Page 20 of Manhattan Tormentor

Over my dead body, Maverick.

If nothing else, my anger unlocks my brain that day and I have a minor breakthrough with what was blocking me. I stay up half the night in the garage at home, tinkering as I always do.

I try not to think of a pair of lips and hot gray eyes that belong to a monster.

A monster I wouldn’t mind living under my bed.

Fuck.

I’m pitiful.

It doesn’t take me long to realize how far Finn Maverick has crossed over a line even I won’t ignore.

People assume I’m aloof and in a world of my own.

If that’s true, then it takes Finn attempting to use my sister to get me the fuck out of my world and pushing into his.

I’ll break him, like he’s trying to do to me, before I let him win.

C H A P T E R 6

Sage

I’m going to snap her scrawny neck. I swear I am.

Raene forgets I follow all her social fucking media.

I hate the things, it’s all about popularity, but it’s a great way to monitor my troublemaker sister.

She thinks she’s being sly and clever, but I decoded her stupid party messages to her gang of friends in seconds.

I will kill her and bury her under the tree in the backyard.

We’re only a year apart in age, but I’ve always felt responsible for Bunny. She’s an atom bomb of energy and often goes into things half-cocked with no fail-safe. Because she knows her brothers will be there as her safety net.

We always will be. But it doesn’t stop me feeling pissed off as I drive across Manhattan to Bates’ house.

I was right in the middle of doing some epic nerd shit, so she better have a groveling apology ready.

I’m spitting nails by the time I pull up outside. Leaving the car, I head up the porch steps to the white brick townhouse.

The door is open. The music is loud. It’s wall to wall bodies inside and it stinks of weed and sex.

My anger intensifies.

I spot one of her girl gang first and grab her arm. Her eyes widen when she sees it’s me. “Where is she?”

“W-what, who?”

“Don’t be fucking funny, where is Raene?”

The girl shrugs and I drop her arm to push my way through the crowd. I swear, if she’s upstairs I will murder these pricks.

Couples are making out wherever my eyes land. One moaning chick is being fingered for all to see.

A body bumps into me, and I turn my snarl to see it’s the house owner. Bates’ smile drops, confusion colors his face. Not a surprise, because even if I got invited to these things, I wouldn’t go.

Well aware I’m anti people. Socially awkward. I never know what to talk about, and everything I want to talk about isn’t an interest to anyone else.

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