Page 37 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

Pock had Kaeli pinned to his bed. Her shirt had been ripped open, exposing her white bra. His hands lay frozen on her naked stomach as he took in my loaded gun. The fact that he still had his pants on was the only reason he wasn’t dead yet.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Pock growled. “She’s fair game, Mitch!”

I moved closer to him, my aim steady and menacing. He knew I wasn’t bluffing. He snarled and slowly climbed off the bed. I couldn’t look at Kaeli. If I saw the pain I knew would be in her eyes, it would kill me.

“Exactly! And this is how I’m playing. SHE’S MINE! Until I get sick of her fuckable little ass, I won’t be sharing!”

I saw Kaeli moving on the bed, behind Pock. As much as I wanted to look at her, to check and see if she was okay, I wanted to keep Pock’s attention on me, so I kept my glare placed on his repulsive face.

His eyes narrowed with hatred. “Yeah, well I’ll be playing harder from now on too. You can’t be here all the time.”

Something animalistic snapped inside me. Quick as a lightning strike, I dropped the aim of my gun and squeezed the trigger. Pock screamed out in pain. Alarmed voices called out from below, followed by thumping footsteps on the stairs.

I threw Kaeli a desperate look, nodding for her to get behind me. I cringed when I saw the red rims of her eyes and her tear streaked face.

Thankfully she did as I’d hoped and was clear of the action by the time TJ appeared in the doorway. He gazed between Pock, slumped on the floor, holding his wounded leg, and me, still aiming my gun at him.

“He fucking shot me, TJ!” Pock screamed. “Do something!”

Fucking pussy. It’d barely scraped his skin. I’d made sure of it, but I knew I had to do something to get TJ on my side. I growled at Pock. “I told you she was mine until I’d had enough of her! If you’re not going to listen, I’ll fucking make you listen!”

“Oh come on, TJ! You’re not buying this bullshit are you? He’s had her for weeks! It’s my turn!”

I didn’t take my gaze off Pock, but I could see TJ shake his head slowly. “She was Mitch’s first. What he says, goes.” He muttered something under his breath then turned to Vinnie. “Go get the First Aid kit and get this fucking mess cleaned up!”

TJ disappeared out the door, and I didn’t waste any time with anything else but getting Kaeli out of there. I wanted to take her in my arms and gently carry her to my room, to wipe the tears from her cheeks and kiss the sadness from her eyes, but that would just contradict everything I’d just done.

With the anger for Pock still raging through me, I grabbed her shoes off the floor, gripped the top of her arm, and marched her out the door.

The instant I had her in my room, she broke away from me and strode straight for the table that held my bottle of bourbon. Her hands shook as she tipped the bottle, the amber liquid sloshing messily into the glass.

With her hands still unsteady, she thumped the bottle back down and up-ended the glass in one big gulp. She didn’t cough or choke, she just screwed her eyes shut tight and took huge, deep breaths.

I couldn’t watch any longer. Like someone approaching an injured animal, I advanced slowly. With gentle hands, I turned her to me and took her face in my hands, my gaze raking over her for any signs of injury.

“Please tell me you’re okay,” I said, my voice strangely rough.

She met my gaze, and I could see the panic there. It broke my heart. Licking her lips, she opened her mouth to answer, but then she closed it again and simply nodded.

Her body was shaking so badly. She swallowed hard, looking like she was trying to control her emotions. Without another thought, I pulled her into my arms and just held her. I breathed slow and deep, silently encouraging her to breath with me.

And she did.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the shaking stopped and the tension in her body started to ease.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how I could make up for not being here for her. I felt like I’d failed her in the worst way.

I was just going to tell her how sorry I was when I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Fuck. I hadn’t locked the door.

I had a split second to decide what to do. Lurch for the door to lock it, risking not making it and raising suspicion, or making it look like I was getting the bit from her I was so psychotically not sharing.

“Please forgive me,” I whispered, before pushing her against the wall.

With lightning fast moves, I shucked my shirt, unzipped my jeans, and yanked her skirt down. She didn’t even resist. She just let it happen with wide eyes that were barely containing her shock.

Wrapping my hand around her throat in a firm, but gentle, hold, I grabbed her ass and pulled her hips against mine. At the same moment, a fist thumped on the door and it swung open.

I growled loudly and jerked my head towards whoever the fuck was game enough to come interrupt me now. “WHAT?!”

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