Page 128 of Stand: Part One

In his agony, he jerked his head back and forth, only to stop when he found me sitting in the booth not more than three feet away from him. Desperation wilted his resolve, his eyes pleading for mercy as if I had even a drop of influence in the situation he caused.

I couldn’t even sit still thanks to Darren, and this guy was looking at me like I could save him from a fate he had sealed himself the moment he swung at me.

“Please! I’m s-sorry!” he wheezed, coughing up enough blood to paint his chin red. “I shouldn’t have hit you! I didn’t r-recognize you!”

His gaze held mine as he whimpered, glossy red eyes full of hope that I might somehow stop this. But all I could do was slowly shake my dizzy head at him, merely seconds before Darren’s fist connected with his jaw, turning his head away from me.

“Do not even look at her,” Darren seethed, his teeth bare as the man pleaded underneath him.

“I’m s-sorry! It was a m-mistake!” he wheezed again. “It’ll n-never happen again!”

Darren’s gaze sharpened. “Obviously.”

And then he drove his fist into the man’s trachea—once—twice—and a third time in rapid succession, completely obliterating his windpipe.

With bulging eyes, the man clutched at his throat, gasping for the air Darren had permanently denied him, choking on the final remnants of his fleeting life.

I glanced up at Darren, my unfocused vision incapable of missing the fire in his eyes still blazing with the kind of wrath I had become well acquainted with, as tame as this display was.

I could see the deep satisfaction he took when he witnessed his prey take his final pained breath before his body grew lax against the table.

When Darren turned away, two other men I hadn’t noticed before stepped up and pulled the man off the table to drape his arms around their necks. They dragged him away from the curtain as if he were just another drunk patron being tossed from the bar, his dark shirt concealing the blood underneath it.

Without looking back, Darren’s gaze landed on me, the dark possessive look in his eye locking me in place. Scowling, he sat down next to me only to reach over and lift me into his lap to straddle his hips. He then glanced back over my shoulder, prompting Scott to immediately usher everyone out of the booth until it was just the two of us behind the privacy of the curtain.

With everyone gone, Darren’s eyes softened slightly as he sighed, his hand taking my chin and turning my offended cheek for his review.

“I hope you enjoyed your time out there,” he murmured, his gaze focused on my skin. “Because it’s never happening again.”

I frowned as I pulled away. “What? Why? Because of that?” I asked, my voice an obvious whine in my drugged-out state, my body unsteady as I pointed in the direction behind me.

Darren’s jaw tightened as he slowly dragged his thumb and forefinger along my cheek.

“No. Because it’s too damn distracting,” he answered. “I could barely keep my eyes off you.”

I huffed a laugh at the compliment, but shook my head at the consequence of it. “But I was having so much fun.”

“Only because I drowned out your inhibitions with drugs.”

“This time,” I emphasized.

“The last time,” he countered.

I sighed in frustration. “You know, you’re really being a buzzkill.”

He sat up more, clutching my upper arms. “That’s not the only thing I’ll kill if you don’t heed my warning,” he rumbled, his gaze darkening.

My shoulders slumped in disappointment, but Darren remained unaffected by it, steadfast in his ruling. “Maybe this could have been avoided then,” he added, running the pad of his thumb along my offended jawline.

“I’m fine, you know,” I said, my hands pressing against his chest to hold myself steady.

“Doesn’t matter,” he clipped, his fingers moving to brush my hair behind my ear.

His eyes then slid down at my hands clutching his shirt, a proud smirk snaking up the side of his face. Taking my left hand, he pulled it up and tilted my ring toward the light, revealing the deep red smudge coating the sharp points of the setting.

“Good girl,” he praised and then yanked my mouth to his.

And just like the good girl I was, I gave him exactly what I knew he needed at that moment.