Takedown Teague (Caged #1)(23)

“Liam!” Tria’s tone stopped me.

“What the hell is he doing here?” the guy said, taking a step forward. The fingers of Tria’s right hand tensed against my chest as I pressed against them, and her left hand went out to push at the other guy’s shoulder to keep him from coming any closer.

“I live here,” I growled.

“What!” His eyes went dark as he turned to face Tria and started screaming at her. “He lives here, Demmy? Seriously? You shacked up with some monkey in this dump?”

“He lives in this building, Keith. He doesn’t—”

“Fuck you, you little pup,” I yelled. “Where the f*ck do you get off talking to her like that?”

“That’s none of your f*cking business—”

“I’m making it my business!”

“—you f*cking dick. Now get the f*ck away from her—”

“Get your ass out of her apartment before I—”

“Stop it! Both of you!” Tria’s voice managed to carry over both of ours.

I tried to breathe through my nose to settle myself a little, but it didn’t work at all. I just ended up sounding like a raging bull or something, which was fitting because I was ready to charge. The second Tria was no longer between us, I was going to rip this f*cker’s head off.

He glared at me for a moment before looking down at Tria.

“Who the f*ck is this?” He snarled at her, and I pushed forward a bit again. The feeling of her hand against my bare chest was seriously distracting, and I had to concentrate to keep my focus on my goal—killing the motherf*cker who dared talk to her that way.

“This is Liam,” Tria told him, “my neighbor.”

“Your neighbor.” The guy scoffed. “Does he always act like this?”

“Fuck you, you piece of—”

“Liam!” Her eyes blazed into mine, adding to the heat scorching my body. What was it about angry chicks that made them look so hot? She shook her head sharply. “This is Keith, my…um…a friend from home.”

“Friend from home,” he echoed sarcastically.

I really wanted to beat the shit out of this guy.

“Yeah, he’s very friendly,” I snarled.

He took a step forward, and Tria ended up straightening her arms to push both of us away from each other. He grabbed her arm to move it away.

“Get your f*cking hands off her!” I screamed as I headed toward him, no longer concerned with Tria’s hand on me though she managed to keep the contact as I moved. Going around to her left, he was no more than two steps away. All I needed to do was to pin him down and go to town.

I was going to kill this guy.

“Please, Liam! Stop it! Please!”

Until she begged me not to.

Dammit.

My chest continued to rise and fall as I attempted to get a hold of myself. I took a couple of steps backward, allowing Tria’s hand to fall away from my flesh. The spot where she had been touching me went cold as I glared at the stupid little intruder.

Keith.

Stupid name for a stupid little shit.

“You need to go,” I told him. “Get the f*ck out of here right now!”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Keith yelled. “We were having a private conversation—”

“Which you made public by f*cking screaming at her!”

“I am not putting up with this shit.” Keith tossed his arms up in the air and turned around to walk further back inside. I should have taken the opportunity to knock him out cold since he had his back turned, but Tria’s hand found its way once again to my chest and tensed against my skin as if she knew what I was thinking.

I looked at her, and her wide eyes pleaded with me.

“You should go,” she said. “It’s okay—really.”

“Bullshit,” I replied. “I’m not going anywhere as long as he’s acting that way.”

“The way I’m acting?” Keith snorted. “Do you even hear yourself?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, f*cktard.”

“Liam!”

“Yeah, Liam.” Keith sneered. “Why don’t you go crawl back into whatever hole you came from?”

“Keith!”

“Very clever,” I replied. “Did you go all the way through sixth grade just to learn that one?”

“Demmy, you cannot be serious about staying in this dump with this idiot!”

“Keith, I’m not going anywhere,” Tria said. Her voice was soft but cold. “This is my home now. I’ve got classes, I have a job, and I can afford it just fine. Liam’s been helping me out—”

“Yeah, I bet! Helping himself, more like.”

Yeah, I was going to kill him.

“Keith! That is enough!” Tria turned and moved toward him. I started to follow her further inside, but one glare over her shoulder stopped me in my tracks. “He’s been a good friend. I’m just fine here, and I’m not going back home—not until I get my degree.”

“That’s four years, Demmy,” he whined. He f*cking whined.

“At least you can count.” I sneered at him. “Now why don’t you try counting the steps outside? I’d be happy to accompany you.”