"I will do whatever the fuck I want!" His face is turning purple. "Because I am in charge of this fucking family, and I say youwillmarry Melina Giovanni! Her father and I have already made the deal! I havetoo much riding on this for you to fuck it up like you do everything else in your miserable life!"
My fingers itch, the tension crackling just under my skin. He slams a fist into my gut and I drop to my knees, clutching my stomach.
I don't see him leave, but I hear the sound of the door slamming shut and my gaze falls to the crackling fireplace. The flames dance in front of me, taunting me, refusing to provide the relief I so desperately crave.
Open.
Close.
Open.
Close.
His words echo in my mind. Failure. Disappointment. Pathetic. Useless.
Helpless.
"Oh, there you are Lars. I was startin' to worry about you." The little fireball's sweet voice snaps me out of my flashback, and my eyes immediately find her, sitting against a tree in the courtyard with a book in her lap.
She's looking up at Lars fucking Devereaux with the same vicious smile she gave Paige before introducing the lunch table to her face. Repeatedly.
Gods, it was hot as fuck to watch.
He towers over her, and she doesn't even stand. Just stays on her cute little ass under the tree. Part of me wants to go over there and tell him to fuck off, but the other part? The one that got hard as a rock watching her put Paige Lawson in her place? Yeah, that guy wants to see what happens next. "You put me in the fucking hospital, you little bitch—"
Her eyes go wide as she places a hand on her chest in shock. Her accent gets even thicker as she blinks up innocently at him. "Why, sir!I have no idea what you're talkin' 'bout. I'm just a little omega. How could I possibly putyouin the hospital?"
He grits his teeth. "Don't act so innocent. We all know you've murdered twelve alphas."
"Thirteen." She smiles sweetly.
Fuck. Whatisit about her?
"Also, Lars, Sweetheart," she drawls, and I grind my teeth at the word sweetheart. Logically, I'm aware that she's being condescending as fuck, but my alpha hindbrain doesn't like it. "I wonder what you expected to happen when you attempted to strangle an omega who, as you just pointed out, has taken the lives of thirteen abusive, predatory, narcissistic assholes such as yourself? Kinda seems like a…what do you call it?" She puts her finger on her chin. "Ah. A 'fuck around and find out' situation, don't you think?"
Also…what the fuck? He tried to strangle her?
I have my theories about how the little fireball had murdered so many alphas and lived to tell about it—because honestly, physically, alphas have every advantage—from drugging to manipulation, I had gone through every possibility. But she putLarsin the hospital?
Before he can answer her, Jo's arm shoots up and between his legs, and Lars stiffens. I don't know how it happens, but I'm halfway across the courtyard when she says something quietly to him, and he glowers down at her before turning on his heel and walking away. That's when I see the glint of a knife being put back in her pocket and my brows shoot up. Damn. Jojo doesn't mess around.
Her eyes find me and my steps stall, realizing that I'm now awkwardly between my regular bench and her. She arches a brow at me, and I find myself grinning, continuing my steps until I plop down on the grass next to her. "Jojo."
There's a flicker of something that looks an awful lot like pain on her face before she huffs. Shit.
“Not Jojo?” I venture, feeling like maybe I drew up a bad memory.
“My sister calls me that,” she says, sounding like she would rather talk about anything else.
“Well, I really don’t need you subconsciously associating me with your sibling, so definitely not Jojo.”
“Oh?” She asks, sounding intrigued. “And why would that be?”
I grin at her. “There’s nothing sibling-like about the effect you have on me.”
"Well, youdidtell me that my insults were gettin’ you hard, so I shouldn’t be too surprised." She smirks, and it's a good look on her.
"Would you rather I lied?" I grin, crossing my legs in front of me. "I can't help it, Fireball. There's just something about you."
