Page 40 of My Rose

Smart friend.

I pressed my forearm deeper into his neck, making him cough. “Tell me what?” I gritted out through my teeth.

He laughed as much as he could with most of his throat closed off. “She wanted me so bad, b-but I turned her down,” he stuttered through the force of my body on his.

I smirked at him as rage boiled up within me, pushing past the pain along my side. “You’ve always been a terrible fucking liar.” She wouldn’t go for him, not after agreeing to go on a date with me. Shewas so much better than he ever deserved. ThanIever deserved. Pure in all the ways an angel would be before they mingled with the right devil—andIwas the only devil allowed to touch her.

He spit more blood to the side and then tipped his head toward mine. I pressed in harder against his neck, just barely enough to make his voice garbled as he said, “She’s a slut, dude. She was practically begging for my—”

I didn’t let him finish as my forearm started to strangle him, pushing him as hard as I could into his car. I slammed my other fist into his gut until his legs grew weak and his breaths became shallow. And then, only then, did I release my hold and let him fall to the ground. He rolled to his side and started to groan.

August coughed more, his hand pressing to his throat. “Shit,” he said hoarsely. “She’s always wanted me, you were never in the fucking picture.” More coughs until I decided I couldn’t take it anymore.

I kicked his head to the ground, then pressed my shoe to his throat. “I’m the only one in the picture now. Got it?”

His weak, bony hands tried to press up against my shoe, so I leaned into the weight, resting my forearm on my knee. “Got it?” I repeated, pressing more and more until he tried to nod.

I glared down at him as I released him. “You’re lucky you aren’t fucking dead. Get the hell out of here, and if I ever hear you coming to this side of town again, I won’t hesitate to find you and kill you.” I gripped his cheeks and turned his head, making sure he could hear me. “And if you ever think about touching her ever again, I will make your death as slow as humanly possible.”

The rest of his friends were gone, scurrying down the sidewalk like the little rats they were as I made my way back to my car. I cracked my knuckles and shook them out before I clutched the wheel, finalizing my thoughts. I was done with not wanting to come off as pushy when it came to her. It was time to track the woman I knew was mine down and find out why she decided to ignore me.

Chapter 17

Rose

“Every lover is a soldier.” ? Ovid

Briggs: Good morning, beautiful.

Briggs: I wish I could’ve seen you last night.

Briggs: Are you okay?

Briggs: Rose, I’ve been patient all day.

Briggs: I’m starting to think you’re not okay.

Briggs: I swear to god, if someone hurt you, I’llmurder them.

The taxi stopped in front of the entrance to Briggs’ house and I checked my phone once more as I stepped out. Yep, he said he would murder someone if I were hurt. I wondered if that encompassed emotions too, though really, I was more pissed off than anything. Hurt didn’t quite cover it. I was livid.

My idea was to go see him and demand he give me a reason why he stood me up and kept trying to message me all day if he was just going to keep playing more games with me. I didn’t want to play anything like that with him. That was precisely what had happened between August and me, and I couldn’t stomach the thought of becoming a game to Briggs. I couldn’t get him out of my head. It was equal parts frustrating just as much as it was body-tingling.

Another message came through, and I stared at it, my jaw unhinged.

Briggs: Is there something you need to tell me? I’ll be at your house in 5. I’m done being patient.

He thoughthewas being patient? I was the one who waited for him for hours, all dressed up for a date he never cared to pick me up for, let alone told me he wasn’t planning on going to. Blood flooded my ears as I raised the phone to one.

He answered before the first ring finished.

“Rose, where are you?”

I sighed at his worried tone, irritated yet comforted in a strange way. He was concerned about where I’d been. I blinked up at the grey sky. “I’m in front of your house, I think.”

“You, what?” His growl rattled me through the phone. “Why would you go there?”

“Umm.” I cursed under my breath, realizing how crazy I sounded that I’d tracked him down after he stood me up instead of simply calling or replying. “I called Jasmine and asked for your address, and she called your friend—her boyfriend. Dean. The one with the smoldering-type look.” I couldn’t stop sputtering over my words. My stomach was twisting, the snow on the ground seeping into my sneakers.

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