Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Football practice was ugly that afternoon.
I wasn’t really the football type, but I was big and fast. Had been a starter on offense and defense since junior year, although given how small the school was, it sounded more impressive than it actually was.
Coach had been in a bad mood, and it was contagious. First, he’d bitched us out for lack of team unity, then he’d divided us into two teams to scrimmage. Things got dark when Mark’s friends decided to put all their energy into tackling me instead of going for the ball.
Things got even darker when I sacked Mark’s ass on the next play.
Coach really lost his shit then, and we spent the rest of the afternoon running the bleachers. Fucking brutal. By the time we hit the locker room, I was ready to kill someone. Grabbing my bag, I cut between rows of lockers toward the door.
That’s when I heard Mark’s voice on the other side.
“Think I’ll fuck her in the ass while I’m at it,” he said, and he sounded just as angry as I felt. I stilled, something deep inside of me going cold and dark. One of his friends laughed, but it sounded nervous.
“Dude, are you sure about this?” another guy asked. It sounded like Troy, but I wasn’t sure. “She’s into you. It’s gonna be easy. Why take the risk?”
“It’s not a risk,” Mark answered. “She won’t even remember it if I do it right. And if she does, it’ll be her word against mine. Not like anyone will believe her. She might be pretty and popular, but she comes from trash.”
She comes from trash.
Fuck.
Me.
Time seemed to slow because I could see the whole thing playing out in my head. Peaches might be into Mark, but she was still a virgin—not necessarily a sure thing. And now he had something to prove.
A detached section of my brain noted that I should talk to the club president after I finished with Mark. The asshole apparently had roofies, and he’d gotten them from someone—someone that didn’t belong to us.
The club wasn’t a big fan of freelancers setting up shop in Hallies Falls.
And I wasn’t a big fan of Mark fucking Peaches in the ass, either.
He was still talking, but I tuned him out, considering my next step carefully. Didn’t really matter what the details were at this point. I knew everything I needed to know about Mark and his plans.
The only open question now was one of control. Realistically, would I be able to control myself enough not to kill him?
It was a serious question.
If I jumped him in the parking lot, there’d be witnesses. That was bad because I might find myself arrested. Or suspended. That’d complicate my life considerably.
On the other hand, if there were witnesses, I’d have to control myself, and there’d only be so much time before the cops arrived, which put a natural limit on the damage I could inflict.
“Can a girl on roofies give a blowjob?” one of the guys asked, and I had my answer.
Better to get arrested for assault than murder. And if I ever caught Mark McDougal alone, I’d definitely kill him. I’d take him down in the parking lot. That’d send a message to every guy in the high school, too.
Peaches Taylor might not come from money, but she had people.
People who’d stand up for her.
She’d probably hate me for doing it, but that was nothing new. She’d always hated me. Wasn’t like I had much to lose.
Wasn’t like she’d believe me if I just tried to warn her off, either. Hell, if I told her the sky was blue, she’d insist it was green just to spite me.
Decision made, I started toward the door again, making for the parking lot. Mark still needed to shower, which meant I had some time to kill. Might as well use it productively. That fancy car his daddy’d given him was real shiny. Too shiny. A few scratches would do it some good…
Maybe I’d write a little message with my keys. That way, all the girls would know what to expect from him on a date. Hell, it was practically a public service.
Just the thought made me smile. Pulling out my cell phone, I hit the call button. Gus answered on the third ring.
“What’s going on?” he asked, gruff as always.
“Probably gonna need some bail money,” I told him. “And a lawyer.”
Gus sighed, the same one he gave when he realized he needed to swap out a keg. “All right, then. I’ll call the club. This about Peaches?”
“You don’t wanna know the details,” I replied, tilting my head to the side so I could crack my neck. “I’ll take care of this one. No reason both of us should get locked up tonight.”
Chapter Five
Present day
Two weeks after getting the news about the bar