Page 106 of Crave

No.

I grabbed my pocket as the sound of tearing fabric came, clamping down on a hand inside it.

The first hit came fast. A fist to my ribs, hard and brutal, stealing my breath before I could even brace.

I grunted, my head snapping forward, body curling in reflex as pain splintered through my side. The fog cracked, the static buzzing in my head fading just enough to register what was happening.

A set up.

I lifted my head, the blur of the alley all too fucking real now. Two assholes stood in front of me. I winced, tried to breathe and scanned the alley. The girl was already gone.

Slap.

Something small hit the ground in the distance.

I caught a flash of her slipping past them, my cash in her hands, shoving it into her bra as she tucked the two remaining bags of cocaine in the pocket of her too-tight jeans.

Fucking bitch…

Movement came from the side, weight shifting, a fist cocked into the air. Still, I saw it far too goddamn late. His knuckles connected, sharp and heavy, snapping my head to the side. My body followed, slamming against the wall.

I unleashed a groan and spat blood, rolling my shoulders, my limbs feeling detached and foreign, like I was moving through someone else’s body.

But the pain.

The goddamn pain was all mine.

My knees trembled, the hard wall was all that kept me upright. But even that wasn’t enough at the end as my legs gave way underneath me. My palm dragged across the bricks as I slid down and hit the ground.

“Not so tough now, huh, pretty boy?”

Hard breaths came.

But so did something else.

Something that grew inside me

I lifted my head and smiled back at them. Blood-stained. Lethal.

And then I moved.

Fast.

I lunged forward, ducking with the next punch, my body reacting on pure instinct now, driving my hand down against the ground to push myself upwards.

One savage blow collided with his throat, right at the soft part above his collarbone. His eyes went wide as he choked, stumbling backwards, clawing at his neck.

You will be on your knees. Do you understand?

That fucking voice from the recording came back at me. And with came the sight of my fucking sister on her knees, looking up at him…or was she looking up at me?

“Fuck you!”I roared and made for the second guy.

I didn’t give lying a chance to run, driving my body forward and dropped my shoulder. Muscles coiled and trembled along my body as I slammed into him, driving him against that brick wall.

“Hey!”The bitch from the nightclub screamed. “You’rehurtinghim!”

I didn’t stop as I wrenched my arms backwards and drove it into his stomach, watching the bastard double over. Hard, retching sounds followed as I swung again, this time connecting with his face.