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Reilly and Jade are back on me despite having bloody faces. The former grabs me from behind, holding my arms behind my back as Jade punches me in the face.
I lose my focus for ten seconds, unable to defend myself and take a few hits. But if MMA teaches you anything, it’s to keep going under the pain.
I grunt while pushing myself against Reilly for balance and kick Jade in the stomach.
“Lea!” Reilly shouts from behind me. The blonde my dog is not attacking, and who simply standing there uselessly, starts shaking her head, wondering what to do. “Call the guys,” Reilly orders her in panic.
“You’re such a fucking coward,” I grunt as I do my best to make us both fall backward. The problem is that she’s so much bigger and heavier than me that she feels like a wall behind me.
I whistle again, and Murder comes to bark at Reilly. She lets me go in fear of getting bitten and I turn around, striking her tactically in the chin. I see her lights blacking out in a split second and she falls unconscious to the ground. Next, I’m on Jade. I grab her by the hair as she tries to run away and shove her to the ground. My kicks to her ribs and stomach make her screech, and I only stop when I see she’s lost the strength to defend herself anymore.
I grab Murder and the pouch that I’ve attached to her. I take my switchblade out and open it.
“Fucking come at me and see what happens,” I say to Lea, who is stepping back anyway. I sit on Jade’s chest and hold her face between my knees.
She gargles something, spitting out some blood, but she’s barely conscious. I bring my knife to her face and carve her with the tip of it. One line from the corner of her eye, across her temple and until her hairline.
“Gave you a nice NSC pathway of tears. Look at it next time you think yourself bigger than you actually are,” I seethe in her face with all the rage I hold.
When someone messes with our gang, we don’t always kill them. Sometimes, we give them what we call the pathway of tears. Because once they’re on the floor crying, this is the way their tears will fall. That way, they never forget they once lost a fight against us.
The Kings have their own mark. I know people in our crew who walk around with a messy crown carved into the side of their neck.
A loud exhaust startles me, and I hear one of the blondes muttering I’m dead.
I spit blood on Jade’s face and hear her whimper underneath me. I jump to my feet and whistle for Murder, who’s been barking at the blondes all this time.
I turn around to face a matte green truck and recognize Ethan’s car.
“Fucking bitches,” I tell them.
“Scott!” Elliot shouts as he hops out from the passenger seat and Ethan from the driver’s side.
“Fuck my life,” I mumble as I look around. I’m going to have to sprint to the woods if I don’t want to end up in a body bag.
“What the fuck,” I hear Elliot’s shocked voice. “Yo, Reilly.”
“She’s out, brother.”
“You fucking K.O-ed Reilly? You psychopath,” Elliot says with a little too much pride in his voice to sound angry.
My eyes dart to the forest again. Will they catch me if I run?
Ethan sees where I’m looking and shakes his head. “Don’t even think about it.”
Both their gazes land on Jade, and I bite my inner cheek. When they look at me again, Elliot has lost his usual spark of humor, and Ethan’s normally unbothered stance has turned into tension in his body.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” Elliot says.
“She attacked me,” I defend. “I—”
“You’re on Kings’ territory, little bitch,” Ethan snarls. “Rules are rules. Only NSC seems to be unable to respect them.”
“I didn’t know!” I shout. “I was defending myself,” I add, dejected. The bitches I beat up don’t scare me. But when it comes to Caden, Elliot, or Ethan, I’m always brought back to that night two years ago, and my bravery slips through my fingers every fucking time.
As soon as they take a step toward me, Murder barks at them.
“She’ll bite you,” I say in a weak warning as they keep approaching.
