I STOMP UP THE porch steps to the expensive-looking pristine white house and stop at the front door. Thumps come from inside from a stereo system. Lifting my hand, I use the side of my fist to bang loudly on the black door.
As soon as it swings open to reveal just the person I’m looking for, I reach out and wrap my hand around his throat. His glassy eyes spring wide open. I shove him inside and kick the door closed behind me. I keep my forward momentum until I have him slammed against the wall. He grabs at my wrist and tries to pry my hand away. It only pisses me off, so I squeeze a little harder. His face turns red and his grunts of distress fill my ears.
A magical fucking sound.
“You made a big mistake fucking with my sister, Chase,” I snarl in his face.
His eyes widen more and sweat from fear beads on his forehead. I feel his throat bob as he tries to swallow under my palm.
My reputation isn’t just known on my side of the tracks. It’s known on this side too. That he thought he could get away with fucking over my sister makes him stupider than he looks.
When his face turns a purplish red and his eyes start bugging out, I loosen my grip just enough for him to pull in a wheezy breath.
“I d-don’t know what y-you’re t-talking about,” he manages to get past his constricted airway.
I bare my teeth and add more pressure around his throat.
“Are you calling my sister a liar?”
“No,” he croaks.
My fist lands in his ribs and the strength behind the punch has his body trying to double over, but my hand around his neck keeps him against the wall.
“Did you really think you could touch my sister and get away with it?”
I don’t give him a chance to answer, even if he could, before I grip his shoulder, yank him down, and ram my knee into his gut. The force of the blow has his feet lifting from the floor and when he comes back down, he falls to his knees. I push back the hair that’s fallen in my face and glare down at the piece of shit.
I take my eyes away from him when I see a flash of yellow in my peripheral vision.
“I should have fucking known,” I state venomously. Pointing my finger at a quivering Cora, I grind out, “You stay right fucking there, bitch.”
She freezes in place, and I look back down at Chase. He’s fallen to his side, clutching his stomach and glaring up at me with loathing in his eyes.
“You’re pretty damn desperate to go for a bitch like Cora, Chase.”
“It was her,” he says between clenched teeth. “She wanted me to do it.”
“Oh, I have no doubt, because that’s just something the low down and dirty bitch would do.”
I ignore Cora’s sharp intake of breath and squat down beside Chase.
“You’re going to listen, and do exactly as I say.” I lean down further. “You stay the fuck away from Ella. If you see her, you run the other fucking way. You hear her voice, you better hide like your life depends on it. Because it does. You don’t speak her name. You don’t even think about her. If I find out you’ve done any of those things, I’ll come for you, and by the time I’m finished, even your daddy won’t recognize you. You understand?”
Sensing he doesn’t get the importance of what I just told him when he doesn’t immediately reply, I reach for the collar of his red polo shirt, yank him up, and slam my fist into his jaw. Blood spurts from his mouth and splatters on the floor. Not nearly satisfied, I jerk him back to me and land another punch.
The third time I pull him to me, he flinches. Bringing his face close to mine, I enunciate each word slowly. “Do. You. Fucking. Understand?”
Blood coats his lips and dribbles down his chin when he mutters, “Yes.”
“Good.”
Just for good measure, and because he beat not only a woman, but a woman who is my sister, I sucker punch the bastard again. He falls limply to the floor. I turn back to Cora, who I’ve been watching out the corner of my eye.
I slowly stalk toward her. She looks terrified. Just as she should be. She backs up until she hits the wall. Holding her hand out like that will stop me, she begins to plead.
“Please, Luca. I’m so—”
Her words end on a squeak as I knock her hand away. Using the same hand I used on Chase, I grip her throat tight. I’ve never hit a woman in my life, but right now it takes everything in me to refrain from hitting Cora.