Page 11 of Fiend
But it always goes too fast, no matter how long you spend on it. It’s never enough.
I swallow the lump closing my throat and shake my head. Not the time. Not the fucking place.
“We don’t have all fucking day, Vincent. I know you want to take your time, but this isn’t exactly well thought out.”
Vincent shrugs and slaps his hand across Trey’s face. His body twitches, in the throes of waking up, but not quite conscious yet. “Apparently, I’m impulsive when it comes to my baby doll.”
“Oh yeah? What the fuck ever gave you that idea?” I scoff, rolling my eyes. “Let’s see… You murdered her parents and then burned their house to the ground. You stalked her for months, beat the shit out of her… What was Dominik Reed to her? Herboyfriend?Fuck buddy? I’m still confused.”
Vincent’s resounding growl has a smile pulling at my lips. Such a fucking hair trigger.
The crack of latex against skin rings through the suffocating air and a high-pitched yelp makes my ears throb. How can one person be so damn putrid?
“Anyways,” I continue as Vincent keeps smacking Trey around, waking him up completely so he can really savor the pain he’s about to receive, “then you kidnapped her ass—again, I might add—brought her back to where she ran away from, then proceeded to literally stop her heart when you got the tiniest bit of information you didn’t like and snapped.”
I tap my latex-covered index finger on my chin as I mock ponder my next thought. “Anything I’m missing? I think impulsive is a bit of a fucking understatement.”
“Shut the fuck up, Leo,” Vin actually fucking growls at me, and a laugh bursts through my lips.
“Nothing to say?”
“How about you fucking help me with this piece of shit.”
SIX
VINCENT
Leo’s fucking babblingabout Dominik has set my blood on fire. I’m feeling antsy—and not in a good way.
Thoughts of Dominik motherfucking Reed never fail to set something off inside of me. Something… insecure. Because Essa loves him, I know she does—even after all this time. I can now acknowledge that and recognize it for what it is—a love for a friend who saved her life in many different ways, and vice versa—but it still doesn’t erase the image of his fingers on her. The sound of her breathy moans. The way she…
“Fuck!” I swing my arm down, and the blade of my knife sinks four inches deep into the flesh of Trey’s thigh. If he wasn’t fully awake before, he sure as fuck is now. His high-pitched wail sounds loudly through the house, and Leo is quick to swipe up a crusted T-shirt from the floor and shove it into his mouth, past his molars, until he’s gagging on it.
“Don’t choke him,” I point out as I twist the knife in Trey’s leg. His scream is muffled by the shirt. Leo pauses, hand still shoved in the guy’s mouth to glare at me. I pin him with a scowl of my own, not backing down.
“You think I don’t know how to do this, huh?” He pulls his hand away and straightens to his full height. I press down on the handle of my knife in Trey’s thigh as I stand to match Leo’s stance. Trey screams out, more blood soaking into his tattered sweatpants and dripping onto the grimy floor.
He needs to bleed more.
Leo takes a step around the chair, to the side of Trey, and his movement snaps my gaze to his. “Is the teacher feeling threatened?” I spit, and Leo sucks in a breath. I notice the subtle clench of his jaw, and I smirk, raising my brow at him in question while crossing my arms over my chest.
“Exactly that, Vincent. I’m your fucking teacher. Meaning I taught your punk ass everything you fucking know.” He steps up to me, his large pecs brushing against mine. He’s only a couple of inches shorter than me, so not enough to really make a difference. His hot, minty breath fans across my face, and the heat ignites my already boiling blood.
“True, but you haven’t done this shit in a long ass time, and your dusty ass is probably out of the loop.” I’m taunting him; I fuckingknowI am, but I can’t help it. He’s so goddamn…parentalsometimes, and I can’t fucking stand it.
“You don’t know shit about shit, Vincent,” he grumbles, turning away from me. I lean back, affronted.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask, my voice rising. What the fuck is he insinuating?
“Don’t fucking worry about it. We’re here for an entirely different reason. Not for you to butt heads with me. Or did you forget that amongst your rage issues?” With that, Leo swings his arm out and smacks Trey across the face. His head snaps to the side as a long, muffled groan breaks the tension.
Leo’s right—for once. This isn’t the time nor the place. But that sure as hell doesn’t mean I’m going to forget what he said. I’ll get it out of him one way or another.
“So, Trey,” Leo starts, and I step back with my arms still crossed, smirking at Trey as he darts his head back and forth between me and Leo with wide eyes. I can see the liquid pooling in them before falling down his dirty face, creating streaks as he blinks rapidly.
“I’m assuming you have no clue who we are, yeah?” Leo nods and clicks his tongue. “Yeah, no clue who we are. But that’s half of the fun, is it not?” He rounds the chair to face Trey and leans down in a crouch, resting his tattooed forearms on his knees as he peers at him, cocking his head to the side.
“Bold of you to even touch him. I can still smell him from here,” I say conversationally, and Leo laughs.
