As I ended the kiss, she turned her head towards the television that was on behind us. “Modern Family!” she exclaimed.
“God fuckin’ help us,” I muttered under my breath. She loved that show and that woman on there—the one with the screeching voice I’d pay good money to shut up.
She whipped back around to glare at me.
Dad aimed the television remote at the TV and raised the volume. “There you go, sweetheart. Just tell Havoc to pop a painkiller and man the hell up.”
“Jesus fuck, do you hear every-fuckin’-thing?” I asked with a scowl at the old man.
Carla burst out laughing. “Thank you, Al.” She pointed at me and added, “There’s asprin in the cupboard.”
Yvette chimed in. “I’ve clearly missed something here, but I love this show, so everyone shush.”
I shook my head as they all shifted their attention to the television. But as much as I appeared to be bothered by it all, that was as far from the truth as it could be.
My family getting on with my woman was one of the best things in the world to watch.
* * *
“I’m taking the lead.”
I scowled at Nash. “No, I am.”
He returned my scowl. “She’s my sister. I should be the one who gets to fuck this asshole up.”
“She’s my woman. I fuck anyone up who fucks with her.”
He blew out a long breath. “For fuck’s sake. You take the lead, but I’m getting a punch in.”
I didn’t wait for him to possibly change his mind. Stalking down the front path of Carla’s ex-teacher’s house, I clenched my fists. I’d been waiting a long time for this.
A couple of minutes after I knocked on his front door, the asshole yanked it open and barked out, “What?”
I placed my boot inside his house and pushed his door open as I stepped inside.
“What the fuck, man?” he yelled, but I shut him up with a fist to his stomach. When he doubled over in pain, yelling obscenities, Nash and I pushed our way in and slammed the door shut.
“We’ve heard that you like to bully female students into sleeping with you in exchange for passing them in a subject,” I said.
Fear blared from his eyes. “They sleep with me willingly, dude. I don’t rape them.”
My anger erupted and I fought to keep it in check. Gripping his shirt, I thundered, “That’s not what I’ve been told, asshole.”
Nash took hold of his hair and yanked his head back. “You wanna know what we do to people who do shit we don’t like?”
Sweat pooled on the guy’s forehead and he gulped for breath. “I won’t do it again. I swear!”
Nash yanked his head again, causing as much pain as he could. “I fuckin’ know you won’t do it again. Not after we’re finished with you.”
I shoved him hard against the wall and punched him again. When my fist connected with his cheek, satisfaction coursed through me. It was about time this guy got what he deserved.
“We’re gonna keep a close eye on you from now on. Whenever you leave your house, know that we’ll be watching. You won’t be able to take a shit without us knowing. You got that?” I smacked the side of his head.
He nodded with a desperation my violent side loved and I had to push that need down. I wanted nothing more than to cause him more pain, a lot of fucking pain, for what he’d done to Carla, but I had to control that urge. I took a few deep breaths, concentrating on them instead.
Nash punched him hard in the gut causing him to scream out in agony as he clutched his stomach. “If you ever force a woman to sleep with you again, this will be like a walk in the fuckin’ park.”
My chest tightened and my head pounded with the need to make him hurt as I watched Nash punch the guy.
It was all I could think about.
Red blinding light flashed through my mind and it threatened to consume me.
“You good?” Nash asked when he turned to face me.
I had to find a way to control the urges.
Carla.
I was there for Carla.
The red light receded.
My need for pain subsided.
I blew out a few quick breaths.
“I’m good,” I finally told Nash.
“Thank fuck. For a minute there, I thought we had another death on our hands.”
His words caused the teacher to panic. “Don’t kill me! I won’t do it again!”
Needing to remove myself from this guy’s presence, I walked towards the front door.
“Where you going?” Nash yelled after me.
“I’m done. If he fucks up again, I won’t hold back, but for now I’ve had enough. Do what you want with him,” I replied before heading outside.
I’d come close to losing it in there.
The only thing that had saved him had been Carla. She calmed me in a way no one else ever had. In that moment, I knew what I needed to do.
* * *
“Carla!” I bellowed through the house when I arrived home forty minutes later. She was working from Dad’s house that day while he was at the hospital for a check up that Yvette took him to.
I searched high and low, but couldn’t find her. Pulling out my phone, I called her.
She answered on the third ring. “Hey, baby. What’s up?”
“Where are you?”