AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I follow him immediately, my heart fluttering like a bird’s wings. I can’t just let him leave, knowing he’s going to my mom’s place.
He takes the stairs two at a time, going down to the tiny foyer and out of the building. I follow him all the way to his car, and he doesn’t stop me when I grab the handle of the passenger door and get in.
Everything in me is screaming that I shouldnotbe doing this, but I can’t stop myself. I buckle my seatbelt, and I’m along for the ride.
Neither of us talks as Malice drives. The air in the car is tense. He’s like a statue, staring out the window with his tattooed hands gripping the wheel tightly.
His scent fills the car with something deep and smoky, and it feels like too small of a space to be in with him. It’s hard to breathe. He fills up every corner of the car with his presence, radiating fury and irritation and that dominant intensity that both draws me in and terrifies me.
I have to swallow hard, glancing out the window instead of looking at him.
It’s not a long drive to my mom’s place, and Malice is out of the car as soon as he pulls up. I have to scramble to keep up with him, and he bangs on her door the same way he was banging on mine.
Mom answers it after less than a minute, and Malice pushes his way inside with me behind him.
“Oh. Willow.” My mother glances past his shoulder at me, surprise registering on her face.
She smiles at me as if there’s nothing wrong, as if we didn’t have a huge fight the other day when I confronted her about stealing from me. There’s something about the way she carries herself that makes me think she might be high, and I have to take a deep breath to keep my emotions under control.
Her gaze slides back to Malice, and I can see her taking him in with an appreciative gleam in her eyes. “Who’s your friend, baby?”
“He’s not—”
Before I can figure out how to finish that sentence, Malice cuts me off, stepping right up into my mother’s space.
“You took something that doesn’t belong to you,” he growls. “That money was Willow’s, not yours.”
Mom blinks, her jaw dropping open. But she recovers quickly, finding her casual smile again. “I don’t know what Willow told you, but that’s—”
“She told me you took it.” His voice is unyielding. “And I’m telling you to give it back.”
My mother scoffs lightly, raising a hand as if to brush the whole thing away. “It’s not like that. This is a family matter that really doesn’t involve you. So—”
Malice takes another step toward her, looming over her like a god of death. “Too fucking late. I’m already involved. Now are you gonna give the money back, or am I going to have to make you?”
Usually, it takes a lot to make my mom back down. She’s so secure in herself and her lies that I’ve seen her stare down bigger men than Malice. But those men didn’t have that threatening air that he does. Everything about him is dangerous and intimidating, and even though he’s not yelling or raising his voice at all, the threat is still right there, front and center.
Mom looks away for a second, and she actually seems to shrink a little. All I can do is stare on in shock as she looks cowed for the first time in her life.
“Fine,” she says, her slurry words dripping with irritation. “I took the money. I needed it, okay? But it’s all gone. Just like I told her.”
She jerks her chin in my direction, but Malice keeps his focus entirely on her, his shoulders set and his hands curled into fists.
“I think that’s a lie,” he says softly. “No, scratch that. It’dbetterbe a lie. Because we’re not leaving here empty-handed.”
Mom’s eyes go wide, and she takes a step back. “I… I don’t…”
“I’m gonna start counting. If I get to ten and you’ve got nothing to show me, you’re not gonna like what happens next. One. Two.”
My mom’s eyes dart around the room as he counts. She looks at me like she wants me to step in, but I just stand where I am, rooted to the spot, almost holding my breath.
“Five. Six. Seven.” Each quiet word cracks like a whip.
I’ve never seen my mother this freaked out before. She licks her lips, breathing faster and wringing her hands together, glancing around the living room as if she’s looking for an escape route.
“Eight. Nine—”
“Fine!” Mom blurts. “Fine. Not all the money is gone. I have the rest of it in a cash bag upstairs.”
