The pathetic fuck fumbles with the bottle of lighter fluid and nearly drops it on his own damn foot. “I ain’t burning down nothin’.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Mindy says in exasperation. My breath catches at how vulnerable she sounds. I hate doing this to her, even if I am doing it for her. Catching Trigger’s eye, I nod and jump off the porch, landing in the dirt, and trade places with Duke who, along with Ryan, closes in on Clarence. I position myself between Mindy and the street so I can stop her if she tries to run. I was going easy on her, letting her figure her own shit out, but the moment she tried to score, all that changed. It’s clear to me now that she can’t do this on her own. She may not know it, but she needs me.
“Yes, we do. I’ve made contact with every dealer I know from as far north as Eureka down to Santa Rosa and as far east as Reno. Nobody is going to sell to you. The ones I don’t know are being put on notice. Any motherfucker stupid enough to sell to you will have a price on his head worth ten grand.” I wait for that to sink in. She turns to me with tears in her eyes. She’s not angry, but I can’t quite make out what’s going on in her head. She seems at war with herself. I open and close my fists at my side to stop myself from grabbing hold of her and never letting go. “Let this be a teachable moment for you, Mindy. You hold the lives of countless people in your hands. The next person you try to score from dies. The next person who hurts you dies. The next person who stands too close to you, looks at you wrong, or just bugs me fucking dies.”
She whips around and places her hands on my cut above my pecs and leans in. I suck in a sharp breath at the weight of her hands on me. She doesn’t seem to realize she’s touching me. Good. That means she’s fucking listening to what I’m telling her. I don’t like repeating myself.
“Why?” Her voice is strangled with untold emotion. She pushes on my chest and then grabs ahold of my cut, fisting it in her hands. Tears fall down her cheeks as she lets her head fall forward. “I don’t want anybody else to get hurt.”
Very slowly, I raise my hand to her chin and stop before I touch her. She doesn’t jump or take a step back, so I give in to the want and let myself feel her soft skin as I tip her face up so she has to look at me. Her chest rises and falls with shaky breaths, and she locks her jaw in an attempt to stop its unwanted movement. Fuck. I’m affecting her, not in the way I’d like, but I’ll take it. Everything in me wants to consume, own, protect, and punish this woman. She’s strong and defiant and so goddamn broken. It’s like she was made for me.
“Nothing and no one will stop me from protecting you.”
“It’s not Smirk’s fault—it’s mine.” Her chin sags in shame as she lowers her eyes. She speaks with a slowness that’s tinged with such guilt and defeat that it’s almost gratifying. “I almost messed up everything I’ve worked so hard for. Don’t punish him because I fucked up.”
“I’m not. He gets to live.”
Her head shoots up in confusion. I’m not sure where I lost her. Feeling brave, I place my hand at the small of her back. She jumps slightly before settling and letting me lead her away from the house. She’s back in the SUV as I turn to see Clarence shouting at Trigger and Duke about fairness and customer service and some other nonsense about running his business out of his car. I think I even hear the sad fuck crying. He was warned about selling his shit in town. We can’t keep the town totally clean, but at least we can have a policy about quality. What Clarence sells is shit, so fucking far from pure that it’s anybody’s guess how many of his customers have almost died from it. Aside from the danger, the lack of concern over quality just pisses me off. If you’re going to do something, fucking do it right.
Duke tosses Clarence a cheap disposable lighter as he and Trigger hop down off the porch. I walk around the SUV and climb into the driver’s seat. I follow Mindy’s line of sight to the house as Clarence runs off the porch, followed by a bright, furious flame that’s spreading across the front of the house. When he reaches the lawn, he crouches down, clutching his head and rocking back and forth. Duke and Trigger head for their bikes and ride off. I start up the SUV, and we trail behind them but part ways as they head for Ma and Pop’s place and I take Mindy home. It kills me to leave her, but she’s not mine.
Chapter 4