“Why are you so sad, darling?” Bull whispers, stepping up beside me. Her smile fades, and she looks over her shoulder.
“My daddy burned all my clothes Cherry got me.” She points behind us and we all turn, finding a barrel smoldering. “Daddy doesn’t like me looking like a girl, and I’m not allowed to talk to Cherry again.” Her dad sounds like a guy with anger problems, taking his frustration and fury out on Piper.
“Does your daddy hurt you?” I ask, my chest puffing out on its own accord. She looks down and her head falls, but she doesn’t answer.
“Why don’t you come with me, and let us have a talk with your daddy?” Shadow offers. I plan on doing way more than talking to this fucker.
Piper shakes her head. “Oh, no. I can’t go with strangers. Daddy would be mad.” Her eyes widen with fear.
“It’s fine; Cherry knows us. We’re here to take you to her, sweetie.”
“Piper!” a voice yells from inside the house, and Piper tenses.
I hold my hand out. “Come on, you’re safe with us. Promise.”
She looks over her shoulder once more, and the screen door is slammed open. She jumps from the bottom step.
“Get your fucking ass—” he stops. The tall blond-haired guy looks us over, his face turning into a deep scowl.
“Who the fuck are you?” he snarls. His button-down shirt flaps in the wind, and his jeans are unbuttoned.
Bobby holds his hand out to Piper, and she walks toward him.
“Don’t you think about it, Piper,” Eric sneers.
“Come on, Piper. You’re okay, sweetie,” I encourage. Her eyes peer at me nervously. She’s scared to go with us ‘cause she doesn’t know us, but she’s terrified to go back into that house.
“I got you,” I whisper. She nods strongly and grabs my hand with force.
I lean down and brush her hair from her ear.
“Go with Bobby; he’ll keep you safe,” I whisper.
“Piper, get in the damn house!” Eric hollers.
Bobby grabs her other hand and they walk away together, Piper looking over her shoulder at us every couple of steps.
Eric stomps down the steps, but Shadow and I step in front him, stopping him.
“Going somewhere, brother?” I scowl.
“You better get out of my fucking way!” he growls. Having enough of this, I grab my knife and shove it in his gut without warning. His eyes widen, and his puffed-out chest deflates. Slowly, he lowers his gaze to my knife, buried deep.
“How about we go inside, huh?” I ask, pulling my knife from his flesh. He shakes his head, fear surfing in the depths of his eyes.
“You ain’t got a choice, I’m afraid.” Bull chuckles.
Shadow and I drag Eric into the house, and he starts to holler for help.
I punch him in the mouth to shut him up, his teeth colliding with my skull ring. He quiets instantly and starts to whimper. Bull pulls out a kitchen chair and I kick Eric in the chest hard, throwing him into it.
“You tried to hurt my property,” I begin. His brows furrow in confusion. “Cherry is my property,” I clarify. His eyes recognize the name, and his brows scowl.
“You mean Lindsay? Yeah, I know the little gutter slut,” he growls. I grit my teeth at his insult and stomp forward. Pulling my fist back, I slam it into his nose, a loud crack sounding from impact.
“You won’t talk about her like that,” I warn. He groans with pain, his nose busted all to hell and bleeding down his chin and chest.
“You know what happens when you fuck with ours?” Bull questions, pulling his gun from his holster.
“Look, man, I didn’t know she was with some gang,” Eric stammers, and I smirk.
“Doesn’t matter if you knew or not. What you did was shady, and maybe the law around here won’t deal with you because they know your daddy, or your last name is respectable, or they think you’re better than Cherry. But where I come from, our justice system has a way of dealing with those who may escape.”
“Wha-what’s that mean?” He looks between Shadow and me.
“That means, you’re going to die tonight.” I lower my head and glare.
“Please, no,” he whimpers, but it sounds fake.
“The little girl, why do you dress her like a boy?” Shadow asks. I furrow my brows.
“Do what?” I question.
“The little girl. Every day I’ve seen her, she’s in boy shit.” Shadow shrugs.
“Because she reminds me of her fucking momma,” Eric spits, doesn’t even hide the hatred in his voice.
“I don’t get it, why do you hate her so much?” I cock my head to the side.
“Cherry reminds me of my no-good mother. Getting knocked up on purpose, just so she can live off my paycheck for free. Well, not this guy. Fuck Cherry; she ain’t getting shit from me, including the kid she got knocked up with.” My chest rises and falls rapidly, anger burning my veins to the point I can barely breathe.
“Cherry ain’t like that,” I manage to say. My vision doubles with the amount of fury poisoning my blood.
He scoffs, and my jaw clenches.