Look at that. He didn’t even need to strangle the guy to see his face turn a deep shade of purple.
“Prez—”
Curly lifted a hand. “I ain’t your fucking prez anymore.” Walking backward, he stopped beside Brooke. “You made that bed, and now that I’m back, you gotta lie in it.”
Prick might be a motherfucker, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut at that moment. Later, he’d get his merry band of dickwads together and bitch and moan to them.
“Now,” Curly continued. “I believe the lady had something to say to you.”
Her gaze shifted to the pitbull sitting off to the side, quietly watching the exchange, not like an obedient man’s best friend but like a mistreated animal afraid of its owner’s wrath.
She straightened, which had the effect of lifting her tits. Damn, the woman had a nice rack. And strong, shapely legs. And an ass he’d love to grab hold of. Shit, with those thighs wrapped around his hips and his hands full of that ass, a man could die happy and satisfied.
Fuck, another ten seconds of those thoughts, and he’d pop a boner Prick would notice. He’d gotten laid a few times right after he left prison, but it’d been like scratching an itch and only mildly rewarding. Might be time to remedy that situation and find himself a good fuck he could repeat a few times. Brooke’s attitude screamed hands off, though, even if he’d seen a flicker of interest in her gaze.
“There have been three injured dogs found on the outskirts of this property in the past six weeks,” she said in a firm voice.
Half of Prick’s mouth quirked up in a smug as fuck grin. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” she said, curling her small hands into fists at her sides. “Two died, and one lost a leg.”
“The fuck that gotta do with me?” Prick spat a brownish glob on the ground between them all.
“Charming,” Brooke muttered, making Curly cover a laugh with a grunt.
The woman had sass coming out her ears.
“If I find out you’re running a dog fighting ring—”
Prick laughed, making his gut jiggle. “You’ll what? Snoop around my property again? Pretty sure you don’t want to do that a second time. Next time you might not have someone around to save you.”
She stepped forward, bold as could be. “Did you just threaten me?”
“Brooke,” Curly began as he reached for her arm again.
This time she jerked away before he could reach her. “The police have been made aware of my suspicions. It won’t be long before they’re knocking on your door.”
“Oooh,” Prick said with a mock shudder. Then he laughed, making Brooke seethe. “Ain’t never been much of one to give a shit what the cops thought. Always been on their good side. Just ask your friend.” He jerked his chin in Curly’s direction. Then he turned and strode to the dog and unhooked the chain. After giving it an unnecessarily aggressive yank that had the dog whimpering, he started to walk away.
“Oh, hell no,” Brooke shouted as she lunged forward.
“Whoa!” Curly caught her around her waist and lifted her off her feet.
She fought against his hold, shouting at Prick and threatening to return to take his dog.
“Shit, woman, retract those claws.”
“He’s an asshole who doesn’t deserve to own an animal.”
“I get it,” he whispered against her ear. “I really do. But you can’t attack him. You’ll be the one behind bars, and who will take care of your pups?”
Even if he hadn’t had a personal beef with Prick, he wanted to strangle the fucker. Men who abused and preyed on helpless creatures made him sick. Even in a maximum-security prison among the worst of the offenders, there’d been a code. Those who’d victimized the weak didn’t receive any mercy.
With a defeated sigh, Brooke sagged against him. Her lush ass brushed his dick, which had no choice but to perk up. It was unavoidable.
Just as he was about to release her before she discovered what was poking her, Prick turned around. “Hey, Curly,” he shouted, now far enough away to need to raise his voice. “You need help getting a leash on your bitch, you know where to find me.”
“What did he just call me?” She thrashed against his hold once again. He got a face full of sweet-smelling hair, which did nothing to dissuade his interested dick.
“Settle down, woman!” he said to avoid a groan as her ass rubbed against him again.
That was the wrong thing to say.
“Don’t you woman me,” she barked as she tried to pry his arm from around her waist.
Thankfully, he had a good eight inches and dozens of pounds of muscle on her. But, fuck, her nails were sharp.
“That guy’s an asshole. An asshole!” she shouted at Prick, waving her arms as though she could propel them forward.
“And we’re done here.” Curly gritted his teeth as he hauled the thrashing woman around the side of the barn. Every jerky movement she made bounced her ass against his cock. Christ, he wanted to press her against the barn and grind himself all over her until she eased the ache in his balls. Then he wanted to bend her over and spank her ass red for such a stupid move as showing up here alone and unprotected.