Page 51 of Hurt Me Not
I took the elevator down to the lobby, fuming the entire time and trying desperately to calm myself down before I caused a scene. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I saw him where Pearl had been sitting not too long ago.
The man’s clothes were ill-fitting and mismatched, telling me they were likely loaners. His hair was buzzed, and his skin was covered in tattoos, many of them looking like sticks and pokes.
I didn't pause as I strode up to him. When he looked at me, his face remained blank.
“Get out of here or I'm calling security.”
This got him to smile. He slowly stood up, taking his time, as if he didn’t give a single fuck about my threat. He probably didn't. He looked like he was just having a little fun outside and would end up going right back in.
The smile. The light in his eyes. The way he looked me up and down.
All of it told me he was enjoying this.
“He wants me to send you a message.”
“I don't give a fuck about what he wants,” I spat. “I told him to leave me the fuck alone, and now I'm telling you the same thing. I’ll get you sent right back to jail if you don't walk away right now.”
He shrugged.
“A place to live, free meals… It's not too bad when you think about it. Plus, I owe your dad.”
“You owe him, or are you his leashed dog?”
His eyes narrowed at me.Thathit a sore spot.
“Watch yourself,” he warned. “I'm not as forgiving as him.”
I leaned closer, making sure he heard every single word.
“You forget who raised me. Now get the fuck out and don’t come back.”
He held my gaze for a second, and then his lips pulled into a smirk.
“He’s coming. He wants you to be ready for him and said he's disappointed you didn't tell him about your new little girlfriend.”
For the first time since my father had gone to jail, I felt true fear claw at my chest.
Quick as lightning, I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer.
“What the fuck did you just say?” I growled.
He wasn’t fazed by my suddenness or my threat. His smile only widened. This asshole was having fun.
“Ooh, testy. What? You don't like that he knows about your girlfriend? From what he told me, you've been pining after this one for a long-ass time.”
I wouldn’t stand for this. Not when she was at stake.
My father had men on the outside reporting back every single thing I did. But I never thought he'd get Pearl involved.
I didn’t care much about myself. Even when my father threatened to end my life, which he’d done often. There hadn’t been many moments when I’d felt true fear, but now, all I could think about was what he was planning to do to her to get my attention.
My father had always been a bad man, but jail changed him. It made him worse. He went from a random drunk abuser to someone people listened to. Suddenly, he was running the shotsinside and had plenty of friends who’d come try totalk some sense into mewhen I ignored him. If he could make people risk their lives and freedom for something as simple as delivering a message, what would he be willing to do when hetrulyset his mind to it?
Before this, I hadn’t cared, but Pearl was everything. She was mine, even for just this short while, and I would die before I let anything happen to her.
“You tell him that if he dares lay a finger on her?—”
“Who said anything about that? You know your father loves you. Why on earth would he do anything to hurt you?” Sarcasm dripped heavily from every word.
