Page 59 of Marcellus: House of Drakos
Savannah thought that was a little rude of Marcellus, given where they were, but she understood it. The guy was rather aggressive unnecessarily she thought. And Marcellus’s response, though it didn’t ease the tension, was proportional.
But Alex’s brother stepped into Marcellus’s personal space. “Anything that happens at The Drakos is my business,” Oz shot back. “Now what do you want?”
Marcellus ignored him. “This is Savannah Richardson,” he said to Alex and Kari. “She’s my lady.”
She’s my lady. Did she hear him right? Savannah hadn’t expected him to go that far in public when they themselves had only just had the discussion. But it warmed her heart. He was all in. Which was all she ever wanted.
But Oz smiled. “Yourlady? Don’t you meanone of your ladies? I hear you’ve got many on that little island of yours.”
Marcellus looked Oz dead in the eyes. “Where’s your wife? I hear she’s rarely with you.”
Oz was offended, and surprised that he would know that kind of detail about his life. But he recovered. “At least I’ve got a wife. At least I’ve got enough good sense not to bring my whore into a respectable establishment!”
As soon as he said the wordwhore, Marcellus punched Oz so hard across his face that Oz thought Floyd Mayweather had hit him. That one lick packed such a punch that it wallowed Oz, and before he knew it he dropped down on his ass.
“Call her a whore again!” Marcellus yelled over his body. “Say that shit again!”
But Oz was as stubborn as a mule when he was angry, and he was enraged. How dare his father’s bastard try to handle him! And when Marcellus dared him to call Savannah a whore again, he did just that. “Whore!” he yelled out. “She’s your whore just as I said!”
Savannah knew enough about Marcellus to know that he wasn’t going to stand for that. She tried to pull him back, but she could tell he was enraged. He snatched away from her and grabbed Oz up, carried him by the catch of his shirt all the way across the floor, and then threw him violently onto the other sofa.
But when he reached down to punch him again, Oz blocked the shot, grabbed Marcellus down to his level, and both men flipped over the sofa as they fought to get the upper hand.
“Alex, do something!” Kari said frantically to her husband, but Savannah could tell Alex Drakos wasn’t entirely against his brother’s aggression. The bad blood between those two sets of kin apparently ran so deep that Alex was willing to letthem work it out. “Just stay out of it,” he said to his wife. His arm was in front of her barring her from movement.
Oz had the upper hand after the two brothers fell over the sofa, and then he flung Marcellus onto his back, got on top of him, and began punching him violently.
But Marcellus managed with all he had to throw Oz off of him and get to his feet. Oz jumped up quickly too, and then both men began punching each other. Then Marcellus threw Oz against the wall and kicked him in his balls.
But when Marcellus went low, Oz went to hell. He pulled out a switchblade, flapped it open as if he was one of those teenagers inWestside Story, and was ready to cut that bastard’s penis off.
Alex knew then he had to intervene. A fist fight was one thing. A knife fight was different. He knew that both men were gutter fighters from way back and they had taken it to a level just moments ago he didn’t think was possible.
And he took over. “Drop the knife, Oz,” he yelled at his brother. “Drop that knife right now!”
But Marcellus knew Oz’s ass wasn’t dropping shit, so he attempted to take it from him. He grabbed Oz’s hand and both men began a fight for control of that knife. There was going to be blood. It was written on both of their hate-filled, enraged faces. But it wasn’t going to be Marcellus’s blood. Not if Savannah could help it.
When both men went into a death grip for control of that knife, Alex rushed over and tried with all he had to separate the two men. But both were younger than Alex and too strong. But he kept trying.
Savannah could see that Oz, who was younger than Marcellus, was getting the best of the fight. He was within inches of stabbing his own half-brother. And if it hit the wrong organ, Savannah knew that could be all she wrote for Marcellus.Just the thought of Marcellus no longer on this earth terrified her.
That was why she ran behind Oz, lifted her leg, and with the heel of her stiletto shoe she kicked Oz as hard as she could right up his ass. She kicked him so hard she fell on her butt.
She kicked Oz so hard that it felt like an iron rod had been forced up his ass. He screamed out in unbearable pain, dropped that knife, and held his ass. “What the motherfuck!” Oz yelled out as he kept turning from left to right to see what happened to him, and who did it to him.
When he realized Savannah had done it to him, the woman he referred to as a whore, he was stunned. So were Alex and Marcellus as Alex picked up the knife and closed it. They were all astonished.
But Kari was laughing. She couldn’t help it. She was bent over with laughter. “Now that’s my kind of sister right there,” she was saying.
Oz was about to go for thatsister, and Marcellus jumped in front of Savannah about to go for Oz, but Alex put his arm in the way and stopped them both. “Okay that’s enough!” he yelled to his younger brothers. Marcellus deserved an ass kicking, as far as Alex was concerned. That woman did too, after what she did to Oz. But not on Alex’s watch. “Just cut it out and cut it out now!” he ordered.
And finally order was restored.
Marcellus helped Savannah back to her feet. He wanted to pull her into his arms. He wasn’t sure what she’d done, but he knew it had something to do with Oz’s ass because he was still holding it. Which brought joy to Marcellus’s heart. He didn’t just have the lover of his life in Savannah. He had a partner in her. A true, hardcore, ride or die partner. In that moment he knew it like he knew his own name. She was fearless. She was his. And he was loving it!
Oz picked up his fallen hat, alongside his fallen pride, and kept his eyes on that . . .woman. He certainly couldn’t call her a whore anymore. What whore would fight for her man like she was willing to do? She could kiss his ass, she and her man both, but he had to respect her game.
Alex gave Kari a look that made clear she was out of line with the laughing, causing her to suppress her grin. But she couldn’t help it. Savannah kicked the shit out of Oz’s ass. She couldn’t wait to tell Jordan. She couldn’t wait to tell the rest of the family. They were never going to let him live it down.
