Temper Him by Caitlyn Dare

Chapter Eight

Conner

Levi's house is eerily quiet as we step inside.

"Drink?" Levi asks, leading us both through to the kitchen.

"Sure," I mutter, my eyes flitting around the place as we walk past the living room door.

I'm not really one to believe in weird vibes and shit, but something isn't right here.

He pulls the refrigerator open and throws a couple bottles of beer to us.

Twisting the top, I down the lot in one in the hope it washes away the image of Warren kissing my girl like he owned her that seems to be permanently etched onto the insides of my eyelids.

"What's the plan then, aside from stalking her like a creep?" Levi asks, coming to join us at the breakfast bar.

"Right now, I don't have one. He's blackmailing us."

"Oh shit, for real? What's he got on you?"

"It's not me," I sigh. "If it were me, I wouldn't bat an eyelid at going after the motherfucker. Nothing he could do to me would be worse than taking her."

"So it's Cole," Jay says, correctly guessing the only other person I'd lay down my life for.

"Sadly."

"Bro, we’ll look out for her the best we can, but if he's going to pull something like he did before then there's not much we can do about it."

"I know," I mutter. He’s right. But right now, I'm just glad Warren is allowing her out for others to see. He could quite easily hide her away, then none of us would know what he's doing to her. We already know what he's capable of; who knows what other evil things he has up his sleeve for when he realizes that I'm not just going to bow down to him?

Levi tries changing the subject, but I can't focus on whatever it is he's chatting to Jay about. My head is still firmly in that parking lot.

"Can I use your bathroom?" I interrupt when my need to get away becomes too much.

"Sure, it's right down the hall, third on the right."

I nod at him and head in the direction he just said.

Pulling my cell from my pocket, I read through more messages from Cole, Ace and Hadley. Something tells me that they don't have much faith in my ability to control myself. I mean, I get it. I'd raise hell if it would get Kenny safely home where she belongs, but right now, I need to remember that getting her back puts others I love in danger. I can't risk losing anyone.

Without replying to any of them, I angrily shove my cell back into my pocket then reach out and swing the door to my right open.

I realize my mistake the second the baby pink walls hit me. I lean forward to close the door again, but a body curled up on the floor beside the perfectly made twin bed catches my eye. My breathing falters when I recognize the woman as Levi's mom.

She doesn't so much as flinch at my interruption, but when I look closer, I see an empty bottle of something still in her grasp. She's totally out of it.

I quickly look around the room as I close the door. It looks like the person it belongs to has just gone to school. There are even some discarded clothes draped over the chair in the corner. But the reality is that Levi's little sister isn't just at school. She's gone. And she has been for a few years now.

Silently, I close the door and turn toward the correct one this time.

I take a piss before sitting on the edge of the bathtub and dropping my head into my hands.

Anger swirls inside me, fueling my need to storm over to Warren's trailer and rip him limb from limb for trying to take away my girl. My need for vengeance eats at me, and I fear that if this goes on too much longer then I'm not going to be able to stop myself. My patience only goes so far when it comes to Kenny. I really fucking hope Dad knows that.

I have no idea how long I sit there, but eventually I pull myself together and make my way back down to the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Levi asks, his brows pulled together in concern. Maybe I really was gone a while.

"Yeah. Where's Jay?"

"He had to go, his sister called."

"Right." I sit back down, but really I know I need to leave. I just don't want to go back to the Bay knowing that the other half of my soul is here in this shithole.

Thankfully both mine and Levi's phones buzz simultaneously and gives me the perfect excuse to stay.

We both stare down at the same message. The address staring back at me ignites butterflies in my belly.

"You in?" Levi asks hesitantly.

"Fuck yeah I'm in. I fucking need this."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," he mutters as I crack my knuckles, already more than ready to go up against whoever Daz thinks is good for it tonight.

"I guess I'd better feed you then," he says, turning to the refrigerator.

"Nah, let's go and get pizza or something," I suggest. This house is depressing as fuck, and I can't imagine that Levi really wants to be here any more than I do, despite the fact that it's his house.

"Even better idea. You can drive."

We head to the other side of the Heights, closer to where tonight's fight is being held and hopefully far enough from where Warren might be. I'm all for being here and being close to Kenny, but I don't need him to know I'm sniffing around. Not yet, at least. I'm not ready for Cole to go down for first-degree murder.

* * *

"You don't need to do this, you know. You've got nothing to prove," Levi says as I hand him my shirt, ready to get into the ring.

Tonight's warehouse is just like all the others I've fought in over the years. Dark, damp, and smelling like stale sweat and death. It suits my mood perfectly.

"I do. That motherfucker needs to know what's going to happen when I get my hands on him."

"I think he's probably already aware. He's a stupid motherfucker if you ask me. He knows what you're capable of."

"Yeah, which is why I know he's got a plan. He could never take me, even when I tried training him."

"Yeah," Levi mutters, concern flashing across his face.

The guy Daz matches me up with is brutal. I have no idea where he found him but fuck, he gives me a run for my money.

I might win, but it's not by much, and by the time I stumble out of the ring after being declared the winner, I'm feeling every single punch he got in.

"Fuck, I knew you shouldn't have fought tonight," Levi chastises, wrapping his arms around my waist and helping me toward the exit.

"No, that was exactly where I needed to be," I correct him. I needed the pain. I needed to expel some of the energy that's been festering inside me for the past few days.

"You sure you're okay to drive?" he asks the second I rip my car door open and all but fall inside.

"Yep, more than capable. You want a lift?"

"Nah, you’re good. I'll make my own way."

"You sure?" I ask, not really wanting to abandon him but more than ready to fall into my bed.

"Yeah, fuck off and sort yourself out. Your brothers are going to have a shit fit when they see you."

"They can fuck off," I mutter, revving the engine and pulling my door closed.

Levi gives me a wave as I pull out of the lot and I make quick work of getting the hell out of the Heights. The turn toward our old trailer park taunts me as I pass. It would be so easy to head down there and go and knock on that cunt's door.

I almost do it. But at the last minute, I remember Dad's words and tell myself once again that I need to trust him. I have no reason to think he's going to screw me over with this, no matter how much waiting fucking blows. He's proven again and again since he took us in that he wants to do right by us. I have to cling to that and have faith. What else have I got right now?

Thankfully, I manage to get to the bathroom to shower and then to my bedroom without being intercepted. I'm amazed I achieve it after the number of messages I've received since I skipped out on school earlier, but I figure they're both too deep in their girls to care about what I'm doing right now.

* * *

The gasp that falls from Aimee's lips the next afternoon when she sees me reminds me of how my face looked when I stared at myself in the mirror this morning.

Both Ace and Cole tried to rip me a new one for fighting—again—but with the situation as it is, neither really had a leg to stand on. They've both done enough fucked-up things over the years; me fighting is a drop in the ocean.

Aimee, however, looks really concerned.

"Conner, this is like the sixth time you've turned up at school like this," she says softly, her eyes bouncing from one cut to the other.

"It's nothing," I snap, really not needing my tutor girl giving me grief over my shitty decisions.

"I'm just worried about you. This isn't you, it—"

I turn to look at her sitting beside me at the library table. It's where we meet three times a week so I can help her with her math, but unlike every other time we've done this, today I really don't want to be here.

"This isn't me?" I bark. She sits back a little, her eyes widening at my tone. "You don't fucking know me, Aimee, so don't even try. You've lived here in the Bay for your entire happy, privileged little life. Not all of us are that fucking lucky."

I stare at her as her eyes fill with tears, and I immediately feel like an asshole.

"I-I'm sorry." She pushes her chair out quickly, ready to flee, but I'm faster. I wrap my fingers around her wrist and pull her back down.

"No, I'm sorry. That was out of line. I'm sorry." My hand falls to hers and she squeezes, although she soon stops when I wince in pain.

"I'm sorry." She lifts my hand so she can inspect my knuckles. "I'm just worried about you, Conner. You're better than this."

"Trust me, I'm not."

"You are," she breathes, her voice too soft, too sweet, but I already feel like a cunt for barking at her so I can hardly tell her to shut up.

"Shall we?" I gesture toward her textbook, hoping it will make her stop looking at me the way she is.

"Conner." She laces her fingers with mine as her other hand lands on my thigh. "I really like you, I think you know that. Let me help, please." Her hand begins to move, and for a second it feels so good that I let her. But right before she touches where she shouldn't, I reach out and stop her.

"We've got work to do."

I pull my hand from hers and twist away, dragging the book between us and picking up a pen.

She's a sweet girl. Using her right now would be so easy, but I can't. My life is already a big enough mess…

I don't need to make it any worse.