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Daniel howled and craned his neck to see who else was around. By now, half the frats at Savage U were gathered to watch the show.
“Ask Duncan! He was there too.”
Another guy took a similar stance as Colin, shaking his head. “I have no memories of that night. I must’ve hit my head or some shit.”
“That’s the right answer,” I growled.
“Motherfucking pussies!” Daniel bellowed. “All of you, pussies!”
Dear god, I couldn’t stand looking at his face, so I painted it red with a direct punch to his nose. Blood splattered at the sound of the crack, and it kept coming. My fists kept coming too, hitting soft and hard places alike. I was out of my mind with the need to see Daniel as nothing but pulp.
“Dude, get off him!” Someone grabbed at my shoulders, but I shrugged them off. I wasn’t done. Not even close.
“Theo, he’s had enough. Come on, man.” Another pair of hands gripped my arm, this time with more force. I didn’t need two arms to fuck Daniel up, though. I slapped him like a little bitch, sending his head sideways.
“Come on.” Strong arms locked around me, hauling me forcibly off Daniel’s prone, bloody form. He was alive and groaning, rolling to his side, which was unfortunate.
“I’m not done,” I gritted out.
“You’re done.” Lock had me, dragging me several feet from Daniel. “He got the message. All the other assholes got it too.”
No one was helping Daniel, not even Deacon, who’d been one of the voices telling me Daniel had had enough. Everyone was standing around, watching Daniel struggle to his feet. Most bore looks of distaste, aimed directly at Daniel. Not that most of these little shits were any better, they were just a little more discreet.
“He’s not ruined.”
“No,” Lock agreed, “but if I know anything about how you feel for Helen, he will be. Just not like this.”
I sagged, some of the fight leaving me. “You can let go of me. I’m not going to kill him.”
Daniel was limping into the house anyway, everyone giving him a wide berth. I got the distinct impression it wasn’t a show of respect, but more like a shunning. No one liked Daniel anyway, but after his show of indiscretion on our front lawn, I hoped they wouldn’t be subtle in their dislike.
Deacon jogged over to me, his arms spread wide. “What the hell was that about?”
I narrowed my eyes on him, fury still burning low in my gut. If he stepped wrong, I’d make him feel it too.
“That was about Daniel disrespecting, touching, and stealing from my girl. You’ve done all but one of those things to her, so you need to know I’m watching you. If you so much as breathe in Helen’s direction, you’re dead to me.”
He flinched. “Helen? Helen Ortega, the drug dealer, is your girlfriend?”
Lock growled low behind me. Deacon’s gaze jerked to him, then back to me. Color leached from his face. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Deadly. And her name is Helen. All that other shit is in the past. If you ever refer to her, it will be with respect, and it will be by her name.”
He blew out a heavy puff of breath. “Does your dad know?”
“No, but I do not give a shit what he thinks.”
Deacon gestured to the house. “He’s going to find out.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Again, I do not care.”
He tucked his hands in his pockets, giving me a long look. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“This is the first time in a long time I know exactly what I’m doing.”
That was the truest thing I’d ever said. For years, I’d gone along, letting others take the lead. My coaches, my dad, even my friends. In my old life, the one in the lead was the first one to fall. It took meeting Helen and being shaken out of that mindset to see I didn’t like the direction I was being taken by the people I’d willingly given the reins to. This was me taking them back. My path had never been more clear.
