Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94686 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94686 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“My sister doesn’t have a price tag? I need you to understand that. She’s not for sale.” This didn’t sound like the easy-going Troy from earlier. This guy was a monster. Each word held edge, each syllable a promised threat. “You’re cool with me, man. Relax. I’ll let you breathe.”
I struggled to get out of his arms, if only to free myself from choking.
“When I let you go, tell me you understand,” he said.
He released me. Gasping, I doubled over, trying to breathe in and out as much as possible. Once I got my breath it would be me and him. But he didn’t let me rest, he’d been ready. As if he could see in the dark, he slammed me back into the wall. “You understand me?”
More liquid dripped from my nose. Some of it hit my tongue.
Definitely blood.
I gritted my teeth. “This is unnecessary.”
“Not when it comes to Jazz.”
I shoved him. He punched me in the face. Pain bit at my jaw. I’d had that feeling enough in sparring to breathe through it. Sound came to my right. I ducked. Troy punched the wall behind me and screamed. “Fuck!”
I dove for his center, or where I assumed it was. When my body met his, I knew it was time to show him who the fuck he’d been punching. We crashed into the ground. I banged my fists into his sides, never letting up or giving him too much time to defend himself. He shouldn’t have, but he rolled me over and slammed his knee into my crotch.
Argh!
There was no pain on earth that existed like a good hit to the testicles. It was lightening mixed with millions of hot razors digging into flesh. I would’ve tapped out if I could if I had the ability to do anything else but clutch my balls and shriek. Stomping came from the distance. The viewing room was far in the basement’s far back so that the whole staff wouldn’t stumble upon it.
I crawled away. Troy caught my foot. I kicked him. Grunting, he jumped on top of me. Just when I was about to punch him in his gut, cold steel touched my neck.
I froze. “What is that?”
“Don’t worry. It’s a knife not a gun.”
I coughed. “I’m still worried.”
“Good. You’re smart.”
“And you’re not.”
“Why’s that, rich boy?”
“Because I thought we were friends who could help each other out.”
“Friends make sure other friends don’t do stupid shit.” Troy straddled me, his heavy weight pressing down on my center until I could barely breathe. “Like take my sister for instance. You fuck her over and that would be some stupid shit.” The sharp blade cut into my skin. Screaming, I tried to wrestle out of his arms. He had a good hold, even in the dark, which told me he’d done this kind of thing before. Troy had an acquaintance with this type of fighting, something that no gym sparring could’ve prepared me for.
He sliced a long line into my neck. “This is your first warning when it comes to my sister. The second warning goes across your Adam’s apple real slow-like.” He jumped off of me.
I rushed to my feet and swung at the air, ready to beat his behind. “Come here! Goddamn it. Come see me with the lights on.”
Troy chuckled. “Look at you, man. I give it to Jazz. She sure didn’t pick no punk.”
His voice sounded from the right. I punched in that direction. He tripped me. I crashed back down to the ground.
“I’m the sanest of my brothers.” Troy kicked me in my side. I screamed inside of my head, not giving him the joy of hearing my weakness anymore. “Be lucky, I’m the one who brought you the message. This is our thing, you know. We let any of the guys Jazz is dating understand that they have to be accountable for when they fuck with our sister. I never sent you the message. Viv had my head hostage.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to tell your sister Viv thank you.”
He kicked me again. This time I was ready for it. I flipped his ass over and slammed my closed fist into his face. He screeched. It was joy to my ears. I almost danced until he got out of my reach.
The lights came on. My men arrived on our sides, and a very pissed Jasmine raced down the stairs. “What the hell is going on?!”
Chapter 23
JASMINE
“Fools!” I paced between Chase and Troy. “Both of you fighting like kids. Who even started this?” I spotted the long-jagged cut on Chase’s neck and almost growled at Troy. Vivian had to hold me back. I struggled to get out of her arms. “How could you, Troy?! All of you promised you wouldn’t do that anymore.”
“I wasn’t even there when Sherman and Mike promised.” Troy removed the bag of ice off his eye. “Mike said that shit, not me.”