Page 39 of Clover

“Hey, there, sweet girl,” I tell her as she makes herself comfortable in my arms.

“I see you’ve found a new friend. She likes you.” Ellie-Mae comments. While Rosie and Lily grin at me. I didn’t notice it, but I’m grinning too. Not just grinning but smiling. Feeling lighter and more myself than I have in days.

“I like her too,” I tell the three ladies watching me cuddle with the grey pittie. “Do you think Nix would mind another roommate?” I ask Rosie because I know she’ll give me a straight answer.

“No. I don’t think he would mind one bit.”

Chapter 21

Phoenix

“W

hat are we doing here, Nix?” Beau and I are sitting in my black Camaro outside the club I carried Clover out of that night we first had sex. That night was possibly the best night of my life, and remembering that moment in my truck when her dress shifted and showed me a sneak peek at her pretty nipples has my cock twitching with approval in my pants. We’re not here for fun, though. No. Today we’re here for a little payback.

“Griffon might have my balls in a vice when it comes tokillingBraxton, but like he said, as long as we don’t kill him, the rest is ‘fair game.’” I chuckle a little maniacally. I very well may have lost my mind, but I don’t give a shit. What I have planned will be very therapeutic.

We sit and wait. I know Braxton is here because Arrow’s guy told me so. All we have to do is wait for him to come out and head for his electric blue Ferrari. Pretentious bastard. It’s getting close to two hours we’ve been sitting here waiting for him to make his appearance when the man of the hour steps out of the back door to the club and makes his way to his car.

Alone.

We killed most of his security detail. Probably thinks he’s safe here at his club where there’s cameras and witnesses. Little does he know I now have a computer hacking wiz in my back pocket who hates him as much as I do. Don’t know why Blake dislikes him. If there’s a specific reason or just because his name is Shaw. Either way works in my favor.

There will be no video recordings of our arrival, the hours we sit here, or our departure. It’ll be like we were never here. So we’re not subtle about stalking out of the Camaro and sneaking up behind Braxton. He’s so oblivious to anything that isn’t about him he doesn’t even see us coming.

The damp rag in my hand ready to cover his nose and mouth. Just like he did with Clover. He’s limp in my arms after five seconds of a weak attempt to break free from my hold. Beau pops the trunk, and in he goes with very little grace. I also didn’t clean out my trunk, and he lands on top of a jack and random tools. The first discomfort and pain of the night.

***

The light overhead flickers a few times before settling into a low hum above us. Casting shadows from Braxton’s naked body zip-tied to a wooden chair in the center of the abandoned warehouse. Dusk shimmers outside the broken windows, and I have no more patience to wait for sleeping beauty to wake up.

Pulling back, I get a good wind up before bitch slapping Braxton back into consciousness. He yelps and mutters. Blinking away the chloroform haze to see Beau and me looming over him. He chuckles, fucker thinks this is funny.

“Phoenix Colton. Can’t say I’m surprised. A little cliché, don’t you think? Couldn’t find anywhere more interesting than an abandoned warehouse?Really?”

“Doesn’t matter where we take you. You’re still gonna pay for taking Clover.” Hot molten lava burns through my body, causing me to clench my fists. He is naked, tied to a broken chair, and he’s the one wearing the cocky grin. The asshole is a psychopath.

“Clover. How is my little pet? Did she tell you all the fun we had together?” Jesus fucking Christ himself couldn’t stop the right hook I plant on Braxton’s smug face. He leans to one side from the impact of my fist and spits blood on the floor. It drips from his nose and mouth when he turns back to look at me. A small flicker of satisfaction calms my immediate urge to kill him. What I have planned is so much better than killing him. I wasn’t lying when I said I would make him feel pain like he’s never known.

“So she has. She also tell you how wet I made her? How ready she was for me? The way she moaned under my touch?” This time I reach out and curl my fingers around his throat and squeeze. I can already see him turning red.

“What? Got nothing to say now? I’m listening.” I cup my free hand behind my ear and turn like I’m trying to listen closer. He can’t speak, my hand practically crushing his windpipe. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

One-handed, I lift, picking up Braxton and his chair, dangling him in the air by his throat, watching him choke and sputter trying to breathe. I would gladly stand here and watch the life drain from him, but Beau’s hand on my shoulder reminds me why we’re here.

Pain. I want to inflict pain after pain on him. He doesn’t deserve a quick death. I drop him, and the chair groans and splinters a little under his weight as it makes contact with the ground again. Hoarse coughs and gasps come from Braxton as he fills his lungs with oxygen. There’s already a nice red and quickly purpling mark around his neck in the shape of my hand.

“You can’t kill me.” He spits out between coughs.

“I don’t plan to. I have other things in mind.”

“And there are many things we can do to you that will make you feel like you’re dying,” Beau adds.

“First, however, I think you need a little something.” From my back pocket, I retrieve the collar I told Clover I threw away. I didn’t throw it away. I saved it so I could make him wear it while I teach him a lesson. Latching it around his neck, I lock it in place with a padlock. “Perfect. Now we can begin.”

“You’re fucking dead, Nix. As soon as I get out of here, you’re dead.” He threatens.

“Unfortunately, the same accords that keep me from killing you keep you from killing me. Unless you want my entire family to hunt down you and yours and slit your throats. You know as well as I that once blood is shed, sides will be taken, and shit’ll get real ugly real fast. I’m pretty sure you don’t have nearly as many allies as we do.”

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