Page 103 of IOU

I’m so done.

I toss his fucking sandwich at his feet and then dig a couple of IOUs out of my pocket that I had planned to sneak back into his pocket as a joke and toss them at his feet. “Consider my debts paid in full.”

I take a few steps backward and ignore the twitching in Maverick’s cheek. “Don’t come for me,” I tell him. “You have no idea what I’m capable of right now.” Hashtag, I am a freaking psycho at the moment. I will burn all their shit in their cars.

“I hate you.”

I look at Tucker, who looks on like the smug bastard he is. “I hate you more and hope you get diarrhea. Maybe you’ll shit out some of the ugly inside.”

And with that, I flip them off with both hands, big, fat tears streaming down my face.

“Ainsley, wait!” Maverick takes a few steps and stops.

“I will set your laptop on fire, Maverick. I’m not even playing.”

The guy I thought I loved rocks back onto his heels. He’s no fool. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers. I nod. “I’m sorry too. I thought I had finally gotten it right this time.” I shrug like I missed my Uber and can order another one. “Guess not.”

I don’t want to see the pain in his face any longer. I’m sure he is sorry and maybe later when I don’t feel like I want to cut him, I can actually hear him out. But not now. Not when he won’t even tell me who asked for the favor. His loyalty should lie with me, not his business.

With my head down, surrounded by titters and whispers, I walk away, ignoring the “You’re dead” roaring out of Maverick and the distinct sound of a bone breaking.

Fuck ’em both.

Rumor has it he died for her.

“Calm down,” Sebastian barks as Rowan pins my arms behind me.

All I can see is her face. Confused. Shocked. Defeated. I betrayed her. I chose anonymity over the person I loved and trusted. I should have told her the truth about the favor, but it wasn’t any of that fucker’s business. No way did Tucker know the truth or the circumstances surrounding Ainsley’s and my arrangement. He simply spat out one of the circulating rumors which, unfortunately, held an ounce of truth to it.

Growling, I fight against Rowan’s hold.

“Maverick. Stop fighting us and calm your ass down.”

“I am calm,” I grit out to Sebastian, tugging at Rowan’s grip just in case he eased up and I can break free and get one more hit on Fuckface. He needs more than just a broken nose. And he would have had more if I hadn’t walked up to Ainsley’s table with Sebastian and Rowan behind me. We had just made a deal and I needed to get back to Ainsley. They were being pains in my ass and wanted to be introduced to her. They are such girls.

But then I saw Tucker perched at the same table as my girl. Rage powered through me faster than my legs carried me to the table. I knew Tucker wanted to speak with her. I assumed things hadn’t worked out with him and the ex-roommate, but I had no idea he was so upset over what we did to Taylor’s social media presence.

Honestly, I don’t see the point in him being upset. His girlfriend is a narcissistic bully. We simply showed the true her. She wanted to be famous. Now she is, just not for the reason she—or he—would like. I’m sure her bad rep wouldn’t look good to his fancy parents or his med school application.

But that’s what they both deserve.

Ainsley might have taken the high road and not sought revenge on her roommate and ex, but I did. Burning curtains wasn’t enough for what they did to her.

They both deserved to suffer like she did over the past few months. I wanted Taylor to shed tears like Ainsley had all those nights, and Tucker, well, I just wanted to ruin him. He never deserved the loyalty Ainsley gave him. He didn’t deserve either of the girls. What he deserved was to be alone with his expensive shoes and bad haircut.

Granted, I didn’t join Ainsley’s crusade on honest terms. That evening when she dumped food on my lap, I had gone to Studs and Spuds to check out this new girl I was supposed to help. I knew she had been kicked out of her apartment and suffered a breakup in the process. I was supposed to find her a place to stay. I wasn’t supposed to offer her my apartment, but when I saw how Taylor treated her and the way they fucked around with her tables, I knew her situation was as dire as he claimed it was. I balked at the idea of taking her in. The last thing I needed was some heartbroken woman crying to Adele songs in my apartment for a month until I could find her a place to rent.

But then she threw the plate of food in my lap.

I knew then she wasn’t going to sing some sappy breakup song. This girl was going to fight. This girl had no idea who I was, only that I was making a shitty day worse for her. I was intrigued. And when Tucker came to me a little while later for a favor, I decided I wanted to see how this played out between them.

Seeking revenge on her behalf came later. Ainsley became a constant in my life. I looked forward to going home and seeing what ridiculous shit she had done, and when I couldn’t stop the inevitable tears, I took matters into my own hands. Everyone needs their dreams to come true and given my deemed genie status, I decided to grant Taylor’s wish to become internet famous.

Not to say that makes me the good guy in this situation. I should have told Ainsley about the favor. Honestly, I planned on it, but when she went with me to the hospital, and I wanted her to meet my family, I chickened out. I didn’t want to fuck up what we had by admitting the truth. It was easier to keep it from her, at least for a little bit longer until the newness wore off.

Rowan scoffs, “Punching the pussy is not calm behavior, Mav. We need to go before security shows up.”

Fuck security.

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