Page 5 of Unmasked Rivalry
“I have not,” I say, matter-of-factly.
He turns and stares at me, and I can see how glassy his eyes are in here. The man is drunk, and no doubt enjoying every second of this. “Want to?”
But then the radiator creaks and a rather large, rather angry-looking rat launches from the corner. I instinctively yelp, then scramble behind Knox and grab his upper arm. Instantly, my hand is full of warm, flexed muscle, and I hate myself a little for noticing, more for not letting go.
He lifts the gun, fires once. The radiator rings. Metal-on-metal, it’s so loud my eardrums scream. The bullet’s nowhere near the rat, but the sound is enough to send three of them, three, screaming from the shadows, straight at us.
I shriek. Knox laughs, like he is enjoying every twisted second of this, and fires again, this time hitting a piece of the wall that now has a goddamned hole in it that I have to fix. The rats scatter, but one goes straight for my bare foot.
Before I can think, I climb him. I grab both his biceps, press my entire self to his back, and my legs go around his waist, like a fucking monkey. It is not elegant, but it is effective. It doesn’t stop him, he aims the gun and shoots the scurrying rats, one by one. When the last one drops, silence fills the air.
I release him, horrified.
He turns, staring at me, an amused grin on his face. “Not goin’ to lie, I’m impressed by your climbing skills.”
“I hate you,” I mutter, rubbing my arms. “I don’t even know you, but I hate you.”
He shoves his gun into his jeans, then casually takes a sip of beer like he didn’t just murder all three rats. “Enjoy your evening.”
With that, he turns and walks towards the door.
“Wait,” I yell, and he pauses. “What do I do with those? Burn them? Mail them to ex-boyfriends?”
He salutes with his can. “Leave them as a warning for the other ones.”
I look at the twitching shadow under the radiator and whisper, “Other ones?”
Somewhere beneath the floorboards, I hear a scratch.
Oh good.
Fucking wonderful.
2
That was the night from hell.
I mean literally. With dead rats on the ground and more scurrying through the house like they own the place, I might as well be in the fiery pits themselves. I spent the night in my car, stuffing an old towel in the door and closing it, then tucking it in anywhere I could so that it would at least deter the little fuckers from coming through the window gaps.
By morning, I am tired, hungry, pissed off, and ready for this to be over. I’m more determined than ever to win that bet against Knox now, because it means he can deal with this house and I can get out without it sending me broke. Plus, he is good with a gun, and I have a feeling I might just need one after this. But first, I need a damn coffee because I can’t face the day ahead without one.
It’s about 9 when tires rattle up the drive. I’m sitting on the hood of my car with a cup of cold gas station coffee, trying to bring myself to go inside, when the girls from the club show up in a busted-out old jeep. I stare at them as they come to a stop, and three of them get out. I wrack my brain trying to remember their names but yesterday was somewhat of a blur.
They’re all beautiful, though, like a girl band strutting towards me, about to bust out into song.
“Morning!” the one with the gorgeous dark red hair sings out, cheerful.
“Hey,” I say, wearily, not entirely sure why they’re here.
“I’m Mera, in case you forgot, and that’s Nia and Sable,” Red says, pointing her finger to the other two girls.
Mera, that’s right.
“Callie,” I smile. “Dare I ask why you’re here?”
“This is an intervention,” Mera says, stepping up to the side of the car and pulling out a tent. “We heard about the bet, and we’re not about to let you lose. Knox needs someone to kick him up the ass.”
I chuckle, sliding off the hood and standing, staring as they unload things from the jeep.
