Roman's Vow (Riley's Pride #4) - Sandra R Neeley Page 0,59

they get hit again,” Lucas encouraged. “Sometimes they shatter and can’t be fixed at all. Lifetime liquid diet,” Lucas said.

The guys sitting on the sofa in front of him were whispering to each other and Lucas focused on them. “Shut the fuck up,” he yelled, reaching out and backhanding one of them with the back of his hand and the side of the gun that hand grasped.

Both of Frederick’s friends immediately shut up. Brett, being the one that got hit, started crying.

“Really? You bad enough to crash in a woman’s place, eat her food, trash it, disrespect her stuff, watch her get her ass beat, but then you gonna cry when a man treats you like a man? They ain’t nothing but a couple of pussies,” Lucas complained to Lazarus.

“Yep,” Lazarus agreed, looking critically at a simpering Frederick who held himself up by holding onto Lazarus’s hand where it gripped his shirt, in both of his.

“She kicked me in the balls,” Frederick whined.

“Candy did? Naw, you mean to tell me she’s a bitch and kicked you for no reason?” Lazarus asked.

Frederick nodded frantically.

Lazarus leaned closer. “Bullshit. She was defending herself would be my guess. Isn’t that right, boys?”

“Yes, sir,” Brett confirmed still crying.

“Yeah, he was choking her, and she kneed him,” their friend agreed.

“And there you sat, doing not a fucking thing,” Lazarus snapped.

Lucas scowled at them both and backhanded the other one with his gun. Both now wore bruised cheekbones with small raw scrapes of flesh beginning to bleed.

“I’m sorry,” Brett said, his voice high-pitched and whiny. “You don’t know how he is. If we’d tried to stop him, he’d have turned on us.”

“And that makes it okay, doesn’t it?” Lucas asked.

“No, but if it’s her or us, then it’s her. His mama is crazier than he is. She’d have come after us, too,” their friend said.

Lazarus turned back to Frederick. “See?” he said. “She kneed you, she didn’t kick you. Even your friend said so. Here, let me clarify,” Lazarus said, bringing his own knee up into Frederick’s balls as hard as he could while he let him go to drop to the floor on his knees. Lazarus stepped back and pulled his leg back, then brought it forward full force and aimed for Frederick’s balls. Frederick didn’t even scream, his breath caught and he fell over as his eyes rolled back in his head. “See, the first time I kneed you, the second time I kicked you. You understand the difference now?” Lazarus asked.

Frederick didn’t answer, he was sobbing quietly.

“Think you ready to pay attention to what I have to say now?” Lazarus asked.

Still, Frederick didn’t answer.

“You hear me, boy?!” Lazarus shouted.

Frederick began to nod frantically.

“You’re going to sit nicely with your pussy-ass friends over there, and you’re going to answer some questions. Then you’re going to answer some more, and then I have a few more things in mind before I finally let you go for the night. You understand?” Lazarus asked.

Frederick nodded again, but kept his hands pressed to his shattered balls.

“Get on the sofa,” Lazarus ordered.

Frederick didn’t move, he stayed curled in a fetal position.

“Boy, I can start breaking some ribs just like you did to Candy. Choose now. I don’t need your ass, I got your friends over there and I’ll bet they’d be willing to trade some information for not having their balls kicked up to their belly buttons.” Lazarus tossed a look their way and both men nodded.

Slowly Frederick started to roll to his knees, but fell over to his other side.

Lazarus sighed frustratedly. “I so hate weak fucking males,” he grumbled, then he sprouted claws from his hands, and reached down, grabbing Frederick by the shoulder and lifted him with one hand, lifting him off the ground and depositing him on the sofa between his friends as he screamed in pain.

Brett’s and his friend’s eyes grew wide and they started to tremble at the sight of the claws protruding from Lazarus’s hands.

Lucas chuckled. “Think one of them just shit themselves,” he said, his nose crinkled up.

Lazarus shook his head. “Humans…” he said.

“Yup,” Lucas agreed.

“Hi,” Lazarus said, grinning, and leaning over so Frederick would have to look at him.

Frederick raised his gaze to Lazarus’s with a grimace on his face, attempting to stand up to Lazarus, but once he saw what Lazarus had become he heaved himself backwards, pressing himself into the back of the sofa in fear. “The fuck are you?” he asked as saliva and blood seeped from the