Page 155 of Dark Surrender

Ah.

Two little girls, around Lily’s age, trail after her. They both look back at us, giggle, and carry on.

It’s my turn to roll my eyes.

Don’t these idiots know not to fuck with this family? Seriously. My sister would eat all their hearts for breakfast. Well, not her specifically, but she’d feed them to her opossums, who have only multiplied since she moved to Kings Cursed.

Then you have Kali, who murders people with poison.

I’m the least badass of them all.

But I’m not without my talents.

Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t want this woman and her kids dead. I don’t work that way. But you also don’t mess with my family. My father learned that the hard way.

One of the little girls points all snooty at Lily, who’s sitting on Tarek’s shoulders.

Kali must read my mind, because we both get up and approach the heathens, who don’t see us coming.

“Do we have a problem here?” I ask the girl before I turn to her mother. “Perhaps you should mind your own business.” I’m polite. Too polite, given what they deserve.

The bitch pulls a constipated face, squares her shoulders, and gets right up in my space like she thinks she’s gonna intimidate me. Not one to fear anyone, least of all a mediocre PTO mom with a bully complex, I lean in and whisper, “If you don’t stop messin’ with my family, I will send my sister to eat your heart in your sleep. While you’re awake. No one will hear your screams.”

The dumb bitch gasps and jerks away as if she wasn’t expecting me to go dark. Little does she know, I grew up in that world. Darkness is all I know. Or did. Until I met Dark, who somehow pulled me into the light and gave me a real family to love and care for. A family I will defend.

Kali doesn’t say anything as the woman rears back, spews a whole lot of victim bullshit as she points to me. I’ve had enough. Truly. Enough that I don’t even realize I’m gonna commit violence in a pool, around children, until I pull my fist back and, just before I beat this bitch to the ground and drown her until she no longer lives, strong arms wrap around me from behind and haul me away.

“Your time is coming, bitch,” I seethe, trying to get to her as someone’s amused chuckle vibrates through my back.

A fat man I’ve never seen before meets us as Dark pulls me from the pool like I weigh nothing.

“We don’t allow that around here,” the man drawls, and I dunno why, but I wanna spit on his smug, wrinkled face.

“You know how they are, Doug. Women are always talkin’ shit. My wife wasn’t gonna do anything,” Dark explains.

Doug’s eyebrows hit his receding hairline, which says he doesn’t believe Dark. “This woman’s your wife?” He notches his chin at me, the hairless woman, about to throw down.

“Yes,” my tattooed biker replies, clearly annoyed.

I don’t argue otherwise, as he sets me on my feet and pushes me behind him, for the man’s protection, not mine.

Doug’s sigh is long and annoyed. “Ok. Fine. Just keep a leash on her.”

A leash.

Oh. He wants to leash me.

Fuck that.

Fuck this fat pig.

Dark reaches around and hooks his arm around me before I really show this asshole what violence looks like.

Sunshine steps around me and posts up next to Dark. He clasps Doug on the shoulder. “Good to see ya, man. We’ve got it covered here.”

Doug takes this as his cue to go away.

He’s lucky.