Chapter 15

~John~

 

“Another tattoo, huh? Where and what?” I ask into my earpiece as I pull my truck into the parking lot of my apartment building.

“I don’t know yet. Maybe something to do with boxing. Or, something musical. Kinda like your guitar, but not a rip off of that,” Nicki answers.

I laugh. “I don’t mind if you get one identical to mine.”

“Yeah right. I know you, John.”

“I’d allow it for you. But if anyone else copies it, I swear to God, I’ll kick their ass.”

She giggles. Damn, I love that sweet sound. “You tough little shit. No, I won’t copy yours. But thanks for the offer.”

“I’ll help you figure something out. Where, though? I need something to work with.”

“I’m thinking on one of my boobs.”

“What? Really?” Images of her perfect tits flash in my mind and I fight to push them away before my dick starts reacting. Stop it, asshole.

“No, I’m just messing with you.”

“Are you blushing right now?” I ask, picturing just that. Just the slightest sexual reference can have her turning red. She’s so shy; just another thing that makes her unbelievably cute.

“Me? Blush? Never.”

We both burst out laughing.

“So, when are you coming out of hibernation? I miss you.”

“I just have one more assignment. It’s the big one.”

“That fucking thesis on personality disorder?”

“Yep.”

“You need my help? A study buddy?”

She scoffs. “You? Come on, John.”

She’s got me there. I’m not exactly a straight-A student. Far from it. She always lectures me that I could be if I applied myself. But my focus is directed elsewhere. On the band.

“Yeah, I hear you. I’ll let you get back to it. See you in a couple of days?”

“Yeah. Ready to get our song writing on?”

“You bet. See you, sweetheart.”

“Nite nite.”

She hangs up. Nite nite. So cute. Always so damn cute.

I tap my earpiece, switching it off and grab my cell phone out of its holder by the dash. Sliding it into my leather jacket pocket, I climb out of the truck. I switch on the alarm and stuff my keys into my jeans.

Before I can even take a step towards the building, something slams into me from behind. I stumble into the driver’s door and before I can regain my balance properly, something crashes into my side. A boot, I realize. I hit the concrete. Fuck.

I roll to my side. Big mistake. A fist plows into my right cheek, just narrowly missing my nose. Phew. It’s already been broken too many times.

I look up to see Axel standing over me with two of his frat buddies by his side.

“Are you done?” I demand.

“Get. Up,” he orders.

I don’t move. No one tells me what to do. “Is this about the other day?”

“Of course it’s about that. What the fuck do you think it’s about?”

“Do guys like you need a reason?”

Most guys in my position would probably shut the fuck up. But I’m not most guys. And, besides, shutting my mouth isn’t gonna make this any less painful for any of us.

Axel kicks my thigh. “Get up!”

I smirk at him and climb to my feet. “That almost hurt.”

Fury flashes in his eyes. “It’s about to.”

Does he really think he’s gonna succeed in intimidating me here? I’m not a guy who’s gonna piss himself over getting into a fight—even if it is three against one—because I’m used to it. Hell, I’ve trained for this. “You think attacking a guy when his back’s turned and bringing along two guys as back up makes you any less of a pussy, Craven?”

He gestures to his guys and they take position; one either side of me.

“You sure you wanna do this?” I warn him even as adrenaline spikes through me and my body decides this is on either way.

“Oh, you have no idea how much I wanna watch you in pain and begging me for mercy, you piece of shit. I’ve waited too long to wipe that cocky smirk off your face.”

Hmm. Pretty good trash talk. He must watch a lot of movies.

I feel the guy to my left make his move. He’s so slow and clumsy about it. I kick the guy to my right to get him out of my way and then I spin into the fist coming at my back from Lefty. I block it with my palm and jerk it hard to the right. I hear the satisfying sound of a snap and he screams like a little bitch. I sweep my leg at him, ripping his feet right out from under him and he crashes to a heap at my feet. Weaving my fingers into his hair I jerk his head back and then slam it into the wheel well of my truck. Thankfully, it’s built like a goddamn tank and sturdy enough to take the hit without denting it, which is more than I can say for Lefty who writhes on the floor, clutching his bloodied face and whimpering.

Meaty arms wrap around my shoulders and I know it’s Righty—the biggest out of the three of them. He tugs me backwards with him and my hands grip his, wrestling against his powerful hold. The guy must have at least a hundred pounds on me. Shit.

Before I can get him off my back—literally—Axel steps in front of me and yells to him, “Hold him steady!”

I watch Axel clench his fists. He’s such a fucking amateur that he makes the mistake of glancing at exactly where he intends to hit. As he comes at me, I instinctively flex my abs as tightly as I possibly can. I’m really fucking thankful my uncle convinced me to keep working out at his gym a few times a month. These are my greatest defense right now against broken ribs. That’s the last thing I need. They take too long to heal.

His fist plunges right into my abs. When he pulls back he looks at me in surprise. I know it’s because I didn’t double over. It pisses him off and he hits me again. And again. It takes a sustained effort on my part to resist the urge to react and give him what he wants as he lands a total of four hits. I’m lucky he’s such a pussy and his hits aren’t that hard.

Finally he stops and moves into me. He thrusts his fist into my face, his knuckles grazing my lips, and the all-too-familiar coppery taste of blood trickles into my mouth.

“Which hand do you use to play guitar?” he demands.

“Both, you fucking idiot.”

He nods to Righty who’s still holding me across my shoulders. The guy shifts his grip and I feel both hands move to my right arm.

“Break it,” Axel orders.

I smirk at him because he just took one step too close. Time to fight dirty with dirty.

I thrust my knee up, right into his fucking junk. Brutally hard. An agonized cry rips from his throat and he collapses to his knees, clutching his dick through his shorts. I get a sick thrill from knowing he won’t be using his dick for a while after that. Nicki’s safe. Righty knees me in the back and his grip shifts from my arm to the back of my jacket as I fall forward on purpose. As I figured he would, he releases me completely so he doesn’t have to hold up my dead weight.

“Good boy,” I growl.

Now it’s my turn, fuckers!

I kick him back, roll to my side and flip myself to my feet. I lunge at him, my fist plunging into his beer gut. He doubles over instantly. I jerk him down by his shoulders and smash my knee into his face. He cries out and I shove him hard. He collapses to the floor.

I wait a few seconds to make sure he’s not gonna get up and then I stagger over to Axel. I weave my fingers in his hair and ready my right fist. His eyes meet mine and I see the naked fear there. True fear that I’ve only seen once before.

Nicki. That night when that bastard attacked her.

Flashes of what I did to him hit me hard. Argh!

I release Axel and step back.

“You’re not gonna finish it?”

I turn my back and call over my shoulder, “It’s already finished. Don’t come at me again.”

I force myself to walk upright and as steady as possible until I’m out of sight and through the door to the parking lot entrance to the elevators.

And then I collapse. Fuck, every part of me is burning in agony. It’s been too long since I’ve been in a fight.

My hands are shaking from adrenaline as I reach into my jacket pocket to pull out my cell phone. When I finally manage it, I speed dial Mitch.

It picks up on the first ring and I speak before he can get a word in. “Elevators. Parking level. Now.”

“John? What’s wrong? You okay?”

“Just…get here.”

I hang up, stow my phone away and push myself off the floor so I’m sitting and leaning against the wall for support as I struggle to catch my breath.

Shit, I should probably cut back on my smoking.