Page 18 of Foxx
“A woman should have a choice about who takes her—”
“Fucking Christ, do you ever stop talking?” I growl as I bend down and pick her up, tossing her over my shoulder and holding her dress down over her ass so these horny fuckers don’t get the view they’ve been praying for. I expected this to finally quiet her down, but it doesn’t.
All the fucking way past Roz and Tally, who are laughing their asses off as Roz hands me Mia’s purse. All the way through the open overhead door of the club, then through the crowd of people chuckling at us. And all the way to the end of my property, she demands and fights.
A combination of “put me fucking down,” “who the fuck do you think you are,” “you’re not my fucking keeper,” and “you fucking barbarian” pours out of her mouth as she pounds on my back with her small fists. Just as I thought.Rhiannon.
The yellow cab that Roz called is already waiting when I reach the end of the drive, far from the clubhouse and any people. The only sounds out here are the crickets and her fucking mouth.
When I get to the door, I glance inside and meet the driver’s eyes right away. He’s my regular, and he’s seen it all, so he’s not surprised when I open the back door and toss Mia on the seat with a low growl. She lands in an enraged little huff, brushing wisps of hair off her face. I toss her purse in her lap and grip the doorframe as I lean into the cab.
“You have toearnthe right to be on the back of my bike,” I tell her. “And you fucking haven’t,” I add, as I slam the door and hand a fifty to the driver through the open window.
“Where to?” he asks.
I look back at her. She’s holding up both middle fingers, and if she wasn’t a complete pain in the ass, it would be almostcute as she continues to tell me to go fuck myself from the back seat.
Backing away with a wicked grin, I offer the driver a shrug as she continues barking shit at me.
“Fuck if I care.”
“Who the hell are you to throw me around?” she shouts. I run a hand through my hair and turn back to the driver.
“Actually, there’s a cliff at the end of Woodhaven and Highway 4. You could take her there.”
Something about those words shuts her up.Fucking finally.
The cabbie chuckles, and the sound of gravel crunching under his tires takes over as I light a smoke and inhale deeply, taking a much-needed settling breath.
We’ll see if the fucking brat comes back now.
Chapter 12
Mia
The doorbell wakes me the next morning, and I sit up with a groan. My head is pounding. Wrapping my robe around myself, I toss my hair in a bun and head to answer the door. My whole body feels heavy. By the time I got home last night, anger and humiliation fueled me more than the alcohol, which meant I was practically clearheaded as I relived how that prick picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, tossing me in the cab like I was a disposable nuisance. All because some guy hit onme?
As I peek out the sidelight of the front door, I’m surprised to see Mr. Cress, the owner of the only funeral home in town.
His eyes widen as he takes in the sight of me. I can only imagine. Puffy, red-rimmed eyes, in my pajamas at… What the fuck time is it anyway? The sun glinting off the driveway tells me it has to be close to noon. He frowns and hands me a stack of papers.
“When your brother picked up your sister’s ashes, he didn’t take these, and I didn’t want to mail them.” He looks at me overhis thick-rimmed glasses with exactly the kind of pity I despise. “I tried to call, but I think the line’s disconnected.”
I tuck my hair behind my ear and swallow the lump forming in my throat.
“My mom doesn’t use it anymore,” I say softly. “Thank you, Mr. Cress.”
He nods. “You’ll need them for the few things you have to close up for her, maybe a bank account? Do you have someone to help you?”
“Um… Yes,” I lie, looking down at the documents in my hand. “Thank you again,” I offer as I close the door, feeling the sting in the bridge of my nose. My knees give way, and I drop to the floor right there behind the front door. This is the first time I’ve been alone in the house and sober since we officially said goodbye to her. As I clutch the death certificates to my chest, I know I can’t push this grief off another day. There’s no one here. I have nowhere to be. I let the sobs consume me.
I sit there and cry until I have no tears left. Remembering everything, remembering who she was before that sick bastard, Gator Freeland, took all the innocence she possessed. Remembering playing video games with the neighborhood kids on our living room floor, all the Barbie worlds we created and played with for hours, talking every night before we fell asleep, and fighting. Oh, did we fight, but we always made up, and we were always there for each other.
When the sobs finally stop, I look around my mother’s empty house. I hate it here. Nothing has changed, yet everything has. It’s the same house we grew up in. The same furniture, pale yellow walls, and hardwood floors. It’s all the same and nowsoempty.Cursed.
I wipe the tears from my eyes and stand, moving to thekitchen to make myself a much-needed cup of coffee. Fuck these tears and fuck this grief. Neither will help me now. All I can do is stick to my plan and try to find out who the man is that Nic was so terrified of that day. If it isn’t my new boss, I’ll move on to that creepy as fuck Wretched Soul, and then the next man after that, because this fight is all that’s holding me together right now. Which means I’m gonna cling to it with everything I’ve got.
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