own me. You don’t. Yes, you’ve helped me more than once. Yes, you saved my life and possibly Amara’s, but don’t forget that I’ve done a lot of things for you over the years. I saved your ass more than once, didn’t I?”
“I’m grateful for all you have done, but you need to relax. I took her out, let her have some fun, and that was it. She deserved it. After all, she’s going to be put through the wringer next week.”
“That doesn’t fucking matter. Just know that she is mine. She belongs to me, and whatever the hell happened tonight will not happen again.”
He laughs into the phone, and I’m two seconds away from crushing my cell phone.
“From the way you fucked her against the hood of the car, it didn’t look as if you didn’t want it to happen again. I gave her the freedom she needed at that moment and time, so put the caveman antics away, and pull your head out of your ass. If you want to take Mack down, you need to focus on him. If Amara loves you, she’ll be here when the smoke clears.”
His words slowly start to clear the fog from my mind, but it only helps a little bit. The jealousy I’m feeling runs hotter than the sun. He watched us have sex. Fucking dick. I also didn’t forget how Amara used to be uneasy around him or how she told me he was rough with her in the basement.
She didn’t seem uneasy around him yesterday, quite the opposite, in fact.
“Still, you need to leave her alone. As for her and I fucking, watch us one more time, and I’ll gouge out both of your eyes with my hands.” It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.
“Whatever, Enzo. Here is the deal. I will come by and get Amara in the next few days. Mack is on the lookout for you two. Hell, if he could get his hands on Jared or James, he would be splendid as well. I told him I found you, but that I need a few days to lure you out.”
“Yeah, yeah… Get to the plan,” I say impatiently.
“I’ll come in the middle of the night, we’ll scuffle, you’ll cut me, punch me a couple times. Amara has to have some type of damage done to her… then I’ll take her.”
The idea of hurting Amara at all causes my stomach to flip. My mother had raised me better than that. Even if I was a stone-cold killer, it was never my idea of fun to beat on women.
“Where are you taking her?” My voice comes out gravelly. It’s already after one in the morning, and sleep pulls heavy on me.
“Don’t act dumb. I’m taking her to Mack. I’ll make sure he doesn’t touch her or anything.” Eli sounds convincing, but nothing is more important to me than her safety. In the end, if I don’t pick the right path, she’ll have to pay the price.
“I’m not acting dumb, I just want to fucking know where she’s going. A fucking location, not a vague answer.” I want to snap his neck for talking down to me. He isn’t above me, and we both know it.
“You’ll find out. Just make sure she’s prepared. After talking to her tonight, she’s not nearly as naïve as I thought she would be. Seems you have trained her far better than the other women you are known to be with.” The way he compares her to other women I slept with causes my chest to hurt. She is nothing like those women. There is no comparison.
“You’re right. She’s nowhere as dumb as those others. She can stand on her own two fucking feet. Now, if you would like to keep that tongue of yours in your mouth, I’d shut it. As you know, I have a habit of cutting tongues out,” I threaten before hanging up the phone.
It hits the floor with a thud, and I have no intention of picking it up. My mind is all over the place, anger and uncertainty rushing through my veins.
Clutching my head in my hands, I bend over… I’m disappointed with myself for feeling as if I’m strong enough to do this. It’s more than just a war with Mack or John. It’s a war with myself. To be the man I need to be–be the man she needs me to be. At the end of our story, I’m sure we’ll live happily ever after.
I