Toxic Bad Boy(78)

That motherfucker had pushed the girl against Gianna.

I helped the chick to her feet. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, wiping her face and making a bigger mess of her makeup.

“Do you know that guy?”

“Mind your fucking business!” he snarled at me.

I ignored him. “He your boyfriend?’

Her head nodded again, her eyes darting fearfully to him.

A hand landed on my arm. “Caleb, I don’t want you getting arrested!” Gianna said, pleading with her eyes.

“Rebecca!” the guy yelled. “Get your ass over here. We’re going home.”

I was about to ask Rebecca if she wanted to go home with her asshole boyfriend. Instead, I took the initiative and lunged at him, cold-cocking him in the jaw before he could defend himself. His big body landed in a heap and I grabbed Gianna’s hand to get out of there before the bouncers showed up to drag us out.

I’d given Rebecca the opportunity to escape him tonight. If she was smart, she’d take it.

As we exited the club into the summer night, I used my shirt to wipe off Gianna’s cell phone and passed it to her. “Text Cece that we’ll wait for her and Flynn in my car.”

“Do you think you’ll get in trouble?” Gianna asked breathlessly. I slowed down, allowing her a break from walking fast in heels.

“Naw, a guy like that will be too embarrassed to have me tracked down to press charges. Besides, video footage will show I was defending you and his girlfriend.”

Cece and Flynn arrived at my car eight minutes after us and piled into the backseat. Cece’s eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed. “Have fun?” I asked.

“Lots. Why are we leaving so early?”

In answer, I started the car and backed out of the parking spot while Gianna explained.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE





“The saddest thing in life is wasted talent and the choices you make will shape your life forever.”

-Chazz Palminteri

Michael Wright’s heart raced as he and three other inmates approached one of the guards at the youth corrections facility he’d been locked up in for the past two weeks.

After detoxing at a youth rehab center, the judge had sentenced him to juvie for stealing a car and crashing it into a neighbor’s backyard pool. He’d been snowballing out of his mind, but he’d needed it after watching his dad beat on his mom again.

One of the other inmates hid a big ass rock behind his back. Javier distracted the guard by shoving Tobias and screaming that he was a faggot. Tobias was gay, so his anger at the slur didn’t need to be faked.

The fourth boy of their group lifted the rock and bashed it into the back of the guard’s skull. The guard became disoriented, but managed to stay on his feet. Michael was sweating, afraid of the consequences of getting caught. He winced as the rock hit the guard again, finally knocking him out.

Tobias’ grin was maniacal as he watched the attacker unnecessarily hit the guard again with the rock. Javier appeared as sick by the violence as Michael felt. But that could be the withdrawals he was still suffering from. If he didn’t get a hit soon, he’d freak the fuck out.

A chill went through Michael as he took in the blank, deadened look in the eyes of that Josh kid as he continued to bash the guard with the rock. Javier grabbed Josh’s arm. “Whoa, man, are you trying to kill the dude? They’ll throw your ass in a real fucking prison!”

Michael was still only fourteen-years-old so the worst they could do to him was return him here. Josh and Javier were seventeen and could be thrown in adult prison if a judge moved them out of juvenile court.

“We need to get out of here before another guard comes!” Michael hissed. “Now, where the fuck is the fence loose, Tobias?”

Instead of answering, Tobias took off to the far end of the yard while the other three boys ran behind him. A shout went out behind them and Michael knew time was running out. Other guards would be on the chase.

Tobias claimed he’d discovered a weak portion in the chainlink fence the other day. With four of them, they should be able to pull it up. If not, their asses would be thrown in solitary. Michael joined the other three in using all his strength to yank an area of the fence out of the ground.

His sentence was a non-mandatory zero to two years and he’d be up for evaluation every so often, but what if they kept him in here for the full two years? He couldn’t go that long without a fix.

The other three boys had mandatory sentences ranging from one to three years. Josh and Javier would be out in a year, but Tobias was only fifteen and had three years left to serve.

Tobias was the first to slide under the fence. Michael glanced back to see four guards gunning for them. A couple other inmates, or residents as the staff liked to call them, stood back to watch the show.