Page 104 of Mommy

“Did you say you didn’t want it?”

The pure possibility of her saying no, and someone just ignoring that makes me so fucking angry.

Tears line her eyes, threatening to spill over her lashes when she blinks. Those baby blue pupils are swimming in salt.

“I … does crying count as saying no? Not really, right? It’s kind of a blurry line.?”

What. The fuck?

Did she just say she cried and that motherfucker didn’t see that as a no? And does she seriously think that her crying does not count as a stop?

I’ll kill that fucker.

“Crying counts.” I bite out. My voice is gravel on my tongue now, no matter how hard I try. “Unless you talked about it being kink, it’s not a fucking blurry line, Ivy. It’s a bright red blaring stop sign. Don’t you dare try to take responsibility for something that isn’t your fault.”

A sob breaks from her lips despite her fingers trying to capture the sound.

It makes me understand what Ezekiel was talking about when he said a gun wouldn’t be personal enough. Whatever Ex boyfriend Ivy is referring to right now, I want to see them bleed. And not from an exit wound in their body.

A gun just won’t do.

Chapter fifty two

Derek

Ezekiel answers after the third ring.

“Sup’ bro?”

He sounds a lot less annoyed than he did earlier so I guess he’s done with Rosemary for now.

“You free?” I’m switching off the lights in the living room, only leaving a small lamp in the hallway for when I come back home later.

“Yeah.” He yawns. “The Skid Row visit was a disaster. No dogs there, and the man you said I’d find? Not a hint of him either.”

For a moment, that gets my attention.

He was supposed to be there. Where could he have gone?

Where are the dogs?

“I need your help fucking someone up.” I get right back to the point. We can talk about Skid Row later, once my vision is no longer red.

His chuckle is all violence and for the first time I really get where it’s coming from. For the first time since I’ve known him I get why Ez enjoys taking out the people he does. I’m on the same page as him 100%.

The motherfucker that hurt Ivy deserves pain, and I want to be the one to cause it.

She’s in bed, fast asleep. I made sure she ate, helped her get into comfy clothes and when she dozed off snuggled up against me on the couch I carried her upstairs. She felt like a ghost in my arms. And not in the way she usually does, not because she isn’t heavy. It was more of an emotional weight, and I had to grit my teeth to keep my fingers soft and my grip gentle.

It took me ultimately less than 20 minutes to find out everything I needed to know. Logging into Ivy’s online space and tracking back to her past relationship status was child’s play, and since there was only one male mentioned? Just one name? A few pictures of herself and a man she deleted later on? I knew where I needed to go; who I needed to find.

I’m all calm and collected. That is until we reach our destination.

We come to a halt at the curb, tires screeching.

“Give me the mask.” I say quietly and Ezekiel hands over one of his ski masks. The fabric is a little scratchy, but I don’t give a fuck.

The scum bag touched her.