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“Might as well,” I said flippantly. “Gage already had me as a snack in class.”
Havoc shot a questioning glance at Gage who sat in the living room, gaming on a handheld device. Gage snickered. “You loved it.”
I did. More than he would ever know. It sure had been an exercise in keeping quiet though. Hiding the blush that colored my cheeks by letting my hair fall forward, I busied myself with cooking to avoid making eye contact with anyone.
When dinner was ready, Knight put his laptop away, and we all gathered around the table. Havoc was half cut already and on his second or third drink. I’d grown up watching my mom drink a lot of her problems away. I understood the appeal, but I didn’t love it. Havoc had a lot to deal with right now. Losing that money must have been eating away at him.
The sound of the doorbell made all four of us freeze. Havoc’s fork hit his plate with a startling clatter. He shared a look with Knight and Gage that made the three of them shoot to their feet.
“I’m surprised it took them this long.” Havoc strode toward the front door, shoving a hand through his inky black hair.
I stayed put in my seat, bracing myself in case it was Maverick Alexander at the door. It wasn’t. It was worse than that. Three of his men shoved into the house as soon as Havoc opened the door.
“You know why we’re here,” said a man with longish hair and a rugged beard. “Where do you want to do this?”
“Out back,” Havoc replied. “In the yard. I don’t want to get blood in the house.”
Those words had me on my feet. My heart began to pound. Havoc led the men through the house to the backyard.
“It’s cool, Goddess,” Knight said, patting my shoulder as he passed with the others. “Stay put, okay?”
I watched in horror as the three men followed my Gods out into the yard. I’d grown up in this world. I didn’t need anyone to explain to me that these guys were enforcers, here to punish Havoc for losing his father’s cash. Maverick was a sick bastard. How could he send his thugs to beat on his own child?
Despite being told to stay put, I had no intention of actually doing that. Since when did I take orders from the Gods anyway? I followed them to the patio door, standing in the threshold with my drink clutched in one hand. I may need to trade it for the bottle.
Maverick’s enforcers didn’t waste any time. They got right to work. The bearded man started with Havoc. He threw a punch so hard that it knocked Havoc to the grass. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Beard Guy dragged Havoc back to his feet and hit him again. Blood immediately gushed from his nose.
The other two enforcers targeted Knight and Gage. Neither of them fought back. Not even Gage who knew as well as I did that fighting an enforcer would only result in far worse abuse than taking it. Although I’d never been on the receiving end myself, I’d been a witness enough times to know how this worked.
Gage swore as his abuser’s knuckles busted open a large cut below his eyebrow. Blood ran down his face to stain his shirt. I took a large gulp of my vodka, needing it to get through this. Sure, I wasn’t the one taking the pain, but I would be the one cleaning them up after.
I winced when Knight doubled over from a kick to the ribs. He held his middle, protecting his wounded parts from another blow. The man going at him went for a head shot instead. Once he was on the ground, he took a kick to the back that hurt me to watch.
Every part of me wanted to find a weapon and send these enforcers back to Maverick with vital parts missing. It killed me to stand there and stay out of it. Anything I did would only come back on all of us that much harder.
Both Knight and Gage stayed down once they were on the ground. They knew better than to get up and invite more pain. Havoc didn’t get that luxury. Every time he went down, the men dragged him back up, forcing him to stand and take it.
A small shriek escaped me when an especially aggressive hit made Havoc stumble back with blood running from a cut lip. All three enforcers targeted him now. They took turns shoving him around, tripping him, and adding to the cuts and bruises on his face. If this didn’t stop soon, I was going to snap.
Just when I thought I might actually do something stupid to make this stop, it did. The three men backed off, turning around and striding out of the yard. They didn’t once look back.
Gage and Knight got to their feet, rushing over to where Havoc lay sprawled on the grass. They got him up, guiding him back to the house. He could barely stay upright as his eyes rolled back in his head.
I put my glass on the counter and rushed around the kitchen, gathering ice and a clean cloth. Then I hurried to the bathroom for the first aid supplies. Gage and Knight helped Havoc upstairs to his bedroom. I followed behind them, worry creasing my brow. A deep rooted hatred for Maverick Alexander gripped me. Fuck him. I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Are you guys okay?” I asked Gage and Knight, giving them a quick visual assessment.
“Don’t worry about us, Goddess. Take care of Havoc.” Knight slid an arm around my waist on his way out, pulling me in for a brief kiss.
Then they left me alone with Havoc. He laid on the bed, groaning in pain. I went to the staircase and called down for someone to bring up some water and painkillers. Then I turned on the bedside lamp and got to work cleaning him up.
With a warm, wet cloth, I cleaned the blood from his face. Already the bruises formed. Deep purples and blues that decorated his face in a mask of abuse. Abuse handed down by his father, a man so pathetic he sent someone else to do it. God, I hated that man.
“Havoc,” I said gently. “Try to stay awake for a while. You might have a concussion.”
He took several deep, painful breaths before saying, “Pretty sure my old man was hoping I’d die. I guess I’m out of the will.”
If the goal had been to kill Havoc, he’d already be dead. We both knew that. This was a blatant punishment. Somehow I doubted it was only about the money.
