Nina Levine - Fierce

“Don’t take another fucking step, or I’ll slash her throat quicker than you can blink,” Bullet threatened, pressing the knife harder against her neck.  He pressed it hard enough to draw blood, and Harlow whimpered.  Her cheeks were damp from her tears and I experienced a pain in my chest that I’d never felt before; like it would fucking explode and my heart would shatter to a million pieces if I didn’t get her out of there.

“Let her go, Bullet, and the coke is all yours again,” came a deathly calm voice from behind me.

Blade.

Bullet madly jabbed his finger in my direction.  “Get him the fuck out of here, and we’ll talk.”

“Not fucking happening, motherfucker,” I roared.

“Scott,” Blade urged, “Would be best if you did as he said.”  As he said this, he jerked his head at one of his men who had also turned up.  The communication between Blade and his man was flawless even without words, and the guy grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from the room.  Harlow’s eyes turned wild and her body began violently jerking as she watched me go.  I fought it but the guy had a strong hold on me and another one helped him so between them, I had no hope.

The last I saw of Harlow was her fucking terrified for her life; I just hoped that Blade knew what he was doing.  If anything happened to Harlow, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill every last fucking man involved.

Harlow

My father.

That’s what I was thinking of as I was lying naked and tied to a bed, with a psycho on top of me and a knife to my neck.  My life flashed before my eyes and the only good thing I could think of was that I would get to see my father in heaven after this asshole murdered me.

When they dragged Scott away, I felt like my life truly was over.  They’d taken Nash at the same time so I was left with Blade.  I had no idea how he’d gotten mixed up in all of this.  All I knew about Blade was that he was Madison’s half brother and seemed okay whenever I’d made him coffee and chatted to him.  But whether he had it in him to save my life?  I had no clue.  And that scared the ever loving shit out of me.

Blade moved into the room, and his presence filled the room.  “You need to get the fuck off her, Bullet, if you want me to back off the coke.”  His voice was commanding and there was a tone there that screamed authority.  I made eye contact with him; his eyes were cold but when they hit mine, they softened and I saw the warmth there.  The fear and uncertainty swirling in my gut eased in that moment.

Bullet pulled the knife away from my neck and moved off me.  Facing Blade, he snarled, “And why the fuck would I believe anything you say?”

Blade shrugged.  He was so cold and calm, and I decided that I’d never want to get on his wrong side; I’d be more afraid of him than Bullet, and that was saying something.  “Scott’s my brother, and she’s his woman.  I don’t need the coke to survive; I think you’re aware of that fact.  So, if I have to choose between the two, I choose her life.”

Bullet thought about it and settled it in his mind.  “I’ll take that fucking deal but if you break your word, I’ll go on a killing rampage like you’ve never seen before, and you’ll be my first port of call.  Right after I fuck her and make sure her death is a long and painful one.”

I flinched at his threat.  Fear sliced through me and I prayed to God that Blade would keep his end of the bargain.

Blade nodded once.  “Good.  Now, get the fuck out of here,” he commanded in that deep, frightening voice he had.

I watched frantically while Bullet left the room.  When he’d finally exited and I could no longer see him, I let go of the control I’d employed throughout the ordeal.  I wanted to scream, kick and punch all in one go but I couldn’t.  Instead, I started shaking and sobbing, and struggled to catch my breath as my breathing became erratic.

Blade moved towards me and pulled a knife out.  He cut the ropes that had bound me to the bed and removed the gag from my mouth.  Then he took the sheet and covered my body.  His movements were all gentle and deliberate.  He was safe; I knew it in that instant.  He would never hurt me.

He sat on the bed beside me.  “You need to know that everything’s going to be okay.  The threats that Bullet made towards you will never eventuate because he will be taken care of.  He won’t be walking this earth long enough to carry those threats out.  Do you understand?”

Words failed me so I nodded.

“Good.”  He stood back up and moved to leave the room.  He turned at the door and said, “Scott will be in in a minute.”

And then he was gone.  I took a long deep breath and attempted to get my breathing and shaking under control.  Right now, I needed Scott more than I’d ever needed anything.

Scott

I found her huddled under the sheet, her tear stained face was all that was visible.  Thank fuck Blade had covered her up.  She slid her eyes to mine and what I saw there nearly fucking killed me.

A moment later, I sat on the bed next to her, and just after that she was in my arms; clinging to me and crying.  “He touch you?” I asked; I needed to know, because if he had, there was no way I was letting Blade be the only one to fuck him up.

She shook her head vigorously.  “No.”

“Thank fuck,” I muttered, although it was a small mercy considering everything else he’d put her through.

“Scott, Lisa’s outside waiting in the car.  You need to go and make sure she’s alright.”

Fuck.  This was why I was falling for Harlow; in a moment where most women would buckle from what they’d just been through, she was more concerned for someone else’s safety.

“No, she’s safe.  I’ve got someone with her.”

“Thank God,” she said, the concern washing off her face.

I reached up and gently wiped the tears from her eyes.  “I’m so sorry, baby.  This is all my fault.”

She nodded and then asked, “Remember when I said that I could handle your shit?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if you feel the need to hurt those assholes, and when I say hurt, I mean so that they can never threaten another woman with that, you need to know that I can handle that shit, baby.”

Fuck me.  Blessed.  That’s what I was.

“Good to know.  Because I’ll be making damn sure that they’ll never hurt another person.  Now sweetheart, we need to get you cleaned up.”

She nodded in agreement, and I helped her into the shower.  The deep burning hatred I had for Bullet was consuming my thoughts, and I hoped to hell that Blade was making him suffer.

* * *

Six hours later, Harlow was asleep in my bed.  She hadn’t wanted to stay at her mum’s house that night so I’d brought her to mine.  I’d spent all afternoon and night with her; I hadn’t called J or Nash to find out what had happened.  This was the first time in my life that I’d put Storm second.  I never wanted to let Harlow out of my sight ever again.  Knowing her, though, that would never happen.

I stood in the doorway and watched her sleep.  She’d had trouble getting to sleep so I’d found a sleeping pill of mine to give her that had eventually done the trick.  My phone vibrated with a message.

Blade: You want in on this?

Me: Yes, but not tonight.  Tomorrow.

Blade: Call me when you’re ready.

I watched Harlow for a little while longer and then I went outside to call Dad.

“Scott, thought I would have heard from you by now,” he said, not even a hello to greet me.

I ignored him.  “You hear from Blade?”

“Yeah, he’s got the men he wanted.  They were the four at Harlow’s house.  The VP of Black Deeds stepped up and took over; he’s made sure there’s no blowback on Storm for this.  But those fuckers killed Stoney to get to Harlow.”

“Fuck!”  In my gut I’d known that; it was the only explanation for everything.  Stoney wouldn’t have gone down without a fight so they would have had to kill him.

“How’s Harlow?”

“She’s fine but I didn’t call to chat; I just needed to know that everything had been taken care of and it has, so I’ll talk to you later.”

I disconnected the call without waiting for him to say anything else.  My patience for my father was growing less and less every day.

* * *

I pulled the café door open and waited for Harlow to walk in before I followed her.  Cheryl was waiting for her, and enveloped her in a hug.  They embraced for a long time; her mother gently patting her hair.  She’d spent some time with Harlow last night but I imagined her distress as a mother would be unspeakable.

“Thank you, Scott,” Cheryl said as they pulled apart.

Fuck, I was the last person she should be thanking; if it wasn’t for me, Harlow would never have been put in that situation.  I shook my head.  “No, it’s my fault.  Don’t thank me.”

“No, it’s not.  Did you tell that man to do what he did?  Did you have any control over his actions?  No.  People do shitty things all the time; they’re responsible for their own actions.  Not anyone else.  So, don’t ever blame yourself for this.”

Christ, I saw where Harlow got her purity from.

“Thank you,” I murmured, still uneasy about it all.

Harlow turned to me, and the gentle look she gave me, softened my hard heart a little.  “She’s right.  This wasn’t your fault.  Okay?”

We hadn’t talked much this morning; both of us still contemplative.  So, I had no idea what was going through her mind about all of this.  I was giving her some time to process it; tonight we would talk.