listen to the stillness, and then just like that, Josh’s voice rings out.

“I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking, man,” he groans. “But she’s clearly willing to give it to everyone else, so I don’t understand why she wouldn’t do it for me.”

I clench my fists, but force deep, even breaths. Nothing will be accomplished if I fly off the handle right now, but I’ve already decided one thing now. I’m confronting this bastard head on.

“She literally has the loosest pussy,” Josh breaks out into laughter. “And she had the balls to say she didn’t—but the sickslutfuckedher stalker and assailant. I don’t know why I’d be any different. Besides, we’ve been friends for years. She doesn’t understand what I could give her.” The fact that I hear only one side of the conversation tells me that he is speaking to someone on the phone.

I wait just outside the area for a few minutes, while Josh bashes Ember a little more, ensuring the most painful death I can give him. Finally, the motherfucker hangs up, and I step into the light. He doesn’t notice at first, and so I clear my throat, the sound cutting through the silence.

Josh spins around, his eyes going wide. “What the fuck? Who the fuck are you?”

I chuckle, deep and unsettling. “I thought I’d come here and size up my competition.”

Josh’s face flashes with recognition. “You’re the sick fuck who’s been screwing Ember in the shadows, huh?” He gives an evil grin.

“I don’t have to fuck her in the shadows anymore,” I say, breaking into a wicked laugh. “She lets me fuck her any time I want after she moved into my place.”

Josh is silent, as if he’s trying to piece together what I’ve just said. As the seconds tick by, he shakes his head.

“It’s fucking ingenious. Does she know yet?”

“I think you should be more worried about what’s going to happen to you,” I growl, taking a step toward him.

He tilts his head at me. “Why? You and I should be fucking friends. Cut from the same cloth.”

“Wrong.” I pull out the pistol and point it straight at his crotch, firing off two silenced shots. “We’re not the same. I don’t pretend like I’m a good guy.”

Josh doubles over, screaming with pain as blood seeps from his appendage and runs between his legs. “You’re a fucking psycho.” He glares up at me as the color drains from his face.“And youareplaying the good guy. If Ember doesn’t know who you are, you’re no fucking better than—”

He doesn’t get to finish.

I put a bullet right between his eyes. My sanity might have snapped completely if I’d have let him keep running his mouth. Because, for a minute there, he was starting to make sense.

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