Page 131 of Down & Dirty: Rage

Forcing his jaws to unclench, he turned his attention back to the door when it opened.

“What are you doing here?” Bri blocked the opening with her body.

“Need to see Lyric.”

“Why? She’s in bed.”

“Get her up.”

“I’m not sure who died and made you boss.”

“Nobody had to die.” Maybe some Souls did, but the fuck if he was telling her that. “Get her or let me in.”

With a long, dramatic sigh, Bri stepped back and swept a hand toward the apartment’s interior. “Better hope she wants to see you.”

“Don’t matter if she don’t.”

Bri snorted. “I’m going back to bingingReal Housewives. If you’re going to fuck, keep the noise down, will you?”

“For fuck’s sake, woman.”

Bri shrugged and headed down the hallway back to her bedroom. “Lyric, your first dick—but hopefully not your last—is here.”

Jesus fuckin’ Christ.Good luck to any fucking man who was forced to deal with her ass. While crazy was usually good in bed, if you weren’t able to kick them out immediately afterward, you risked getting your throat sliced.

Bri was one woman in the sisterhood Rage wouldn’t touch, even with Pugsy’s dick.

Not bothering to wait for Lyric to emerge from her bedroom, he took long, determined strides down the hallway and opened her bedroom door.

“What—” he heard before he slammed the door behind him. She had been in the middle of dropping an oversized T-shirt over her head when she spun to face him. “What are you doing here?”

“Wanted to make sure you’re okay. Wanted to hear why you went to fuckin’ Uniontown after I told you not to. Wanted to hear what the fuck happened on Fisher Road. Pick one. Don’t care where you fuckin’ start, just start.” The more he thought and talked about the situation, the higher his blood pressure rose.

He closed his eyes and shook his head.Do not lose your fuckin’ shit!

When his eyes opened, he roughly pulled Lyric into him. Locking his arms tightly around her, he squeezed her for a few heartbeats before pushing her away to hold her out at arm’s length to inspect her from top to toe.

Instead of waiting for her explanation, he asked, “You good, baby?”

Thank fuck he saw no visible injuries. He hadn’t noticed any earlier, but wanted to make sure for his own peace of mind.

“Yes.”

“What the fuck were you doin’ all the fuck the way down there?”

“I told you we were going to The Pink Pearl.”

“And I told you you weren’t. You did it anyway.” He released her and spun away. “Holy fuck. Tonight reminded me how much you women are our fuckin’ weakness.”

“Wow.”

He spun back to face her, taking one step closer to where she still stood. “Second time you’ve had to deal with those motherfuckers. They coulda fuckin’…” He shook his head.Keep a fuckin’ lid on it. Yellin’ won’t help.He blew out a breath, hoping the wrong words wouldn’t escape with it. “Your mother’s a good goddamn example of what those motherfuckers coulda done!”

He shut up, let that sink in, and when it did, all the color drained from her face.

Right.Reality could be fucking a harsh bitch.

“While I appreciate your concern, this is all a bit over the top, isn’t it?”