Page 57 of Ordinary Secrets

I’m about to fly into Arella’s apartment when my body slams against her locked door.Fuck exposure.I wave a hand at the doorknob. The bolt lock clicks open, and I run inside.

A lanky guy with an ugly buzz cut straddles Arella on her living room floor. They’re between the couch and her tipped-over coffee table. She struggles with him as he attempts to rip her pants off. Thank fuck I got here when I did. The man’s rage storms through my head, mixing with my already boiling anger.

I don’t think as I seize the guy’s shoulder, twist him to face me, then hurl a fist into his already bloody nose. It’s nice to know that Arella did some damage before I arrived. I’m so fucking proud of her.

A dull ache explodes into the middle of my face, exactly where I punched her ex. It makes my eyes water. Feeling other people’s pain never stopped me from fighting before, and it sure as hell isn’t gonna stop me now. I expand my mind power outward, because sensing more people will help me sense less of the piece of shit in front of me.

I draw my elbow back and punch him again. With a yelp, Nathan topples backward, trips over the coffee table, then tumbles to the floor. Like a spring, he jumps back up and charges at me. I leap around the table, getting as far away from Arella as possible.

Nathan swings at my head, and I almost laugh. Based on the way he stands and throws his fist, this guy doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s no match for my many years of training in hand-to-hand combat. It’s too easy for me to duck and strike him in the gut. He collapses to his knees with a moan.

I think he’s done for.

And I think wrong.

I’ll give him some credit because he stands up again and moves so fast, he knocks the wind out of me with a kick to my stomach. I hunch over with a groan. Unfiltered agony shatters through my face when he slams his fist against my upper cheek. For a lanky guy, he sure does punch hard.

When I regain my composure, I pound my fist straight into his ribs, making him fall to his knees again. Then I grab his head and smash it against my knee. His head whips backward with acrunch!as his back slams against the carpet. I hope I broke something.I think I did, by the way my nose feels like it’s twisted to the side.

Again, I’ll give the guy credit, because somehow, he still has enough strength to roll onto his hands and knees. Blood pours from his nose onto Arella’s beige carpet as he coughs. I feel worse about dirtying up her carpet than I do about beating up this man I don’t know.

Kneeling, he wipes his nose off on the bottom of his shirt. Then he looks up at Arella, who’s standing a ways behind me. I almost kick him for thinking he has the right to look at her.

Nathan smirks. Laughs even.

What the hell is so funny?

“You’re lucky this bastard showed up,” Nathan says. “I was about to fuck you like the dirty little whore you are.”

That’s it. No more holding back. I yank him up by his shirt and punch him again. Agony tears through my jaw. I ignore it as I hit him again—harder.

Then again.

And again.

And—

“Stop!” Arella shouts from behind me.

My balled-up fist freezes barely a finger from the asshole’s face. I don’t dare take my eyes off him as I speak through gritted teeth. “You want me to stop?”

“Yes,” Arella says firmly. “Let him go.”

It takes everything in me to release Nathan’s shirt. He thumps to the floor.

I still don’t take my eyes off him, nor do I unclench my fist. “Arella, please tell me you have a good reason for stopping me from hurting the man who was hurting you.”

Her voice goes soft. “He’ll press charges if you keep going.”

“And you’re going to press charges against him for assaulting you!”

“I’d like to see you try,” Nathan snickers as he stares up at the ceiling. His face is bright red, already swelling up in the areas I hit him the most.

I resist the urge to break his teeth in. “Babe, go call the cops.”

In the corner of my eye, she snatches her phone off the floor. Nathan laughs as he finds enough strength to stand and hold the bottom of his shirt to his nose. Obviously, I haven’t wounded him enough to keep him down. That can easily be changed though.

“Go ahead and call, Ari. When they get here, I’ll explain that you and I were hooking up when your side toy walked in on us and attacked me.”

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