Page 65 of Torch

Right then, I knew we were about to have problems. As they made their way over, I glanced around for Cara. She was a little tipsy, which meant she had less patience. Not that she had a lot to begin with.

“Happy Birthday, Brittney. Sorry I missed most of the party,” one of them said once they were standing in front of us.

She plastered a fake smile on her face. “It’s all good, Zaria.”

Hearing this girl’s name caused me to straighten up. From conversations Brit and I had, I knew Zaria was Smoove’s sister. Brit told me there weren’t any bad feelings between them, but she didn’t hang around Zaria too often. She was always advocating for Brit to give her brother another chance, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Brit also let me know that Zaria had a reputation for being a bully. She was always picking fights, knowing that she would win. Sometimes her opponent wouldn’t even fight back, and she would be relentless. There were even whispers that Zaria had participated in underground fighting. Since then, Brit had been keeping her distance.

Tammy reached out, handing her a gift bag. “We didn’t come empty-handed either. Not that you needed more gifts. I heard your man gifted you a Lamborghini. I’m sure you’re glad you didn’t settle for a janitor after all.”

“Why are you worried about what my husband got me?” Brit asked with a bit of a growl.

Tammy’s eyes bucked in surprise at her tone. She held her hands up in surrender. “I was just playing around, Brit. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Her tone was dry, letting me know that was exactly the goal. Before Brit could say anything back, Tammy then turned her gaze to Viper. “Well, hello, Viper,” she cooed.

Viper and Cara's heads snapped up in her direction. Viper was seated on the picnic bench with Cara sitting on top of the table behind him. They had been engrossed in their own conversation the whole time. Now they were both scowling, staring at Tammy with disdain.

I dropped my head with a sigh. I told Brittney to warn her sister and her friends. I didn’t know what Tammy’s obsession with Viper was, but this was beginning to get scary. How could you be this fixated on someone who hadn’t shown you an ounce of attention? Maybe the public rejection had her ego bruised. But if she kept this up, there was more bruising in her future.

“Tammy!” Brit hissed angrily.

“What?” she asked with fake confusion. “All I did was speak. I can’t help it if your friend gets jealous.”

“Jealous?” Cara chuckled. “Bitch, your body is built like a melted snowman. The fuck do I have to be jealous about?”

The crowd roared with laughter as Tammy’s cheeks grew red with embarrassment. I had to hold Brit up as she leaned against me, cracking up. Cara’s mouth was just as lethal as her hands.

“Where is my phone?” Oscar asked out loud, patting his pants. “I need to write that one down. I can’t wait to say that to somebody.”

Zaria's eyes grew dark. “Bitch, who do you think you’re talking to? You better remember where the fuck you are! You’re not inside the safety of the gates at the clubhouse.”

Cara jerked her head back as she smiled evilly. Viper got up and held his hand out to her, helping her step down from the table. Once she was standing toe-to-toe with Zaria, she cracked her neck. The size difference wasn’t too bad. Zaria had about five inches on Cara, and that was it. Meanwhile, Morgan and Tammy smirked at the scene. I scoffed at their childishness. Little did they know this moment wasn’t about to go the way they thought it would.

“Safety? You’re the only one in danger right now, sweetheart. You would be safer knocking on the devil’s door to play Russian roulette.”

With impressive speed, Zaria threw a jab, slamming her fist into Cara’s mouth. The area got eerily quiet, and the DJ cut off the music. Viper stood behind Cara, grinning sinisterly. As much trouble as he tried to keep Cara out of trouble, he also got turned on when he saw her in action.

“Talk shit now!” Zaria arrogantly boasted.

Cara licked the blood off her lip, smiling wide. Zaria’s face dropped as she realized Cara was unfazed by the hit. “Let’s have some fun. Shall we?”

Cara rushed forward, delivering nothing but face shots. Zaria managed to get a few hits in, but Cara took them with ease. Zaria wrapped her arms around Cara’s waist, attempting to body slam her.

Big mistake.

Cara grabbed her by the back of her head and slammed her knee into Zaria’s face. The entire crowd winced when we heard the crunch of her nose breaking. Still, Cara wasn’t done. When Zaria hit the ground, Cara grabbed a fistful of her hair with one hand while pummeling her face with the other.

“Stupid. Ass. Bitch!” she roared, delivering a blow with each word. After Zaria curled into a ball, Cara relented. “Let this be a lesson. Know who the fuck you’re dealing with before trying to step to them. You’re lucky to be walking away with only a broken nose.”

A few of the girls she came with rushed to Zaria's side while she cupped her nose. Cara began to walk away but stopped. Suddenly she ran in Tammy's direction and started whooping her ass too. Tammy was no match at all.

“Somebody get her off me!” she shrieked, tears streaming down her face.

Nobody made a move. Morgan tried, but Sofia blocked her. “Touch my sister, and you’ll be next.”

I looked down at Brit, and it seemed she didn’t care about Sofia threatening her.

“Do something!” Morgan screamed at Brittney.