“Just… go away, Maddox.”
My eyes pinched close, and I rested my forehead against her door. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t shut me out. Don’t hide from me. I’m not going to walk away, and you damn well know it. Let me in, Lila.”
Whatever Landon had done to my girl, he was about to regret it for the rest of his shitty life.
“If you don’t open the door, I’m going to think the worst, and I’m going to hunt down Landon… and I might end up in prison tonight.”
I didn’t give a fuck if I was about to spend the rest of my life in jail because I was still going to hunt down Landon either way, even if she did open the door.
He made her cry – that was a death penalty.
“You’re not killing anyone,” she mumbled through the door.
“Open the door then,” I pushed.
There was some shuffling around and then she unlocked and opened the door. Lila came into view, but she kept her head casted down, her black hair covering half of her face.
I placed my finger under her chin and nudged her head up. Her eyes were red, but there was no sign of tears. “I’m not crying,” she said, begrudgingly. “I don’t cry.”
That was right.
Lila never cried, except for one day of the year. She hated being vulnerable and the only time she ever allowed herself to be, was on the date her parents died.
Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were red, a clear sign that she wanted to cry, but she was holding her tears in.
Lila pressed her palm over her forehead and squeezed her eyes close. “I’m just… God, he made a fool out of me.”
“What did he do?” I asked through clench teeth.
“I was his rebound,” Lila said, her voice small. She swiped at her cheeks even though there was no evidence of any tears. “And he has been cheating on me… with his ex. I guess they’re back together now, but he was a coward and didn’t tell me. I don’t understand. Why did he… why did he sleep with me… if he was already back with her? I mean, he basically cheated on both of us.”
Riley let out a curse under her breath from behind me.
Colton hissed. “He’s dead meat.”
Anger simmered in my gut. The more she spoke of her situation, the angrier I became.
It consumed me, and my skin itched with the need for revenge, to hurt him, like he hurt Lila.
My Lila.
My fingers curled into fists as the fury slid through me like acid, burning inside the pit of my stomach.
Riley pushed past me and enveloped Lila into a hug. She whispered something to her, and Lila nodded. They talked quietly to each other. “I’m more angry than hurt. Embarrassed, too, because I let him touch me… we had sex… because I trusted him.”
Lila’s head came up, her gaze finding mine instantly. “Maddox–” she said, but her eyes flared, probably from seeing the look on my face. “Maddox, no.”
Lila came forward, her arms out as if to grab me, but I sidestepped her reach.
She called out after me as I stalked out of the apartment. “Maddox!”
I wasn’t listening; I was too far gone to stop now.
I charged down the stairs, faster than I knew I could and climbed into my car. The passenger’s door slammed shut, and I looked up. Colton settled in the seat.
“You’re not stopping me,” I snarled.
“No, I’m coming with you.” He cracked his knuckles, his lips splitting into a deadly grin. “He fucked with one of ours.”
After breaking every known traffic law, we were at Landon’s apartment two minutes later.
“You stay out of it,” I warned Colton. My Lila, my fight.
“I’ll let you beat the shit out of him, but I’m just here to keep you from killing him.”
Colton rang the doorbell. I heard a high-pitched giggle through the door – a woman – and anger boiled deep in my veins. It churned with the hunger for destruction.
I wasn’t thinking clearly, I fucking couldn’t.
All I could see was Lila’s sad eyes and blotchy cheeks as she tried to keep her tears inside.
The door opened, and there was Landon.
His eyes widened in shock, and I pushed forward. He stumbled back inside his apartment, gaping like a fish out of water.
“What the fuck?” he sputtered. “You can’t just push your way inside like that.”
“We can’t?” Colton taunted.
“What’s going on?” the woman asked. She was partially naked, the look on her face telling me she had just been fucked, multiple times.
Landon pointed toward the door. “Get the hell out of my apartment. Now.”
I took a step forward, a promise of violence. He saw through me, and his eyes darkened. He shoved at my shoulders, wanting to assert his dominance in this fight, and I snapped.
Lunging forward, I grabbed him by the throat. He retaliated quickly, landing a punch in my gut. I quickly threw my weight on him, sending both of us crashing into his glass table in living room.
“Oh my God!” A shrill voice screamed.
I felt his nose crunch under the force of my punch. It was so loud, it vibrated through my ears.
Grabbing his hair, I pummeled his face over and over again. “You,” punch, “don’t,” punch, “fucking get,” punch, “away,” punch, “so easily,” punch, “after hurting,” punch, “Lila.”
He broke Lila’s trust and embarrassed her by cheating on her. Motherfucker.
Landon struggled against me, and he knocked me in the jaw, hard enough that I stumbled back. The sound of fists against flesh was all I could hear. Blood leaked from my nose, and I punched him in the ribs again and again.
“Stop! Help! Someone help!” The stupid voice was screaming once again.
I drew my fist back and ploughed it into his stomach. He coughed and sputtered blood. Stars burst in my vision when he got me in the head, but I shook it off.
There was blood on my knuckles but I. Could. Not. Stop.
“Maddox! Maddox, no.”
Lila. Her voice broke through the red haze, and I blinked, seeing Landon’s bloodied face.
Hands grabbed my back and arms, trying to pull me away from Landon. My eyes connected with Lila’s brown ones, and she looked completely… distraught.
For Landon? For this fucking asshole?
Lila whimpered. “You’re hurt. Oh God, Maddox. Oh no.”
Me?
“Ah fuck,” Colton roared. “She called the police. Shit!”
Lila’s face crumpled, and she pushed her face into my neck. “No, no, no.”
I stumbled away from Landon, and his bitch came forward, falling to her knees beside him.
“Maddox,” Lila said softly.
“I got you.” I wrapped my arm around her, lifting her so her feet were dangling an inch from the ground.
She let out a choked sob. “No, you don’t. They’re going to take you away. Landon is probably going to press charges. Why?”
Why?
Fucking why?
Because I can’t bear the thought of you hurting. Because watching you hold back your tears for an asshole like Landon has me losing my mind. BECAUSE HE FUCKING HURT YOU.
I never got a chance to say any of that to her. Glancing up over her shoulder, I saw the cops walking inside the apartment. They looked around, studying the mess.