Dakota
Shuttingofftheheadlights,I carefully pulled over two houses down from mine, parking where the street lamps couldn’t reveal my arrival. Upon leaving my car, I made quick strides along the neighbor’s hedges, stalking through the shadows until I reached the side of my house.
Before rounding the corner into the backyard, I was slammed against the metal siding, a hand covering my mouth before I could speak, and a hard object pressing into my stomach.
“What are you doing?” Rhylan hissed, glancing over his shoulder and around the corner, making sure no one was around and had spotted us. “And why are you sneaking around the side ofyourhouse?”
Jerking my head to the side, I freed my face from his palm and bared my teeth with rage.
“It’s mine. Did you fucking follow me?” I snarled like a rabid possum protecting its young before peering down at what he’d held against me, my eyes flicking up to meet his with a look of confusion. “Is that a baseball bat?”
“Yes and… yes.”
“What were you planning to do with that? Attempt to score a home run on me after already striking out?”Not the time for sarcasm, but I couldn’t help myself.
Startled by the sound of breaking glass, followed by a hard thud and a whimpered cry, I strong-armed the bat from Rhylan’s hands, shoving him aside with the barrel before proceeding toward the back porch.
“What are you going to do with that, Wildcat?” His tone carried a gentle warning, but at this point, there wasn’t anything he could say that would stop me. My decision was made, and I’d been waiting a long fucking time for this.
“Go home, Rhy.” I snapped over my shoulder, twirling the handle of the bat with my wrist to warm it up.
You don’t want to see what I’m about to do… And that was the last thing I wanted. For Rhylan to know just how fucked up I’d become over the years, what happens to a woman’s morals when they’ve been tested to their fullest extent. To bear witness to my madness in action.
“Dakota!” Rhylan growled just as I’d stepped inside, the shattered pieces of glass crunching beneath my shoes with every step.
Reaching the living room, I froze after spotting Tiffany on the floor, cowering between the couch and coffee table; trembling,terrified, as a man I remembered all too well stood over her with a fist raised in the air. My vision went red.
“Jaiden, you motherfucker.” Adjusting my grip on the bat, I took a few steps forward. “Get the fuck away from her, you’ve done enough damage—”
“D, don’t, he’s got a—”
Jaiden lowered his arm as he turned to face me, my eyes catching the Glock tucked into the waistband of his jeans.
“Dakota. It’s been a while, babe. Glad you could stop in for the reunion.”
“Fuck off, I’m not your,babe, you piece of shit. Never was and never have been.” His nickname for me, knotting my stomach all over again.
“You say that now, but if I remember correctly, you used to enjoy our late-night rendezvous.” Vitriolic thoughts started creeping through my mind; of all the nights he came to visit—stayed with Tiffany—only to sneak into my room after she’d fallen asleep.
My grip tightened, shoulders tensing as flashbacks pulled me back into the void he left behind; the tortured soul he’d created from the secrets I was forced to hide in an effort to protect my sister.
“Shut up, Jaiden. Just—shut the fuck up!” I threw everything I had into my first swing, aiming for his head. All the anger and aggression I’d bottled up over the years, fueling my drive for vengeance.
With a loud grunt, Jaiden just barely dodged the bat, and I quickly pulled back, going in with one shot after another, wailing on him like a fucking piñata until I split skin.
“D!”
“Run, Tiff.” I ground out through a labored exhale. “Get the hell out of here,now!” I didn’t want her to see this, any of it. She didn’t need to witness the murder of a man she’d once planned on marrying before he was hauled off to jail.
I hit him again, this time across the temple, droplets of blood spattering across the hardwood. Tiffany shook her head in response, unable to speak and unwilling to leave me behind, knowing what he was capable of when provoked to an extreme.
“Tiff!” I hissed one final time, begging my sister to flee, to protect herself.
Her eyes brimmed with tears as she picked herself up from the floor and took flight through the front door, forcing herself not to look back while I held our abuser’s attention.
“Still got that fearless spark I see.” Jaiden laughed like a goddamn psycho as he grabbed the barrel mid-swing and used it to pull me toward him, wrapping his hand around my throat when I was within reach.
Even beaten and bloody, he still acted as if I’d done nothing to injure him.
