I watch as she slowly gets up off the ground and brushes the dirt off her ass. She doesn't look shaken up at all. She looks pissed.
The dumbfuck looks at me like he’s not sure who I’m talking to. I reach down and grab him by the shirt. I pull him up and speak through clenched teeth. “Don’t make me ask again.”
I toss him backward and he lands hard on his ass. He doesn’t waste a second as he pulls out his wallet, holding it up for me to take.
“I don’t have any cash. I got nothing on me.” I open up his wallet and take out my phone to take a picture of his driver’s license.
“This your current address?” I ask. Fear flashes in his eyes, and the blood drains from his face.
“Answer me!” I yell louder than I should, but it doesn’t make Tonya flinch.
“Y--yes,” he stutters out.
“What were you planning to get out of this,” I look the fucker's license and chuckle, “Earl?” I crouch down so I can look this fucker in his eyes. “What were you hoping to get from messing with her?”
“Nothin'!” He's quick to deny everything and I just tilt my head and get ready to beat this fucker to a bloody pulp. I don't have a problem getting people to talk.
I smash my fist against his jaw so fucking quick he didn't see it coming. I hear Tonya take a step back and I look at her from the corner of my eyes. She looks back at me with no fear. She's watching me. I need to keep that in mind. I straighten my back as the little prick wipes the blood from his mouth and tries to figure out whether or not he should be looking at me. The coward doesn't even try to look me in the eyes. I have to tame the animal in me that wants to rip him to shreds. I should, he earned it, but I can't, knowing a cop is watching my every move. Even if it is for her. I’m not sure I trust this broad. My jaw ticks. I shouldn’t fucking trust this broad. Ever.
“I like this broad, and I don’t like that you fucked with her. You understand what I’m saying?”
“It w--won’t happen again.” He stutters again, and I swear to God I smell piss.
“Damn right it won’t.” I toss his wallet back to him. “Get the fuck out of here.”
As he walks away, nearly stumbling over his own two feet, Tonya walks closer to me and says, “I could’ve handled it myself.”
I look at her with a bit of disbelief. My eyes roam her body. She’s a bit scuffed up. She takes the hair tie out of her hair and pulls it back up, casually tying it into a ponytail. Like messing up her hair is the worst thing that happened.
When she looks back at me, I see her true emotions in her eyes. She's pushing down the fear and anxiety I know she's feeling. I know it well, because I do that shit, too. I walk over and stand close to her, wanting to hold her, but knowing I shouldn’t.
I shouldn’t have even come down here. I’d ended it. But I saw those pricks and the way they looked at her. I wasn’t letting that shit happen.
I don’t care what Vince has to say about it.
“You could have, but you didn’t have to.” Her eyes flash with surprise and then sadness. I try to lighten the mood by saying, “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”
I put my hand on the small of her back and lead her out of the alley, onto the sidewalk. There’s no one out this late. I doubt anyone around here called the cops either. I take out my phone and text Nicky about the prick we left behind. He’ll clean it up. The fuckers will live, but they’ll know never to do stupid shit like that in our territory again.
As soon as I hit send, she seems to come to her senses and tries to turn back.
“I have to call for backup,” she says as she turns to look back down the alley. Fuck that. She’s not calling anyone. I spin her around in my arms and look her right in her eyes.
“It didn’t happen. Nothing happened.” A moment passes between us, like she's weighing her options. Finally, she nods her head slightly with understanding, but I know she doesn’t like it.
She looks past me at the passed out fucker in the alley.
“Don’t worry about him,” I tell her as I grab her by the arm. “He’ll live.”
She doesn’t put up much of a fight. She just looks at me with curiosity on her face. It’s not good that she’s curious, but at least she’s smart enough not to ask questions. I’m surprised how she lets me lead her out onto the street. She doesn’t care that I’m practically manhandling her.
That’s another thing I like. She obeys me, and she likes my hands on her. Fuck, I can’t help how much that turns me on. My dick is begging to get inside her. Damn it. I really was going to listen. I have to fucking listen. I try to will away my erection, but it’s not doing anything but getting harder for her.