Page 54 of Ablaze

“Dean.” Mala’s hands land on my shoulders, the tips of her fingers digging into my shoulder blades. Her eyes bounce between mine. “You can’t go there alone, not when you’re this angry.”

“I’ll take Rohan.”

Mala’s mouth drops in shock. “Are you kidding me?” she hisses. “You can’t even tell Rohan! He’ll . . . he’ll murder Warren!”

I’ll do worse.

I pull out of her grasp, rolling up my shirt sleeves as I walk toward the exit. Pure venom tears through my veins as I imagine my palm wrapped around his weasley neck. “Then let me do this my way.”

She rushes in front of me, holding me back with her hand on my abs. “I’m coming with you–”

“No.” I tug her hand off me. “I don’t want you anywhere near that piece of shit.”

Her glassy eyes plead with me, and for reasons unbeknownst to me, I can see how much she wants this. “Dean, please.”

My nostrils flare as I take in her crumpled form in front of me. I want to fucking pull her into me and keep her there for the rest of time.

My instinct is to protect her, to refuse her request again, but as I study the vulnerability in her eyes, I notice something else behind it. Dignity. Fearlessness.

This beautiful, strong girl, who’s dealt with everything life has thrown at her. If a fucking fire couldn’t extinguish her spirit, then Warren’s got no chance.

And that’s why she’s insisting on coming with me–to show that bastard how resilient she really is.

“Fine.”

Her worried gaze stays on me even as she pulls her sweatshirt over her. “Do you promise not to do anything to him?”

I stare at her for a moment. Does she not know me at all?

“If you’re asking if I’ll commit homicide tonight, then yes, I promise.”

* * *

The fucker doesn’t even know what hit him.

One moment, he’s opening the door to let Mala and me in to pick up her stuff, and the next, he’s holding his broken nose as blood gushes out of one side.

At least he can’t say he wasn’t warned. Mala texted him that we were coming to pick up her stuff, and he let her know he was there. He also added–I’m sure for her benefit alone–that he wanted to talk to her privately.

Over my fucking dead body.

I punch him again in the ribs and he groans, sinking to the ground. A second later, I’m above him, one hand squeezing his neck and the other rearing back to throw one more punch to his jaw for good measure. “Motherfucker, that was the last and only time you put your grimy hands on her. You come within a mile of her from here on out, I’ll–”

“Dean!” Mala shrieks, rushing to my side and holding my arm in the air. “You promised–”

I turn my raging eyes to her. “I promised you he had one and only one shot to mess up and when he did–” I chuckle darkly, looking back down at the asshole’s pitiful face, “–because I fucking knew he would–I’d fuck him up.”

“Fuck!” Warren groans under me, holding his nose. Some of his blood has seeped into the collar of his ugly-as-fuck expensive shirt. “It’s fine, Mala. I fucking deserve it.” A tear rolls out the side of his eye as his gaze finds hers, and he heaves out a sputtering sob. “I fucking deserve it. I’m sorry, babe. I’m so fucking sorry.”

My hand tightens on his throat and I practically shake with ire. “Don’t you fucking dare call her that. You hear me?” I grit. “You don’t get to call her that. You don’t get to call her, period.”

He nods the best he can under my grasp, his face turning red.

And even though my rage is only minimally subsided, I heft myself off him, looking down at him with disdain and repulsion. My pulse throbs inside my temples, my eyes feeling like they could burn his whole goddamn house down with the sheer fire behind them.

I turn to Mala, my gaze immediately softening at the sight of her. I tug her toward me, wrapping her in my arms. I run my fingers through her hair right as she lets out a sob into my shoulder.

My lips rest on the top of her head. “I got you. I’ve always got you.” At her reluctant nod, I add, “Now go get your stuff.”

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