Page 146 of Hate So Deep

“He-He pushed me,” she mumbles.

“And,” I press, even though I don’t know if I’m causing her more trauma, but I have to know so I can assess how fucked we are.

“I pushed him back.”

Shit. Fuck. Damn.

It was self-defense but will anyone believe her?

She was completely wasted when she left our house. God knows what she did or took at Gage’s.

This is bad. This is really fucking bad.

“Gah,” Buck moans and I glance up.

It may make me a complete asshole, but Buck’s predicament has nothing to do with me and after all the shit he’s pulled, he deserves a painful end.

However, if I leave him here and he’s not truly dying, will that create more problems for Lauren?

“Bch,” Buck says while I stand to get a better look at his injuries.

“B-Bch,” he says again and a gush of blood slides from his lips.

Fuck me.

“Lauren?” I say, moving back to her.

She’s so pale, I worry she might need medical attention but if I take her to a hospital, what then?

“Bitch,” Buck says, and she shudders, her thin shoulders folding in.

“Fckg bitch,” he says again and this is what makes the decision easy.

Buck is not going to take this lying down and Lauren doesn’t deserve to be punished for his bullshit.

Why are they even here? Why would he bring his sister to this fucking warehouse when it’s clear to see she’s completely wasted?

“C’mon, baby girl,” I say, grabbing her under the arms to help her stand.

When her fingers drop away from his hand, I look away because I’m leaving this man to die alone in the most fucked up way possible.

Shit.

“Let’s go,” I say and push her gently toward the door, ignoring Buck’s pained moans, echoing around us as we walk away, only to pause when a new threat appears before us.

I would recognize Hate anywhere. He runs a gang of men who dabble in drugs and prostitution.

We’ve never had beef, and I’d like to keep it that way but I’m not about to let anything happen to Lauren and I step between them as his icy blue eyes bore into mine.

“Evans,” he says, and I cross my arms.

“Hate.”

His gaze rolls over my shoulder to Lauren’s head before he moves to Buck still fighting for his life impaled on the machine.

After a moment, he says, “What happened to Stark?”

“He messed with the wrong guy,” I say, and Hate raises a brow.

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