Page 13 of Worth Risking It

Narrowing my lids, I resisted the urge to sneer. Now this was a gold digger. “More than enough.”

“And how does he got all this money? What does he do exactly?”

Both of us coming to a stop, my weight to one leg, I took a drag, exhaling through my nostrils. Staring down the length of my nose, I smiled smugly and said, “Milo’s in the mafia.”

She choked on a gasp, her jaw falling. “That ain’t funny, Wyatt.”

Snorting, I shrugged my arms out. “Funny? Who’s joking? Unlimited funds, he bought Chazzy a penthouse, gave her an allowance, and still pays her five grand a month, in cash, for massages. That closet full of unmarked packages? Probably drugs.”

Trembling, her teeth rattling, her eyes misted. “This isn’t funny. I want to go home.”

As she stomped forward, I whipped out my gun from the waist of my trousers, beneath my jacket. In one, graceful sweep, I had cocked it and aimed it at her forehead before she had a chance to blink. “Again, who’s joking?”

She paled, her eyes bulging. The tears dripping, she was slowly backing up, her boots crunching the snow. “Oh, shit.”

Keeping up with her pace, I never let her face more than four inches from the barrel. “You fucked up, Jennifer.”

“I’m sorry,” she wheezed, shaking her head.

“How many times did you hug Chazzy, telling her how much you loved her, acting like she was the best friend you ever had, and then spread those legs for Milo later that night?”

Sniveling, her boot hit a patch of leaves, and she almost slipped. “I’m so sorry.”

“And when you get caught and kicked to the curb, instead of cutting your losses, you want to try to weasel your way back with a baby? Why do you want to destroy her, huh?”

“I’m so sorry!” she shrieked, her palms clapping to her cheeks. “I ain’t even pregnant, I was lying. I’m so sorry, I’ll leave them alone.”

My brows lifting, my chin tucked toward a shoulder. “Not pregnant?”

“No, no, honest. I’m…I’m on my period.”

“Then why would you do that?”

Stopping in her tracks, her features twisted with rage, she blurted, “Because it’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair?”

“She goes her whole life, not wanting no man, and suddenly, she gets one and he’s the jackpot? You know how many dicks I’ve sucked and ridden, and ain’t been able to get half of what she got? She didn’t even want him,” she shouted, slicing her hand through the air. “How’s it fair she get a man like that when she ain’t put in the hard work?”

Absolutely disgusted, I scoffed and shook my head. “Well, I guess it don’t matter anymore. You picked the wrong people to fuck with, skank.”

Yelping, she spun and took off running, darting behind a tree before I could pull the trigger. Cursing, I took off after her. Because I knew the area and she didn’t, I caught up to her in less than a minute, fisting her ponytail to snatch her against my chest.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, the sound bouncing off the limbs. Still gripping the gun, my arm hooked around her stomach, but she reared up, squirming and flailing about. The motion jerked my frame to the side, and something snapped in my back. Pain exploding, I threw my twisted face to the sky and shouted, “Ah, fuck!”

Dropping the gun, I held both sides of her head and wrenched to the side with all my strength. The popping of her bones vibrated through her muscles and her limbs went limp. I let her go and she slumped to the snow covered leaves, her eyes wide, pupils dilated.

Panting, I stretched to the side, holding the throbbing area. “Mother…fucker,” I hissed, sweat beading my forehead.

With my foot, I nudged her aside to retrieve my gun. Curious, I lifted the skirt to her dress, pulled down her tights, and tugged her panties aside. Sure enough, there was a tiny string hanging out from her pussy lips.

“You goddamn cunt,” I grunted, kicking her side. “So fucking stupid. All that, for nothing.”

Tucking the gun to the small of my back, I locked my jaw, ignored the excruciating pain, and knelt to scoop her into my arms. Though every step was agony, I carried her down the slope to the water where I had already broken through the ice that morning. Forcing her petite frame through the hole, I bent forward, pushing her head under the freezing water to shove her under the sheet with the current.

Slowly standing, shaking my hand and wiping it on the side of my jacket, I pulled out my cigarettes and lit another, not really sure where I’d lost the last one. Trekking through the snow, my hand pocketed, I hotboxed the nicotine as I made my way back to my truck.

Chastity was saved from one more piece of trauma. I couldn’t protect her from all the heartaches she was going to be faced with as a Pampinella, but I would do what I could. This was one sorrow she never had to know about.