Page 13 of Thorn Evermore
The woman stares at me, wide-eyed, and even the child stops whimpering and focuses on me.
“Let’s call me the patron saint of abused women.” Reaching down, I grip the man’s neck and lift him off the ground. “I show up when there’s an asshole who needs a lesson.”
“You need to mind your fucking business and get out of my house. This is between me and my girl.”
I chuckle, squeezing his neck hard enough that he coughs. He’s trying to appear tough, but panicked fear wafts off him. “Have you hit your wife before?” The man glares, attempting in vain to pull my fingers from his neck. I turn to his wife. “Has he?”
“You keep your mouth shut,” the man shouts, so I punch him in the gut.
“You can tell me,” I say softly to her.
“You can’t hurt him,” she says, her voice shaking. “He takes care of us. I don’t have any money.”
“Does he hit you?” I repeat.
She nods subtly, her whole body shaking with fear.
Twisting my neck back and forth, I let my beast rise to the surface, my fangs dropping as my muscles bulge. I want to snap his neck, but I won’t traumatize her or leave her without support. As much as I’d like to drain him, I take the next best route.
Stomping towards the open window, I shove him halfway through so he’s hanging outside. He struggles, kicking his legs to try and find his footing, but I’ve made sure he can’t.
“Listen to me, you piece of shit,” I growl, leaning close to his face. “Hitting women is cowardly. I know where you livenow, and I will check on her. If there’s so much as a scratch or a dried tear on her cheek, you die, got it?”
“F-fuck you,” he says, glancing over his shoulder in fear.
“Hmm, still playing the tough guy, huh? Maybe this will convince you I mean business.” Grinning, I flash my fangs and talon-like nails. His eyes grow wide. “I could tear you apart in less than a minute, and I would enjoy every second of it.”
“Wh-what are you?”
“Your waking nightmare. Tell me you won’t touch her again. Promise me.”
The color drains from his face as he nods. “I promise.”
“Good boy. Don’t break your promise, because if you do, I will kill you, and no one will ever find your body. So do what you gotta do to deal with your shit, but keep your hands off of that woman and the child. Don’t yell. Don’t hit walls. Don’t scare her. Got it?”
“Got it.”
I focus on his eyes, sending subliminal thoughts into his mind. As his eyes glaze over, I nod, pleased with my work. Anytime he raises his voice or lifts his hand, my face will be the one he sees.
“Good.” I pull him inside and drop him on the floor. When I release his neck, he gasps, rubbing the skin.
“Everything will be okay now, ma’am,” I tell the woman. “But you’ll see me again if it isn’t.”
She still looks nervous, likely afraid of what he’ll do when I leave, but she’ll soon find out that he won’t do anything but go to sleep. I send a bit of compulsion to her to calm her nerves and ease her fears, adding a bit of courage to help her see her worth. Hopefully, she’ll leave.
Pulling my card out of my pocket, I hand it to her. “If you ever need help, you can call me.”
“Are you an angel?”
“Hardly. Just a concerned citizen.”
“But… how did you get in here?”
Smiling, I don’t answer her. “Take care of yourself.”
I choose the front door this time, walking through the building to get downstairs again. At least I was around when the woman needed me.
Tonight is turning out okay. All I need now is someone to bite and I’ll be set. As that thought sits with me, it becomes less and less appealing. I can’t imagine feeding on anyone after the tiny taste I had of Kyson. I was hoping he’d stick around a bit and I could work up to that. Damn, he really got under my skin.