Page 46 of Shade
“That’s the reason it’s a fucking problem!” I shout. Apparently, fuck being calm, right? I shove him back against the side of the building, my hands fisting in his T-shirt. “She didn’t know what she wanted, and now she’s dead because of guys like you!”
I’m delusional.
I’m insane.
I’m grieving.
With a shaking grip on sanity, you and I both know I’m provoking the devil himself.
Licking his lips slowly, our eyes lock, black on blue and he’s somewhat more intimidating,ifI was intimated by a guy like Gage at this point in my life. “So what. . . you thought it’syoushe wanted and you could have actually saved her?”
“You didn’t know a goddamn thing about her,” I say in sort of a whisper.
He laughs.
Laughs.
Like this shit is funny.
It probably is to him.
“Tell me,Shade Sawyer. . . what’s your problem? You mad about the drugs she took or that you weren’t enough for her so she sucked my dick too? Or, and this might be it”—his brow raises—“youcouldbe mad because she was so fucked up she blew her goddamn brains out when you left?”
You’ve seen a grenade, right? It doesn’t blow up right away. Once you take the pin out, there are a few seconds where you have time to either throw it or wait for your impending doom.
Do you see the way my blood pressure rises? If you don’t, look at my cheeks. They’re flushed, and did you notice the way my jaw clenches and my teeth grind into one another?
Do you think the pin was pulled?
Anger’s a funny thing. I like to think I can handle my own and when I’m mad, even better for me because anger is on my side. But it’s not like I stand a chance against him and his boys, and I know this.
Despite this, I try, because this is Rhya he put in danger and that’s why the pin gets pulled.
Ishouldbe afraid of Gage. But what this son of a bitch should fear is the merciless motherfucker who has nothing left to lose. He’s far more dangerous.
Let me be clear here. It’s not even herdoingdrugs. Or himgivingthe drugs to her. It’s that she ended her life and he hadeverythingto do with it and doesn’t have any remorse for it.
As angry as I am, I know there are some boundaries with a guy like him. I’m not entirely stupid, though most would debate that.
I don’t say anything else; instead, my temper gets the best of me, and I shove him back against the wall again.
Catching himself, he finally looks at me, his body tense as he stands straight, broad shoulders poised and ready. “Am I going to have to teach you a lesson?”
“Fuck you!”
It’s as sudden as I expect it to be when his fist connects with my jaw. It hurts. But it’s not the first time I’ve been punched in the jaw. I do have two older brothers so it’s probably not the last time I’m hit in the face either.
He gets two hits in on me, I get one. I slam my knuckles into his nose. He grabs me by the shirt and flings me backward and then tackles me, planting his shoulder into my stomach. I groan and throw a jab to his jaw, but I hold myself back from doing more because let’s face it, I’m outnumbered here.
Writhing around on the pavement, Auden yelling at me to stop, Gage leans in and whispers, “I saw her that night. She sucked my dick for blow.”
My body shakes with rage, but I remind myself he’s just taunting me.
I shove him back when I hear the commotion behind me. I turn my head, get popped in the fucking ear and see Auden behind me grabbing me along with Tiller. I didn’t even know he had followed us.
“You good?” Auden asks, holding me up and wiping away the blood from my face.
I don’t answer.
