Page 26 of Devoured

Tyler wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Hold this for me," he said and handed her something before charging toward me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Penny yelled after him.

Asking to be killed.

Tyler dropped his shoulder at the last second, slamming into my stomach. It was a cheap shot. He knocked me into a few couples dancing as we fell to the floor.

I punched the side of his face again before my back hit the hard cement. I groaned. I was too old for this shit.

“I said get the fuck out of my house!” Tyler yelled.

“Not without Penny.” The music was so loud that it didn’t matter what I said. No one could hear me but him.

People started screaming around us as we rolled and almost knocked into more people.

I grabbed the collar of Tyler’s shirt. “I will kill you if you ever even think about touching my girlfriend again.”

He punched me square in the jaw. And I didn’t even care. I just tightened my hands on his shirt.You think that hurts me? You think anything hurts me anymore?I loved the taste of blood in my mouth.Hit me again you prick.That was my secret weapon for winning a fight. Let my idiot opponent get worn out with a few cheap shots. Because I didn’t feel anything. And once he was tired I’d beat the shit out of him.

“I didn’t just touch her,” Tyler said.

I tightened my hands even more. Did he know how easily I could snap his neck? “You’re messing with the wrong person.” It was my final warning. He was a student. Hitting him with a few punches was bad. But making him unrecognizable was another thing entirely. And I was losing control. Slowly. I felt myself slipping.

Tyler landed another shot across my jaw. “Am I? You’re the one that’s about to be fired.”

“I’ll set your dick on fire if you ever put it anywhere near Penny again.” Now I was an arsonist? That seemed like a good progression from stalker.

The dance music suddenly stopped.

"I'll fuck whoever I want to fuck," Tyler snarled as he landed another punch across my face.

The basement was eerily silent.

Everyone had heard it. Everyone knew what Tyler had done. And if I thought I was seeing red before? It was definitely all I could see now.

The room was quiet for another second and then people started yelling, "Fight, fight, fight!"

"Stop it!” Penny yelled. “Both of you, stop!"

I didn’t want her to be worried about both of us. I wanted her to choose me. Right here, right now.

She tried to grab Tyler's arm before he landed another punch across my face. But I didn’t even care when his knuckles collided with my jaw. It didn’t faze me one bit. I was doing my best to show restraint, but when I’d bought my axe prop, I’d thought about how fun it would be to hit someone with it. And I didn’t want to miss my chance. So I grabbed it from the floor beside me, and whacked Tyler on the side of the head.If only it had been a real axe.

He teetered slightly.Lightweight.This was barely even a fight.

I grabbed Tyler's collar again and pulled him close to my face. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the hell away from her."

"I can end you," Tyler said.

Didn’t he see? I didn’t fucking care. I was nothing without Penny. He was fighting a losing game here. "Then do it." I let go of his collar and pushed him back down to the floor.

I stood up. I knew I was probably sporting a black eye. And the taste of blood wasn’t going away, so I probably had a busted lip. I looked over at Penny.Come with me. Now.

But instead of understanding my silent demand, she looked over my shoulder as Tyler stood up.

"Please stop fighting,” she said. “James, please just go. We can talk tomorrow, okay? Please."

And leave you here with Tyler? Not a chance in hell."Penny, do not make me carry you out of here,” I said.

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