Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,24
what I want. And he’s more than happy to give it.
Chest, two to the gut, uppercut to my jaw. I blast his left cheekbone through a grunt, but he retaliates quickly, walking me backward with blows to the edge of the ring. I take three to the face before I give him a bloody grin. Fucking finally, I can feel the tension start to ebb away. This is what I want. This is what I need.
The match after that is a blur of movement, and every inch of my body’s screaming in pain. Halfway through, I start to lose consciousness. Black spots flicker across my vision like pictures in a kaleidoscope. Except, instead of colorful splotches and shapes swirling in my vision, I see Molly. And Shelby. The two mix and spin until it becomes hard to separate who is who.
They don’t even look the same—one dark and one light. How I ever thought Shelby was Molly is beyond my comprehension. The drugs, booze, and desperation painted that poor, dying girl into the vision I’ve longed to see for what feels like an eternity.
A blow snaps my head back, and I know this is the end. Of the fight. Of this damn cycle. My body feels warm and cocooned in the blackness taking over me.
I welcome it.
Chapter Six
Sin
“Oh my God, what happened to him?”
“Go wait in the car. You don’t need to see this.”
“No! I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want to leave him like this.”
“Shelby.”
Something warm pushes into my hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”
That voice is filled with concern. It tugs at me, pulling me from the warmth of the unconscious bliss. Where there is darkness, there is no pain. As soon as my mind starts to rouse, the extent of my self-punishment makes itself known.
Every inch of my body pulsates in time to my beating heart. My skin blazes hot with cuts and inflammation. And I can feel her there. Her tiny hand grips my much larger one. It warms me and pisses me off all at the same time.
“Get the fuck off.”
The voices around me quiet, but her presence never leaves.
Mustering every ounce of strength, I try to sit up and open my eyes. The left one doesn’t move, and the right is instantly blinded by the harsh sunlight overhead. “The fuck time is it?”
“Noon,” Elias growls from somewhere behind me. I go to turn my head, but my neck screams in pain.
“Did I ask you to hold my hand, princess?”
Shelby drops my palm as if my words delivered a high voltage shock. “No.”
I let my eyes do the talking as I deliver a revolting glare her way.
My arms shake as I drag my ass back against the brick wall behind me. As I lean against the building for support, I give my arms a rest. “Why’re you here?”
A water bottle is shoved in front of my face, but I wave it off.
“You know why,” Elias responds angrily.
“Go. I don’t need you.”
Ignoring the shake, I attempt to haul my body onto my palms and knees. The scorching blacktop burns my palms, and the tiny gravel rips them to shreds. I manage to get one knee under me before I need to rest again.
“Like fuck, you don’t.”
My gaze swings around, and I try to drive the point home. “I don’t need her,” I spit.
Shelby’s eyes widen, and her mouth drops open. Fear, surprise, hurt—some emotion crosses her face, but I don’t give a fuck which one. The last thing I need right now is Princess Shelby trying to be my hero.
I nearly fall back on my ass when Elias steps around me and blocks my view of Shelby. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s forming a pretty tight bond with that bitch.
“You can be a dick to me all you want. It’s more than expected. But you will leave her the fuck out of it.”
Clenching my teeth, I place my palms on my knee and heave my ass to a standing position. It hurts like hell, but I hold in the grunt threatening to escape. What ticks me off more than these two trying to come to my rescue is that I don’t have the words to formulate a response to his threat. So I don’t give him one.
When I finally make it to my feet, I lean against the brick wall to stop the swaying. Probably have a concussion after all those blows to the head. And who knows how I got