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Daire pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his jeans pocket, and as the elevator doors began to close, he said, “You should go to your room. Get some sleep.”
The doors closed, and I watched and waited to see which direction he was actually going. When the car did indeed go to the roof, I felt a weight leave my chest. Daire could be so unpredictable, and the last thing I wanted was for him to get involved in all this. But he seemed to be keeping his word, and if he wanted to cool off, literally, on the roof in the freezing, middle-of-the-night winter temps, then that was better than the alternative.
But Daire was right about one thing—I needed to get some rest and soak my body in a salt bath. Maybe then I’d be able to forget about what happened and put it all behind me.
TWO
daire
THERE WASN’T A chance in hell I was letting that motherfucker get away with touching Gavin.
From the second I saw the tears on his face that he’d tried to convince me weren’t there, my blood was boiling. It was instinctual, the need to protect him, and I didn’t understand why rage hit me harder when it had to do with Gavin, but I didn’t question it.
Especially not when I saw the evidence of Joey’s hand on his arm.
Heading up to the roof to cool off and have a smoke was the excuse I made to Gavin, telling him exactly what he wanted to hear, because he wouldn’t like what was really about to happen.
I may have promised not to kill his piece-of-shit ex, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make himwishhe was dead.
Up on the roof, I made a few calls, not giving a damn how late it was. Wherever Joey was, that was where I would be.
It didn’t take long before one of the bartenders at a club we frequented texted back, letting me know he’d seen Joey and a few others heading to an after-hours spot nearby.
How convenient—it was within walking distance of the Towers. Add in an audience, and my adrenaline was pumping. I was ready to get my hands on him.
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I headed to the elevator and then keyed in the code for the lobby.
Hopefully Gavin had listened and was already in bed, but if not… Well, that wasn’t going to stop me. Batting those innocent eyes at me only went so far, and I was past the point of reason now.
The second I stepped out of the Towers and back into the cold, I lit up a cigarette, not that I expected anything to tamp down my temper. I took in a deep inhale and blew it out as I headed south.
For months now I’d had to sit back and watch the disrespectful way Joey treated Gavin, and fight back the urge to put that piece of shit in his place. From the way he’d casually point out some random he’d like to fuck, or not bother to show up to a party because it was “too far” for him to travel, or that Gavin spent too much time with our group and not enough with Joey’s dick squad.
Shit, the list went on and on, but I’d behaved myself because, for some unknown reason, Gavin had gotten a hard-on for this prick.
Tonight, that all changed.
The second I’d seen those marks, the minute Gavin confirmed what I already knew—that Joey had dared to touch him—my temper had been set to blow. There was no holding it back, no reining it in, and with each step I took I could feel the rage bubbling up inside of me.
I rounded the end of the block and spotted the twenty-four-hour alcohol soak-up spot with its lights still on and plenty of patrons inside, proving, as always, that this was the city that didn’t sleep.
Shouldn’t be too hard to find Joey’s ugly mug in the crowd inside.
I flicked my cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with my booted heel, then pulled open the door and headed inside. It didn’t matter that the sun would be up in a few hours—the place was still brimming with life as people scarfed down pancakes and bacon and threw back black coffees or Bloody Marys, anything to soak up or prolong the buzz.
I scanned the booths, my eyes drifting over anyone who didn’t match Joey’s description, until they skidded to a stop on the four guys at the far corner table. They were laughing and joking around with one another, being obnoxious as fuck for as early as it was—which, as it turned out, would work perfectly for what I had in mind.
Joey’s back was to me. I could see his big, boxy head sitting on top of that thick neck of his as he stuffed his face with pancakes, and as I made my way up the aisle, I noted his other minions were so engrossed in their meals that they were completely oblivious to the wave of rage rushing their way.
It wasn’t until I tapped Joey’s shoulder, he turned in his seat, and my fist met his face that it clicked they were fucked—and by then, it was too late.
Joey cursed loudly as his fork went flying out of his hand and landed with a clang on the ground. He surged to his feet with a hand to his cheek, his eyes narrowing on me.
“Hurts more when you don’t see it comin’, doesn’t it?” I snarled.
Joey spat some blood onto the ground, and I was disappointed not to see a tooth.
“The fuck is your problem, asshole?”
