“You’re… pa-thetic…” I managed to wheeze, right before he lifted me off the floor, and threw me against the side of the staircase, my head smashing into the wall with a loud crack.
I didn’t get a chance to catch my breath before he was on me again, this time dragging my body up the wall by the neck, his palm squeezing a little tighter.
“You cost me everything, Dakota. I had it all until you ratted me out.” The malice that dripped from his voice had my heart racing as his rage sank into me through his icy touch.
“You took… too much.” My fingers dug into his forearm as I fought for air, my only weapon landing clear across the room after he’d thrown me.
I was defenseless; weak compared to him, even in his compromised state, crimson trailing down the side of his face from the open cut on his forehead.
“I took what I deserved, youandyour sister.” His words churned my stomach, bile climbing its way toward my throat, burning me from the inside. “I would’ve been so good to both of you. Spoiling my girls like no man ever could.”
Hisgirls. His fucking girls.
“You… ruined… me…”
“I made youmine.”
No sound was more bloodcurdling to hear than the word ‘mine’ in such a guttural tone. The unwelcome possessiveness, the feeling of being nothing more than his property, when I never asked for it. It made me realize that there was only one person in the world that I’d allow to stake such a claim.
“Get your hands off my Wildcat before I fucking break them.” …Rhylan.
“And who the fuck are you?”
I violently squirmed, kicking my feet out when Jaiden’s grip tightened and he stared Rhylan down like a merciless predator.
“I’m the guy that’s going to beat your ass to a bloody pulp if you don’t let go of my girl. So I suggest you listen like a good boy… Or don’t. Honestly, I really don’t give a fuck what you do, I’m gonna kill you anyway just for touching her.”
Jaiden barked a sickening laugh, completely unfazed by Rhylan’s threat as he pulled the gun from his waistband and pointed it in his direction.
“Highly unlikely, my friend. I believe I have you outmatched, gun versus…nothing. And, for the record, Dakota was mine before she ever crossed paths with the likes of you. You have no claim here; this isn’t a game of finder’s keepers.”
Rhylan didn’t bat an eye at Jaiden’s bold statement, just slid his hands into his pockets and casually paced over to lean against the archway that divided the living room from the kitchen.
He had no gun, no weapon in sight, and was so…unbothered…
My eyes darted around the room, falling to where the bat had landed, at least, where I thought I’d spotted it.Where the fuck…
“Look, I’m all about fairness in love and war. But I don’t think you’re understanding just who the fuck you’re dealin’ with. Now, I’ve already given you a fair warning and far more chances than the last fucker who crossed me, but I’ll be a nice guy for a change and give you one more.Let. Dakota. Go.”
I couldn’t tell if it was the lack of oxygen from Jaiden’s palm wrapped around my throat or Rhylan’s white knight speech that had me falling weak, melting into the wall.
“Empty fucking threats, I’ll put a bullet in you and then fuck her right beside your dying corpse. How’s that for a fair fucking warning?” Jaiden glanced at me with a wink, and I knew exactly what was coming next. “Blow your boy a kiss, babe, it’ll be his last.”
“Rhy!—”Bang!
As Jaiden pulled the trigger, I shut my eyes, a sharp whimper escaping my chest as it tightened from the sound; a shockwave running through my nervous system like an electromagnetic charge. He released his hold on me, and I sank toward the ground, burying my face in my knees to avoid witnessing the death of a man I’d just fallen for.
“You dirty motherfucker—”
“Fight like a man instead of a pussy next time.” The sound of Rhylan’s mocking voice had my head snapping up, the hairs standing at the back of my neck as I watched him split Jaiden’s skull with one forceful swing, his body collapsing to the floor, motionless, blood rapidly pooling around his head—
“Marry me, Dakota.”I uhh, excuse me? Just how hard did I hit my fucking head?
Rhylan was standing at my feet with a hand extended, and I stared blankly at it in shock, feeling as though I’d been catapulted into an alternate reality from the gunshot.
“Are you insane?” My eyes darted from the deceased body to his, brows creasing with confusion.
“Evidently. What gave me away, Wildcat?” Rhylan raised the bat, its barrel soaked with blood, and rested it against his shoulder, completely unperturbed by ourslightlyproblematic situation.
