a modern day gentleman in his herringbone jacket and matching pants. He had even ironed his shirt before stepping off the train this morning, for fuck’s sake.
I wrapped an arm around my middle and sighed. Wasn’t he supposed to be the sensible twin? The cool-headed one who thought through his actions before getting himself into trouble? Either there was more to him than those nipple piercings, or this morning’s hand job had brought out his inner badass.
Sammy spread his arms and beamed. “I barely recognized you with your clothes.”
Kendrick’s shoulders rose to his ears, and red blotches appeared on his cheeks.
Nichelle sidled up to me, rubbing her bare arms and shivering. “What are you doing with a pretty boy like that? He isn’t your type.”
“Are you wearing my knickers, too?” I snapped.
She stopped in the middle of the lawn. “Sammy and me were never serious, you know. It’s just a fling.”
“Sammy and I, you twat.” I shook my head. “And you’re about to get shafted. The moment he’s finished with you, he’ll hand you over to that perverted old bastard.”
Nichelle narrowed her eyes. “You can be such a spiteful cow.”
I raised a shoulder. Maybe I was wrong, but Billy Hancock didn’t haunt the Richley nightclubs just to sell cocaine. Before I got him sent to prison, he had several girls around town. And the way he was salivating over Nichelle in that dress had to mean something.
“Come on, gorgeous.” Sammy feinted forward and stamped his foot in the kind of primary school move bullies employed to make others flinch.
Kendrick struck with a right hook that knocked Sammy flat onto the lawn. Sammy fell back, exposing the grass stains on his gray jogging bottoms. He rolled to the side and stumbled to his feet.
Following after him, Kendrick raised his fists but didn’t strike.
Sammy swung with his right. Kendrick blocked with his left and slammed an uppercut straight into the middle of Sammy’s face. Blood spurted out from Sammy’s nose, making me wince.
“I’ll bet you’re enjoying this,” Nichelle said.
“You were there when I stabbed him,” I muttered as Kendrick rained punch after punch at a retreating Sammy’s face and temple. “That makes us even.”
“He still owes you for getting him locked up.”
“I still owe you for shagging my bloke.”
Kendrick trapped Sammy against the kennels’ fence, pummeling at his torso with heavy uppercuts while Sammy shielded his face with his forearms.
“Break it up,” Billy Hancock roared.
Kendrick jogged back a few steps, and danced on his feet like a professional boxer. My brows rose. He really knew what he was doing.
Sammy turned to the patio with his arm outstretched. “Nish!”
Nichelle rifled through the pockets of his leather jacket. He wanted to use a knife, and the stupid cow was going to let him. I swung my fist at her temple, knocking her to the ground. When she fell onto her side, I pulled back my foot and gave her a swift kick in the gut.
“Why?” she wailed.
“This fight is between Sammy and Kendrick.”
A pack of dogs jumped up onto Sammy’s patch of fence. He pushed himself off, swayed on his feet as Kendrick ducked and jabbed at his face with calculated precision. Blood streamed from Sammy’s temple into his left eye, but it was nothing compared to what poured from his nose.
I bit down on my lip. Not that I was a fan of boxing, but I’d sat through a few fights. A fighter of Kendrick’s caliber could have ended this in seconds, but Kendrick rained blow after blow at Sammy, never hitting hard enough to knock him out.
It looked to me like he was extracting maximum damage in retaliation for Maxwell's face.
“Finish it, boy!” Billy Hancock shouted over the cacophony of dog barks. He stood by the kennel door with a set of keys, looking like he wanted to set the dogs on Kendrick.
I inhaled a sharp breath through my teeth. The bloody bastard.
“As you wish.” Kendrick slammed his fist into Sammy’s temple, knocking him down to the ground.
Nishelle pulled herself to her feet and staggered across the lawn toward Sammy. I yanked the leather jacket out of her hands. The wretched cow was probably on her way to furnish him with a knife.
I curled my lip. Some fling, indeed.
Billy Hancock glared down at Sammy and strode back toward the kitchen door. As he stalked past, he muttered, “Dinner’s ready.”
Kendrick strolled toward me with a satisfied smirk.
I returned the expression with a wide grin. “Well done.”
He raised his chin. “I believe you owe