Page 23 of Merciless Angel

“Good girl. Go home. We’ll come see you later.” I watched Clover get into her little blue car and drive away. Damn, she had a nice ass. I couldn’t wait to make her sorry for hiding this from us.

I chugged my coffee on the way back to the house. I almost forgot to grab food on the way. When I entered the house with a large bag of takeout in hand, I was itching to get moving. Zane would be so fucking sorry when I got through with him.

“Pop some painkillers and get dressed,” I announced as I entered the house. “We have a problem to take care of. Now.”

Once I explained to Blaze and Daire that our new toy was bruised and swollen, they were tripping over themselves to get out the door. With his burger in one hand and a drink in the other, Daire shoved his feet into his running shoes and left the house, bitching at us to hurry up.

“I can’t believe she didn’t use the bracelet,” Daire muttered, slamming his car door.

I beat Blaze to the passenger seat, smirking at him as I slid into Daire’s black Audi. “She tried to lie about the injuries too. We’ll have to make sure she never does that again.”

Somehow, Daire managed to drive with one hand while scarfing down his burger in record time. “That little fairy is testing us already. Brave. Must be Raina’s influence rubbing off on her.”

“How bad was it?” Blaze asked from the backseat. “Her bruises. Did he beat her badly?”

I turned in my seat to face him, shaking my head. “Definitely could have been worse. He roughed her up though.”

“All that matters is that he put his hands on her. Again.” Daire grabbed his drink from the cupholder, gripping the wheel tight with both hands. “Nobody touches Clover but us. It’s time for Zane to understand that. Clover is next.”

We wouldn’t beat on Clover like Zane. However, we had to show her that she’d made a choice to be ours. That choice came with obligations. There had to be consequences for lying and refusing to obey. Daire tended to get a little crazy when wound up. Blaze and I kept him sane. Until we didn’t.

We’d been friends since the eighth grade. Daire and I had come to Blaze’s aid when a group of bullies jumped him after school. Together the three of us had beat the hell out of those kids. Nobody had gone as crazy on them as Daire had though. He’d curb stomped one kid, knocking out all of his front teeth. We’d all been tight ever since.

We pulled up to the address Clover had given me. I cracked my knuckles and got out of the car. Daire led the way up the front walk, punching the button to ring the doorbell.

“Keep an eye out in case he tries to run out the back,” Daire said.

The door swung open to reveal Zane rubbing his eyes as if we’d roused him from sleep. Shirtless in only sweatpants, he blinked at us in confusion. Then realization settled in.

“Oh shit,” he blurted. His attempt to slam the door in our faces was thwarted by Daire who shoved it open.

Daire looped an arm around Zane’s neck in a tight headlock. I grabbed Zane by the arm, helping Daire drag him from the house. Blaze closed the door behind us, watching our backs as we forced Zane into the backseat of the car.

Both Blaze and I got into the back with Zane, trapping him between us. He made a pitiful effort to escape. He took a swing at me, surprised when I caught his fist and twisted until his wrist popped. His pained shout was only the beginning.

“There’s no point fighting,” I said, using his shoulder to slam him back against the seat. “You fucked up, man. We can’t let that slide.”

“I barely touched her. Seriously. She’s fine. It was nothing.” Panic filled Zane’s voice. He knew that he was fucked now.

“Barely touched her?” I repeated. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, I jerked him forward and slammed his face into the back of the passenger seat. “She has a black eye and a cut lip that’s swollen twice its size. Clover is ours, asshole. You fucked up.”

“I’m sorry. I swear I won’t touch her again.” Zane held his nose, wincing in pain.

“You’ve got that right,” Daire chuckled, eyeing Zane in the rearview mirror.

Zane noticed then that we were heading out of the city. His panic grew as his gaze darted about. “What’s going on? Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere that nobody will hear you scream,” Blaze said. A slow, evil smile crossed his face. “Because you will definitely scream.”

While Zane begged and pleaded for mercy, Daire took us further out of the city. He drove until we reached a thick thatch of trees on the other side of a farmer’s field. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere, it was a great place to punish Zane. There wasn’t a soul in sight other than us.

Daire parked the car just inside the tree line. Then he got out and fetched a few things from the trunk. Opening the back door, he handed me a black hood and a chunk of rope.

While Zane struggled, Blaze and I wrestled him into the hood and tied his hands behind his back. Using the rope to steer him, I dragged him from the car and got him marching ahead of me.

“Please, guys. Don’t do this. I’ll never touch Clover again. I won’t even look at her. I swear.” Zane rambled several attempts to get us to let him go. None of them worked. We weren’t the merciful types.

We pushed him along through the trees until we came to a small clearing. I released my hold on the ropes binding his hands, giving him a shove that sent him falling to his knees with a grunt. Bringing my foot up, I booted him hard in the back of the head.