The following scene is subject to change prior to publishing.
“Trick or treat!”
“Smell my feet,” my kid brother taunted with a sneer. The candy extorters were wearing their Halloween costumes and holding up pumpkin pails as they waited for us to fill them. Eventually, those eager smiles fell when they realized he wasn’t teasing them for jokes.
There would be no candy for them.
“Beat it,” I ordered when they just stood there in denial that my brother and I were truly that cruel. The moment they were gone, he went back to staring at the ground with his head bowed and hiding his black eye from me.
Twirling my key ring around my finger as I stood by my truck, I waited for him to answer the question I’d asked before we were interrupted.
“Daniel,” I sighed when I grew impatient. I watched my brother wince at the sound of his full name.
He knew what would happen if he made me ask again.
I didn’t like repeating myself.
Currently, we were standing in the driveway of the house I’d nearly bankrupted myself to buy. My little brother deserved a safe roof over his head, even if I wasn’t all that stable.
“I told you I’m fine.”
“And whoever did that to you is lucky, but that’s not what I asked. Who hit you?”
He shrugged as he continued to stare at his feet. “Some kid.”
I felt my teeth bare when I spoke. “Obviously.”
He looked up now, his green eyes as wild as my thoughts when he exploded. “I know what you’ll do if I tell you, so I won’t!” His narrow chest began to heave as he breathed in and out. “You promised, D. You said this is it. No more moving around.”
“And I meant it, kid. We’re not going anywhere.” This little corner of the world now belonged to me, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Six Forks was a quiet hole, and I intended to fill it with chaos. “Tell me his name.”
“It won’t do any good unless you’re willing to beat up a kid, which I know you’re not, so what’s the point?”
“No, but I can fuck up his father.”
“And then you’ll go to jail again, and I’ll be back in foster care!” He shook his head and then bowed it again so I wouldn’t see the sadness in his eyes. “You should have just left me there.”
Throwing my head back, I stared at the darkening sky as I slowly counted to thirty. My little brother tested my patience too often with these little guilt trips. It wasn’t my fucking fault our father had been an asshole. I took more shit than Danny with no one who cared enough to get me out. Unlike him, I had no options. There was nothing but survival.
“Fine,” I heard myself snap once I’d calmed enough. “I’ll go to the school in the morning, and I’ll talk to the principal. Peacefully. Satisfied?”
Danny quickly shook his head, pissing me off again. “It won’t do any good.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because he’s on the basketball team and our new principal is afraid of the coach. He won’t do anything.”
“Then give me the coach’s name, and I’ll fucking talk to him.” At this point, I was ready to just burn the school to the ground. Forget having kids one day. This parenting shit was just too complicated. Taking a peaceful approach always made me queasy. I’d rather just spill some blood.
“You don’t understand,” my brother said as he shot from his seat on our broken front step. “People talk. They say…they say he’s dangerous.”
I’m dangerous too.
When he saw that he wasn’t convincing me, he hurried up and got to the point. “It’s not just the principal. Everyone’s afraid of him. The teachers, the cops, everyone.”
He didn’t realize his mistake until it was too late.
I was quiet after his revelation.
My wheels were turning now, setting events in motion that he couldn’t hope to stop. I didn’t take my brother from my father just to let another asshole make him cower and weep. Danny should have known better than that.
“Are you?” I asked him quietly. I’d already made up my mind, so I don’t know why I bothered since I had no conscience to keep clear.
The moment he looked away, I turned on my heel.
There were no words left that needed to be spoken. My brother knew it so he didn’t try to stop me.
This motherfucking coach was going to feel me.
Ten minutes later, I turned into the parking lot of Bainbridge High on two wheels. It was late, but not late enough that checking the school would lead to a dead end. It occurred to me that I didn’t know the name of the man I was hunting, what kind of car he drove, or even what he looked like, but Six Forks was small. A fucking blip on the map. How many “deadly” basketball coaches could there be?
The first place I decided to look since the doors to the school were unlocked was the gym. The few people I passed on the way paid me no mind as I barreled through the halls like I knew where I was going.
Eventually, I found what I was looking for and stepped through one of the open doors.
The gym was empty except for two men who stood at center court, dressed and sweating like they’d just finished a game. Both were tall and dark-haired with nearly identical features. The only noticeable difference between them was that one was heavily tatted though not as impressively built. The inked one laughed loudly at something the quiet one said while he absently used his fingers to turn the basketball he held.
It was the latter who held my attention.
His expression was impassive, his presence commanding, and it didn’t take him long to notice me. I knew without having to ask that he was the man I was looking for.
Closer now, I could see that his eyes were gray while the darkness inside of them called to my own.
“I’m looking for the coach.” It was the only greeting they were going to get. “Are you him?”
“Yup,” the man I surmised was his brother answered for him. There was a gleam in his eyes like he was looking and hoping for trouble. I couldn’t quite tell which of them was older, but they both had a decade at least, if not more, on me.
“I’m Dacian Terranova.”
One of the doors opened behind them, and before I could say more, a girl with long, dark hair glided through. She was a bit on the delicate side and already dressed for whatever Halloween festivities she had planned for tonight. In the back of my mind, I recalled Danny mentioning something about teachers giving extra credit to whoever wore their costumes to school. Clearly, she’d taken advantage while Danny hadn’t bothered since he hated anything that didn’t involve him sulking in a corner.
“Dad, I know why you’re still here,” the girl grumbled. My eyes immediately narrowed at the sound of her voice. Even though the man I came to confront and his brother had given her their undivided attention, she didn’t bother to do the same. Her head was down as she peered at her phone, and it was clear she was upset as she reluctantly made her way over. “I already cleared it with mom, and she said I could go, so I’m going.”
Her father must have been the one with tattoos because he smirked at her poor attempt to be a rebel. She’d chosen to dress as an angel on a night meant for devils to reign. I could smell a good girl a mile away.
“Oh, are you?” her father teased. It was apparent he kept her on a short leash.
“Yes.”
He made a noncommittal sound in response. One that said her Friday night plans were still up for debate.
Apparently, hearing it too, I could see the frustration in her dark eyes the moment her head snapped up, and for the first time, she realized they weren’t alone. Coming to an abrupt halt, she didn’t just notice me. She recognized me.
Daddy’s princess and I had met before.
***
Stay tuned for Kennedy and Dacian’s story!
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