Page 20 of Steel

Me:Very funny.

Josie:I’m serious. You should consider a job modeling.

Me:I’d tell you to go pound sand but our mother wouldn’t be happy with me.

Josie:Oh, Mom has been on the phone for hours with her friends. They all think you’re hot. Even my best friends are asking about you. Of course I told them that was gross.

Me:You would. Now go away. Let this man get some rest.

Josie:I told them you were a little boy at heart.

I adored my sister, but she could be the bane of my existence. While I laughed and finally took a long pull on my beer, I was still furious that someone had dragged the past up all over again. I didn’t need any additional reminders of how much my personal life sucked.

The phone was left in the kitchen before I headed into the living room, standing in the middle and staring at the massive A-framed set of windows that had a spectacular view of the mountains. I’d painstakingly taken my time to refurbish the woodwork in the room, paying attention to every detail.

Shit. I took another swallow then another, realizing I’d consumed half the bottle. I had a feeling the booze wasn’t going to alter my mood.

Usually only one thing did. I took the bottle with me and headed into another room, staring at one of two items in there, one being a table where I kept my gloves and tape. I’d stripped away everything else, tossing the couch and lamp, the bookshelves and every picture onto the front lawn just like Jasper had done.

My reason had been similar but far more painful.

Huffing, I stared at the punching bag, finishing my beer as I did.

After placing the bottle on the table, I yanked off my shirt. The gloves weren’t needed. Not today and with the mood I was in.

Maybe bruising my knuckles would help with the pain.

I approached with the same frown I usually did, which was clearly reflected in the panes of glass and the shimmer of afternoon sun. I lifted my fists, taking a few moments as I thought about how beneficial the bag had been to me keeping my sanity.

Or keeping me out of prison. I understood more than most why Viper had ended up behind bars after beating a man to death for murdering his sister.

Only the victim this time was me and I’d been a fool, not a dead body.

Whap!

I hit the bag and threw a few air jabs while getting my body used to the motion of dancing back and forth on the balls of my feet. My muscles were tense. I wish I could say from the grueling work over the last few days, but that had nothing to do with it. I was in the best physical shape of my life.

It was my brain that was constantly flicking on and off.

Just a fucking fool to believe Tanya had been in love with me.

Whap! Whap!

She’d been a user just like everyone had warned me about.

Whap! Whap! Whap!

If only I’d listened.

Whap!

Exasperated, I pressed my hands against my hips and paced the floor. I’d never considered myself a fool before. Then she’d waltzed into my life with her sweet smile and a laugh that always made me smile. And there’d been her killer body.

She’d pledged her love for me after the second month. That should have been the real red flag flying high. No one could fall in love that quickly. No one.

Whap! Whap! Whap! Whap! Whap!

The last hit was brutal, so much so the bag swung erratically, almost smashing into my head. Maybe that was the truth about what I needed to get my mind permanently off her betrayal.