Текст книги "The Wrath of Cain"

Автор книги: Kathy Coopmans

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Chapter Five

Calla

I lie here staring up at the ceiling in the one room that brings back the worst day of my life, chastising myself over and over in my mind. How could I have been so stupid? This is not me. I’m not weak. I really thought I had moved on. It’s been over five years since I have allowed myself to cry. A man who did what Cain did to me was not worth one more tear.

I’m so confused. I don’t know what to make of his sweet-to-mean cycle, either. How can someone ask for an apology, then in the next breath spew out hateful, stinging words?

He has left me here with so many unanswered questions. Like, who in the hell are the Savages, and why would they want to kill me? I’ve been gone, I know nothing about this new life of his, except the things I have read or heard. I even went as far as telling my parents that no matter how much I begged them to tell me details about Cain that they were to never convey anything, and they didn’t, no matter how hard I cried.

The more I think about my mom and dad, the less angry I become with them. Even though I’m not a parent, I do understand the fact they were only trying to protect me from a life that would bring their only child nothing but danger. But why? What could be so bad that someone would want to hurt me?

And then there’s the fact that Cain knew where I was this whole time. Did he have someone spying on me? Following me around? He said he knew everything right down to knowing how many men I have slept with. Two. I have slept with two men, which I know damn well is a far smaller number than the women he has been with.

I can’t say that I blame any woman for wanting to have him. The way his hard body felt up against mine, I could have evaporated right into it. Cain has always been muscular, but not like he is now. His strong, well-built frame demands attention. I could feel how full and well defined his pecs were when he pinned me to him. How his t-shirt strained across his broad chest, his stomach feeling like a slab of granite.

God, why am I even thinking about him in this way? He nearly destroyed me, and now he’s doing it again.

Rolling over on my side and curling up in the fetal position, I suppress a loud groan, my thoughts on major overload. It’s then that I see several pictures all in familiar frames sitting on top of a dresser.

He’s kept them all; every last photo of the two of us together, and there they are, staring me dead in the face. Sitting up, I swing my legs over the edge and grab the one that calls out to me the most.

I run my fingers over the contours of Cain’s face. It saddens me to see how happy he looks in this picture and how unhappy he truly looks today. That day several years ago is a day I will never forget; the day we were finally able to show each other how much we loved one another, and he threw it all back in my face. I hate him for the vulgar way he spoke about that day, as if it meant nothing to him. It meant everything to me, and he made it sound like I was just another random fuck.

“What happened to you?” I whisper.

Instead of placing the photo back in its spot, I heave it across the room. The sound of the broken glass incites me to destroy every damn photo, every fucking memory. I take my anger out on them all, listening to each one shatter as it hits the floor.

When they are all gone, I look around, my chest heaving in anger as I take in my surroundings. How dare he leave me in here, in this room, on this bed where I caught him fucking his slut?

Grabbing my beautiful shoes and shoving my feet into them, I make my way to the door. Realizing I need my purse, I search the room frantically for it. Where the hell is it? All he did was walk in here and toss me on the bed, but it’s gone.

“Goddamnit. Where is it?” I scream.

Did I drop it somewhere?

Not bothering to look for it anymore, I yank the door wide open and descend the stairs as quickly as I can. I’m going to find a way out of this place one way or another.

I feel the warmth of summer cover me when I step onto the porch. It’s almost dark now. I have been here way too long. I inhale deeply, the scent of pine wafting up my nose along with a whiff of smoke from a nearby bonfire.

The sound of people talking and laughing loudly has me heading in that direction. There has got to be someone who will help me get out of here. It’s not until I stumble upon the party that I forget exactly where it is I am. I’m in his territory. These are his people and this is his world. No one is going to help me get out of here, not if he’s told them not to.

I search the crowd of people for him and he is nowhere to be found. I’m shocked by what I see. Jesus, don’t these women believe in wearing clothes? Skirts so short, their ass is half hanging out. Tops so low cut that if they bend over, you are sure to get a full view of their boobs. No one notices me standing here in this dark corner with my mouth hanging wide open as they all party, beers or liquor bottles in hand. The music is so loud I don’t even understand how you could carry on a conversation. I’ve been to several college parties and they’ve all been exactly like this. This is a flipping fuckfest.

“Calla?” a powerful masculine voice says in my ear, alarming me.

“Manny?” I place my hand over my heart, surprised to see Cain’s best friend from school.  “You frightened the hell out of me.”

His deep chuckle rumbles around the music.

“Sorry about that.”

I freeze when he comes into view.

“Girl. It’s been way too damn long since the last time I saw you. And fuck me straight to hell, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

Even though it’s dark and he can’t see me, I roll my eyes.

“How have you been?” he asks.

“Great, until I came here expecting to get Cain to sign for a divorce and find myself being held hostage,” I scoff.

“About that..,” he begins, scratching the back of his head. “Look, Calla. I know you have no clue what the hell is going on, and I’m one of the very few people here who knows the truth as to why you took off.”

I go to interrupt him and he holds up a hand.

“Just listen,” he says.

“Shit’s been bad for years. I mean, real bad. Cain had it in his mind when he came back after you left him that he was going to set things straight within this club. Do right by you and find a way to get you back. You may not believe me when I tell you this, and frankly I don’t blame you, but I’m not bullshitting you when I tell you that what he did fucking destroyed him. He took off when he couldn’t find you. He disappeared for over a year, and to this day, whenever anyone asks him where he was, he tells them it’s none of their damn business. No one, not even his dad, knew where he went.”

Manny takes a long drink of his beer. Eyes trained straight ahead as he goes on.

“He hasn’t been the same since. He came back bitter and filled with hate for everyone around him. He dug right into learning everything about this place. Told his dad off more times than I can remember. And then a few years ago, those fucking Savages declared war on the club. Shit went to hell and Jeb ended up getting himself killed. Cain fucking lost it when that happened. He turned into a fucking crazy man. No one could reason with him.”

A dull ache forms in my chest. I feel for Cain and the fact he was blindsided by all of this, but my heart can’t get past the fact that he didn’t love me enough to stay true to his vows or the promises he made me. He disappeared for a very long time... we could have left together and tried to work things out. So many things could be different right now if he hadn’t given up on us so easily. I turn back to Manny.

“Do you know where Cain disappeared to?”

He chugs back some more of his beer.

“Yup.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Nope.”

I cross my arms over my chest.

“It doesn’t really matter. What’s done is done. I couldn’t care less.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe when you’re ninety, you’ll believe it.”

He laughs at his own joke. I don’t find any of this funny at all. I want answers, and Manny most likely has them.

“Who are these Savages, and what does this all have to do with me?” I ask abruptly.

“They’re the fucking enemy,” he says without hesitation. “Why they’re the enemy is a story for Cain to tell you, not me. I will say this, though. The Savages have the worst reputation of all of the MCs. They think they can rule every other club out there. Those assholes will kill men, women, even members of their own club. Hell, they’ve gone as far as killing police officers.”

Manny takes another swig of beer as I let that information sink in.

“Jeb didn’t take their shit. He was out on a ride with his wife, who was one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met, constantly going to bat for Cain when he and his dad would get into it. Those evil bastards shot and killed the both of them. From what we all heard, there wasn’t much left of the bodies by the time they were discovered. And before you ask how we know it was them, those fuckers carve a big ‘S’ into their victims’ foreheads afterwards. Somehow they found out about you, Calla. They’ve been threatening Cain with you for several years now and that’s why he’s left you alone. Why he didn’t come after you before that shit went down, well, that’s on him.”

His words slice me and I feel sick. I wobble on my feet, anxiety curling around my stomach. Invisible hands scuttle up my throat, clawing dreadfully to asphyxiate me. Manny grabs me by the arm and leads me to a picnic table where he helps me sit down.

“You need a drink?”

I shake my head slowly.

“No. I think I need to be clear-headed for this. I just… I can’t breathe. Is this like a war? Gangs fighting gangs?”

My heart races. For God’s sake, I have had these ruthless criminals looking for me for all these years and Cain has been protecting me? I don’t know what the hell to think anymore.

“No. The Savages have a lot of enemies. For years they have thought they ruled the streets of Detroit, but they’ve been falling apart for a while, now. There’s a few of them left out there. The few that want to taunt Cain with you. The main one seems to have vanished. He’s out there somewhere.”

So a man who is not above killing to get what he wants is on the loose, and no one can find him. The back of my neck itches as if a target were painted on it. I need to know more.

“Who is this man? What’s his name?”

“His name is Kryder, and he’s a remorseless son of a bitch.” A grim look crosses his face. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now. Cain will kick my fucking ass if he finds out I’ve told you any of this. He’s lost in his own head right now after seeing you today.”

I sneer at his comment.

“He’s lost? I doubt it. He’s been harsh, rude, and inconsiderate since I’ve gotten here.”

“I know, but trust me. Your safety has been his top priority for years.”

I crane my head to look up at him.

“It’s been you, hasn’t it? You’ve been watching me this whole time, haven’t you?”

He simply nods.

“You dirty liar. Not two minutes ago, you just said long time no see. It may have been a long time since I’ve seen you last, but you’ve been stalking me this whole time.”

“You didn’t even know I was watching you. Don’t get your panties all bunched up, woman. I didn’t stalk. I protected.”

Both of us laugh. Now I know why Cain knows so much about me. I’m grateful for whatever reason he felt he needed to have me protected.

“Exactly how long have you been watching me?” I ask.

“I’ve been living in Canada for the past few years. Cain didn’t trust anyone else with your safety, and neither did I. Although today you threw me for a loop when you hopped in your car and drove here.”

“Yeah, well. I had been thinking about it for a while now. Today seemed like the day, so I just took off. If I had known all of this was going on, I would have just given you the papers myself, or let them be delivered by a process server and left it up to him whether to respond or not,” I say righteously. “Either way, the Canadian courts would have granted me a divorce.”

Manny’s no fool. He knows damn well I could have had someone else deliver these papers instead of coming here in person. Why didn’t I?

He shrugs.

“It’s your life, Calla. Never really put much thought into watching you go into the courthouse. You’re in and out of there all the time, with law school and all. Do your parents know? About the divorce, I mean.”

I shake my head.

“No, they don’t know. And you’re right, Manny. It is my life. A life I need to start living.”

“I agree,” he says a little too quickly.

I don’t think he believes I want this divorce, but I’m not in the mood to argue with him over it. I want my life back, that’s all.

“You really did keep an eye on me, huh?” I reach up and kiss his cheek, lightening the heavy mood that has shrouded us. “Seriously, though. I can’t believe you have given up years of your life just to watch me walk around school, or go to parties and study groups. God, you must have been bored out of your mind. My life has been nothing but one big uninteresting bag of books.”

“Nah. I had a job to do, so I did it. Besides, we take care of our own around here. I would never be able to live with myself if something were to happen to you. Simple as that. And you were boring for the first year, but you broke free over the past year and a half. Especially after you started dating Mikel.”

I don’t miss the crossness in his tone.

“We broke up after he asked me to marry him. I lied to him the entire time we dated. That’s when I decided enough was enough and I couldn’t continue to put my life on hold for a man who didn’t give a shit about me. Mikel didn’t deserve to be hurt like that.”

I’ll never forget the regret I felt when I broke his heart. I know what that feels like, to think you know someone, and then to find out everything about them was a lie.

Manny sits down next to me and polishes off the rest of his beer, tossing the bottle onto the ground.

“It’s a damn good thing you did break up, though, because that’s the first time Cain really thought he was going to lose you for good. I had to talk the fucker down time and time again from driving over the border. He was ready to kill him.”

“That’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think? I mean, he wanted to kill Mikel when he’s the one who lied and slept with someone else in the first place. I mean, come on. I get the fact that he’s been protecting me, I really do, but that’s bullshit and you know it. He lost me the day he married me. The day he decided our love for one another wasn’t strong enough.”

“Come on, Calla. Loosen up a little. I didn’t mean it literally. I just meant for the first time since you left, he didn’t think he had a chance of getting you back.”

“I was never his in the first place,” I say softly.

“You’ve always been his woman. You just don’t realize it.”

I stand up, straightening my skirt as best I can.

“Really? Pin your ears back and crack open those eyes, Manny. I belong to no-one. What I want is to climb back into my car, go home, and forget this day ever happened. So if you could be so kind as to tell me where Cain is, I would appreciate it.”

“He’s in there. You’re wasting your breath and your time if you think anyone in this club will let you leave here. Come on,” he says, pointing to the bar. “Let me take you.”

I sigh, knowing I’m facing a losing battle trying to get out of here. But for the love of God, there has to be another way. Geez. I’ll even let the kingpin here drive me to my parents’ house himself.

The first step I take I stumble, my shoes catching in the dirt. These poor shoes are going to be ruined before this day is over. Manny’s arms go around my shoulders to catch my fall, the two of us laughing at my clumsiness, but it falters when we look up and under the light of the doorway stands Cain. And he’s not alone.

Chapter Six

Calla

“What the mother fuck?” he shouts.

Cain brings his arms up on either side of him, his hands balled into tight fists. If looks really could kill, Manny and I would both be dead right now.

“Don’t ‘mother fuck’ me, asshole. You’re the one who left her in your dad’s house. I’m the one who found her out here looking for you.”

Manny releases me. The two men stare each other down while I break away from looking at Cain to snap a dirty look at Emerald. Her sly smile lets me know all too well that she knows something I don’t.

I flash my best bitch grin right back at her. I hate this woman. She has Cain and I don’t, and if I didn’t want to get out of here so badly, I could very well kill her right now with my bare hands.

Emerald sidles up against him, her claws coming out like a vicious cat.

“Come on, baby. Let’s go party with everyone else. Unless you want to go back to your place? We can create our own party.”

I would love to say something crude to her, but Cain beats me to it.

“Enough, Emerald. We talked about this. We’re done here; now go find someone else’s bed to crawl into.”

Ouch.

“You can’t be serious right now? After what we just did in there, you’re going to cast me aside a-fucking-gain? You can’t do this, Cain. She doesn’t belong here. She will never fit in here. I mean, look at her. She looks like a high class whore! She’s a killjoy, a dead lay. You said so yourself,” she hisses like the nasty snake she is.

“We didn’t do jack shit, you lying bitch,” he says, turning on her.

Whatever. He probably did fuck her. I keep telling myself I don’t care, but the truth is, it hurts. More than I care to admit. However, this bitch and her words are more than I can stand. She’s desperate, and I can’t say I really blame her. But a dead lay? I’m far from a dead lay. Maybe I should remind him of all the blow jobs I’ve given him, how he used to tell me I could suck a nail out of a board! Knowing him, that was a lie, too.

And that’s the second time I’ve been called a whore since I stepped foot in this place. He must prefer whores over someone who would have always been only his. I can’t believe he would say something like that about me. What did I ever do to him for him to degrade me so spitefully? Moisture begins to build behind my eyes, but I won’t cry. Not in front of these two. Not ever.

She speaks the truth. I don’t belong here, which is why I want to leave. I can get my own protection. Hell, I’ll move clean across the country.

“What the hell kind of game are you playing at, Emerald? I’ve been nothing but honest with you from the very beginning. You’ve been nothing but a convenient fuck. And I sure as fuck have never spoken to you even once about Calla,” Cain snaps.

He takes hold of her by her arm, jerking her so hard I flinch, feeling the pain he is inflicting on her. I’m not one for abuse on any woman, no matter if I despise them or not. I go to step forward and I’m halted dead in my tracks by Manny.

“Leave him be, woman,” he barks in my ear as Cain’s voice escalates.

“I’m fucking warning you, bitch, for the last time. Get the hell out of my club and stay the hell away from me. And if I ever hear you spewing lies and bullshit about Calla again, I swear to Christ I will gut you.”

My insides start to crumble into a giant heap of shards. I should not have to stand here and endure this lovers’ quarrel. My world feels like it’s crashing down again. He’s talking about screwing her right in front of me. I couldn’t care less if he is defending me or not. Fuck them both.

“No!” screeches the hussy. “She is not going to come in here and take what’s mine!”

I don’t even see her coming until her fist connects with the side of my head, causing me to stumble backwards, nearly knocking both Manny and me to the ground.

One of the heels of my shoes breaks off and that’s it; these shoes are ruined. They’re one of my favorite pairs and were a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Henry when I graduated from college. I love these shoes. Now I am pissed.

“What the hell?” Cain and Manny holler out at the same time.

Each of the men tries to grab one of us, but I’m not having it. She wants a fight? Well, she’s about to get one.

“Get your hands off of me!” I command, causing Manny to release me. I kick my shoes off now that they are ruined and charge straight for that bitch, grabbing a handful of her hair and slamming my fist into her stomach.

“You cock-sucking whore!”

She goes down under my blow, doubling over and gasping for breath, but it doesn’t shut her mouth.

“Cain’s cock is a delicious one to suck,” she taunts.

“Oh, yeah? Well the next time you do, you’ll be sucking it with a broken jaw, you nasty cow!”

And that is when the catfight begins. Out of my peripheral vision I notice more and more people gathering around us. I hear shouts of ‘Hell, yeah!’ and, ‘Beat her ass!’ and other explicit phrases. I don’t know or care if they are talking about me or her. My goal at this moment is to show this cunt bag I mean business.

“He’s mine!” she shouts, her high-pitched tone sounding like a child who just got their favorite toy taken away from them.

She comes at me with full force, her face grimacing with as much animosity toward me as I feel for her. The impact knocks us both to the ground, with her landing on top of me. The crack of her open hand hitting my cheek echoes over the noise of the hooting and hollering.

“Please, is that the best you’ve got?” I goad her.

In a wrestler-like move I flip us over. My skirt rips, exposing half of my panty-less ass. She is now on her back and I let the bitch have it. My hands strike her in the face and chest; anywhere I can land a blow. No tears, no screams. No sound comes from me at all except my heavy breathing as I pummel the living shit out of her. She howls like a wild animal under attack.

“You rotten bitch!” I finally scream as I dig my nails in the side of her head. It’s not until I am hoisted up and off of her that she gets in her best shot. Her foot catches me in the stomach, causing me to gasp for air as the wind is nearly knocked out of me.

Strong arms circle around me. Although these aren’t the arms of the man I would have expected to comfort me, they are soothing nonetheless.

I continue to kick at Emerald, her ramblings about the things she and Cain have done together hitting me dead center. She’s poking tiny holes in my heart as she continues to throw her darts at me, the tip penetrating right through the surface. I hate them all.

Cain snatches her up viciously. Her face is a bloody mess and her mouth is shouting profanities I have never heard before. Classy.

Her muffled cries dissipate as Cain drags her off into the darkness somewhere. I’m shaking, sweat dripping down my face, and I still want to fight. The pent up fury of years towards that woman has finally been unleashed and all I want to do is cut her snarly tongue out of her mouth for claiming Cain as hers. For throwing spiteful, hurtful information about the two of them at me. She doesn’t strike me as a woman who will easily walk away. She’ll be back. Please, God. Let me be gone by the time she decides to come back. If not, I’ll be calling up a lawyer of my own. Next time I might kill her.

“You can let go of me now, Manny,” I say calmly.

“You sure? I mean, you’re not going to go running after them and attack her even more? Because woman, I have to tell you, that was some badass shit right there.”

“Yeah, well, the dumb slut deserved it. She deserved it six years ago. That was just a tiny fraction of what I could do to her. I’ve never hated anyone as much as I hate that bitch. I hope she goes home and a thousand red hot fire ants crawl up her crotch.”

Manny releases me. I turn around and we both bust out laughing.

“Oh, my God. I can’t believe I said something like that. That’s nasty,” I say while still laughing.

“No, it’s not. It’s the fucking truth. She’s bad news. Never liked the bitch.”

She may have not wanted to have her face all bruised and bloodied; I hope she regrets it when she looks at herself in the mirror. But she got the reaction out of me she was looking for. Emerald thinks I want her man. If only I could convince my own damn self that her intuition weren’t entirely correct.

“He can clean her up. She’s his after all.” Jerking my thumb in the direction they took off to. I admit to myself it hurts, worse than I imagined. I turn around taking off running. Escaping from this tiresome day. Cain, Emerald, Manny. All of it.

I wrap my arms around myself, my legs carrying me as fast as they will go in bare feet. Not knowing where I’m going, I slow down to a walk on a small dirt path. I hear Emerald’s wails in the background overlaid by Cain’s loud rumbling. I want it gone, all of it, out of my aching head, which is throbbing from where she hit me.

The bottoms of my feet land on several sharp stones; I feel small trickles of blood where they break through the skin. I don’t care. I keep moving forward, not knowing where the hell I am or how I would even try to get back. My guess is I’ve been walking for ten or fifteen minutes before I hear my name being called from behind me.

“Calla! Wait!”

It’s Manny. Of course, it would be. I won’t deny the fact that it wounds me Cain isn’t the one coming after me. He’s more than likely comforting his woman right now. I continue to walk, hearing Manny approach me.

“Come on, Calla. Stop.”

I don’t know what makes me stop, but I do. I feel myself crumple to the dirt on my knees. I bow my head and I begin to cry. My gaze travels up somewhere into the distant black night. Welled up tears from deep inside travel down my face.

“Why, Manny? What did I ever do to anyone to have to suffer like this? I… I just want to go home. This isn’t for me. The longer I stay here, the more he’s going to hurt me. And her... Jesus, she’s a whack job!”

I let loose a paroxysm of choking and sobbing cries, not even realizing Manny has lifted me up and placed me on his lap until I feel the dampness from my tears on his shirt.

“I should have never come here. If I would have known I’d be coming back to any of this, I would have stayed away forever.”

“Like fucking hell, you would have. And God damn it, Manny, get your fucking filthy hands off of her.”

The reverberation of Cain’s voice draws up my spine. My crying fit turns into laughter at his absurdity.

“You have a lot of nerve, do you know that?”

Observing his beautiful face in the moonlight, I feel contempt towards him, even though he has the most intense blue eyes I have seen and a body that makes me want to oil it down and slip and slide all over it.

“My nerves are gone, sweetheart. Now get up. You’re coming home with me.”

My anger increases in its intensity. I’m not going anywhere with him. No way am I going back to a house that has haunted me for years. Ignoring him completely, my attention shoots to Manny.

“I would much rather stay with you,” I say sweetly.

“Hell, no,” Cain sputters out crazily.

“And why not?” I retort, tilting my head to one side. “If I have to be here, I would much rather stay with someone who treats me like a human, not someone who leaves me in a room like a captive.”

The minute those words fall out of my mouth I know I shouldn’t have said them. I’m not full of malice and humiliation like he is.

“You want me to show you what it’s like to be held captive?”

At that, Manny stands up on his feet, bringing me right along with him. He places me gently on the ground, his crazy eyes watching Cain’s.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Get your goddamned shit together. She’s your fucking wife, you asshole. Now, she isn’t going with me, because she belongs with you. I love you like a brother, dude, but treat her like your damn wife and not like you treat every other asshole around you. Christ, Cain! Sometimes I think I don’t even fucking know you anymore. And fucking tell her the goddamned truth.”

Cain sucks in a deep breath. I feel like shit for putting Manny in the middle like this by suggesting I stay with him. Stepping in between the two men, I place a hand on each of their chests, directing my attention to Manny first.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m feeling helpless, ripped apart layer by layer. Thank you for being a friend. I’ll be fine.”

I whirl in Cain’s direction.

“And you! I’m not staying in that house. If you want me to stay with you, then fine, but have the damned decency to take me somewhere else. Preferably with a spare room, because I sure as shit will not be sleeping with you. Leave me there. Lock me up while you tend to your little club whore. Do whatever it is you have to do, and do it fast, because I want the hell out of here.”

“I’m fucking gone,” Manny states before he turns back in the direction we came from, leaving me standing in the dark facing a man who I don’t know anymore. And if I were to be honest with myself, I’m afraid of this stranger standing before me.

“I’m going to let your smart mouth slip just this one last time. If you ever speak to me in front of anyone like that again, I will take you over my knee and beat your ass. And it won’t be the kind of spanking that will bring you pleasure.”

I shake my head, dumbfounded. Beat me? Oh, my God. He’s cracked.

“What happened to you? I’m regretting ever loving you at all, Cain, because you are being so childish right now. So arrogant. Tell me how I’m supposed to act? Do you want me to sit by your side like a good little girl? Do you want me to be the good wife and stay home? Wait for you to come to me at night, hoping like hell you haven’t been with someone else? Or better yet, worry that someone may knock on the door at any given moment and say, ‘I’m sorry to inform you, Mrs. Bexley, but your husband is dead’? I’m your wife on paper only, and you’re the one who made sure of that. I’m not your plaything. And you will never put your hands me. I’m nothing to you. NOTHING!”

Cain hisses at me and grabs my arm hard, causing me to stumble forward. He’s pulling me God knows where, half-dragging me as I teeter back and forth on my bloodied and bruised up feet trying to hold myself upright. I flinch, then cry out in pain.

“Cain, stop! You’re hurting me!”

He isn’t listening.

“Ow!” I scream, my body tumbling to the ground.

“Fuck!” Cain roars, releasing his grip.