In the Dark (The Rules #2)(82)

“Hope the sex is good because you’re trapped bro. You don’t have a choice anymore,” Tristan says, laughing as he stumbles over his own feet. The girls stop talking, every single one of them watching the spectacle he seems intent on putting on and I tamp down the anger rising inside of me.

“Shut up before you say something stupid and make me angry.”

“What, you’re not angry enough? Fine, let’s talk about how your newfound girl is trying to trap you by getting knocked up with your baby,” Tristan taunts, his tone mocking, making me f*cking furious.

Making me see red.

The shitty smirk on his face is all I can focus on before I rear my arm back and sock him square on the jaw, so hard my knuckles hurt like hell the second I make contact.

Tristan goes stumbling backward, clutching at his face and all the girls standing around us begin to scream, jumping back as if I just tried to bite them. Shep grabs hold of my shoulder and keeps me from going after Tristan again and I push against his hold, loving the idea of hitting Tristan again.

The f*cker deserves it. I can’t believe what he said. Worse, he’s one of my closest friends, so he knows just how to hurt me. And his words hurt.

So f*cking much.

I turn my head to look at Shep. “Let me go,” I mutter but I know he’s not going to. I’m furious. I can’t believe Tristan would blurt out my private business in front of everyone, including a bunch of girls we don’t freaking know. They’re all staring at me like I’m some sort of monster. A couple of them have gone over to comfort Tristan as he stands on the grass, glaring at me while he still cradles his jaw with his palm. His gaze is dark, full of anger and hurt and I know exactly how he’s feeling because I’m feeling the same exact way.

“Get out,” I tell him, my voice low and f*cking scary, even to my own ears. “Get the f*ck out of here and take your harem with you.”

“Gabe,’” Shep starts but I shrug off his hold and step away from him. I don’t need him giving me a lecture on how I should treat my friends. Did he not hear what Tristan said? He’s such an *. He’s trying to make Lucy look like a gold digging bitch and I f*cking hate him for that.

Without a word Tristan strides past me, his head bent, gaze never meeting mine as he waves his hand. Every one of those women eagerly falls into step behind him. He goes around the side of the house, the whispering girls following until they all disappear.

“I can’t believe you hit him,” Shep says incredulously.

“I can’t believe what he said,” I return. “He’s an *.”

“You know how he gets when he’s drunk…”

I cut Shep off. “Don’t defend him. He’s a dick when he drinks. And he’s less of a dick when he’s sober. I’m tired of his shit. I’m tired of the way he talks to me, treats me, hell, how he treats the both of us. Fuck that guy. Let’s buy him out.”

“I can’t buy him out, he’s my f*cking cousin. Hell, my mother will probably call me and vouch for Tristan, then give me a bunch of shit over it. Then his mother will call me…it would be a total mess, dude. I can’t do that to him. We’re stuck with him,” Shep explains.

“You’re the one who’s stuck with him, not me. I say I shut this shit hole business down and let you two take it somewhere else. I’m tired of dealing with it. I’ll let it be your problem now.” I shake my head and rest my hands on my hips, turning toward the patio to see Lucy is outside, standing just beside the back door.

And she doesn’t look very happy.

“You don’t mean that,” Shep says. “You’re just mad. Tristan will say he’s sorry, you’ll forgive him and all of this will be forgotten.”

Tristan’s apology won’t mean shit to me. “Hell yeah, I’m mad. And trust me, I mean it. Check with me tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll still feel the same way.” I need to get to Lucy. Forget standing here talking to Shep. I need my girl.

I make my way toward her, notice how she’s watching me with fear and doubt in her eyes. I stop just before her and take her hand and she lifts mine up, examining my scratched and battered knuckles from socking Tristan in the jaw. The skin is raw and it hurts like hell. “You’re injured,” she says before she lifts my hand and brings them to her lips.

“Yeah, well it happened because I was defending your honor,” I mutter, touched that she’s kissing my hand so tenderly, like she wants to take care of me despite the fact that I’m a total * who gets into fights with his best friend.

Damn it. Regret is starting to surface. What Tristan said was bullshit but did I really need to hit him?

“I heard.” She carefully drops my hand and I instantly miss her touch. “How did he know, Gabe?”

My entire body stiffens. She’s eerily calm as she asks the question and that’s f*cking scary. “I told him, okay? I needed to talk to my friends and get some advice and I—let them know what was going on.”

Lucy gapes at me, her mouth opening and closing as if she doesn’t quite know what to say. “That was our private business,” she finally whispers. “Private business that really sheds me in a bad light, what with how he just spilled my secret in front of a lot of people.”

“He’s an idiot when he’s drunk. No one will take what he said seriously,” I say to reassure her but she’s not falling for it. And I can’t blame her. Seeing her so upset makes all regret disappear and infuriates me all over again.