Page 193 of The Silent Note

Priscilla? I thought her name was… actually, I forgot what her name was the moment she told me.

Humiliation mottles her features. Disco Girl scrambles to her feet.

I start to walk past her.

But now that she’s gained the attention of her friends and the people close by, Disco Girl starts waving her hands.

She grabs me and surges into my face. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Who the hell doyouthink you are?” I growl out, staring down and watching the fear flit into her eyes. Slowly, I let my gaze rove her barely-there dress to her jiggling breasts and finally to her caterpillar eyelashes. “Someone like you willnevermatch up to her.”

She sucks in a breath as if she’s never been rejected before. She’s pretty enough. I bet all she ever had to do was push herbody on a guy and he’d hand her the world. Well, I lost my world tonight, so I don’t have anything to give her.

Annoyed, I wrench her hand off and stalk outside.

The heavy sound of footsteps chases me. Two bulky guys twice the size of regular human beings charge outside.

I grin up at them. “Gentlemen, how can I help you?”

“He’s the guy who pushed me,” Disco Girl says, hustling out behind the giant on the left.

“How dare you push my sister.” The guy growls as he grabs me by the collar.

I stare up calmly. “Bro, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but…” I lean forward and whisper, “your sister’s a ho.”

His eyes widen.

“No shame in that. I love ho’s. Some would call me the male version?—”

His fist rears back and, when he lets it loose, the hairy knuckles bludgeon the side of my face.

“You wanna keep talking?” He shakes me.

Blood spurts from the side of my mouth. I taste the metallic tinge and I laugh.

“Freaking maniac,” he snarls. “You think this is funny?”

“Again.” I motion to him. “Hit me again.”

“Psycho.” He slams me in the face. More blood gushes.

My body slams into the pavement.

I spit to the side.

Red mingles with the garbage lining the path.

Damn, it hurts. Every nerve in my body flares with alarm. The signals push through my tendons to my mind, turning my head into an all-consuming ambush of fiery pain.

I’m not thinking about anything but the agony, the throbbing in my skull and the stars dancing in front of my eyes.

It’s perfect.

“Again,” I croak with a smirk.

“Ah!” The guy roars.

His sister grabs him before he can pummel me. “Don’t! His dad is Jarod Cross. If you kill him, they’ll send their lawyers or worse.”

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