Slow No Wake - By Dakota Madison Page 0,59

stopped what they were doing and waited, but nothing happened.

“What the fuck, Eddie,” Joey-G said. “Were you alone in there?”

As if he didn’t believe it, Joey-G walked over, stuck his head inside Eddie’s tent and came out shaking his head. “This is a first.”

“Everything okay?” Ricky asked Eddie, with a note of seriousness in his voice.

When Eddie looked at me, his eyes looked vacant. Daniel instinctively put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. Eddie continued starting at me with empty eyes for several seconds. Then a look of disdain crossed his face.

“Did you two sleep well last night?” Eddie said finally, his tone oozing with sarcasm and innuendo.

Daniel’s stare shot daggers at Eddie.

“Better keep that girl of yours on a tight leash, Danny-O. Now that you’ve marked your territory, you don’t want her still prowling around, do you?”

Eddie gave me a look filled with so much lust, it made my stomach clench. I glanced over at Daniel. Rage filled his eyes.

Not good. Years of building animosity and underlying conflict were now bubbling up to the surface.

The air suddenly felt heavy with tension. My hands started to shake as a feeling of dread overcame me. I said a silent prayer to whoever was listening that Eddie would stop. I knew if he said one more word, it would push Daniel over the edge.

Eddie moved in closer to Daniel but he kept his gaze focused on me. My heart started racing.

“Was she good, Danny?” Eddie asked. “Was she worth waiting for? Was she everything you’d hoped she would be? From the little taste I had of her, I’ll bet she rocked your world.”

In an instant, Daniel jumped on Eddie and knocked him to the ground. Daniel quickly pinned Eddie down and straddled him. Then he started punching Eddie’s face repeatedly. Eddie put up his arms in a defensive gesture but didn’t fight back. He didn’t throw one punch as Daniel beat the hell out of him.

I looked over at Joey-G and Ricky. They were shaking their heads. “Aren’t you going to do anything to stop them?” I asked with urgency.

“I’m not,” Joey-G said.

“Nah,” Ricky said. “Eddie deserves it.”

The look on Daniel’s face scared me to the core. He wore a mask of blind rage. I wasn’t sure Daniel was capable of stopping himself and in an instant, I realized, if I didn’t do something, Eddie could get seriously hurt.

I got as close to Daniel as I could without getting hit myself and called Daniel’s name. I could see something register on his face when he heard my voice.

“Daniel, please stop,” I begged. “For me. I want you to stop.”

And he did.

He looked down at Eddie, now bloodied and beaten, and shook his head. Then he rose and walked away.

Ricky and Joey-G each grabbed one of Eddie’s shoulders and lifted him off the ground. They eased him over to one of the folding chairs and set him down in it.

“Dude, your face is fucked up,” Joey-G said.

Eddie didn’t say a word. He just stared into the empty space in front of him.

“I’ll get you some ice,” Ricky said as he headed over to the coolers.

I hurried to catch up to Daniel, who was walking toward the beach. It was still early on a Sunday morning, so the beach was vacant and desolate. It reminded me of the look in Eddie’s eyes.

When Daniel saw me run up next to him, he grabbed my hand and held it tight.

We walked together down the deserted beach for a few minutes before Daniel spoke. “You know that wasn’t just about you, right?”

“Yeah, I know. But it was a lot about me.”

“I’m now intimately familiar with the term blind rage.” Daniel said and gave one forced laugh. “I could have killed him if you hadn’t…” His voice trailed off then he looked at me. “Thank you for stopping me.”

I stopped walking and Daniel turned to face me. I looked into his eyes. “I stopped the fight for you not for him.”

He nodded then closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his eyes were damp with tears. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but you’re the only girl Eddie ever wanted in any meaningful way. You’re the only girl he ever really wanted but couldn’t have.”

I knew that was true. Eddie was a womanizing asshole, but I also knew deep down inside he had real feelings for me. I knew he cared about me and maybe even loved me in his twisted Eddie way.

Daniel placed his