Wrong Side of Town wm-3

by Komal Kant

  At first there’d been resistance on my part. I hadn’t wanted to let a woman into my life because women were manipulative and they screwed everything up. But Estella wasn’t like that. She was something entirely different. She was made up of something that I’d never had in my life before. And now it was impossible for me to let go of her.

  She’d imprinted herself into my life; she was a constant and I needed her.

  I needed her more than she could ever understand and I should’ve fucking told her that.

  But I would tell her. I was going to tell her everything. I’d tell her how I felt and what she did to me, and maybe we could make sense of this craziness together. Because a lot of it wasn’t even making sense to me—how I could fall for a girl from another world.

  But I had. That’s what was happening here. I had never felt such a strong desire to protect anyone, except for Dylan, but now I felt that way about Estella, and I was sure as hell going to make sure that no one came near her again.

  “Are you sure you wanna do this, man?” Goat’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I looked around to find him staring at me. He actually looked worried. Hell, maybe I should be more worried about this, but I wasn’t.

  We stood outside The Demon Rest which seemed like a fitting name for the shit ass, run-down bar that we were about to enter. I mean, Allbrook was a shithole by any standards, but The Demon Rest was definitely one of the worst places around these parts.

  It was also where the Allbrook Gang hung out and a little birdie had told me that I’d find Conor here right now with only a couple of other guys with him. This was the perfect time to send him a clear message: don’t mess with the people I cared about.

  But I knew why Goat was so worried. If I went in there and roughed Conor up, I’d be starting shit with the Allbrook Gang, and I was doing this without Ryder’s knowledge.

  If Ryder found out this had something to do with Estella then he would lose it. It wasn’t just about her though—Dylan also had to be protected and the only way I could be sure that he’d be safe was to target the cause of the problem.

  “I know what I’m doing,” I said, nodding at the other guys that’d come with me. “Let’s go and show them what it means to mess with a Madden.”

  There was no more hesitation; there were no more questions. I had made up my mind and the guys would follow me regardless of how this played out.

  I led the way, pushing open the door to the bar and letting the smell of despair hit me—cigarettes, booze, and sweat—this is where the lowest scumbags hung out, so it was pretty fitting for the Allbrook gang.

  The bar was almost empty; there were the usual tables and stools scattered around, but the interior was pretty shitty. The scantily dressed girl wiping down tables eyed us up as we strode inside, but I barely glanced at her—my focus was simply on kicking Conor’s ass.

  A dart board had been hoisted against the wall close to the entrance as though it was going to improve the depressing surroundings somehow. Nope, no chance in hell of that happening. There was a single pool table on the far end of the room, and my eyes immediately singled out Conor with three other guys as they hovered around the table, in the middle of a game.

  Rage filtered through me when I saw how at ease he was; he didn’t have a single care for the fear he’d inflicted on Estella. This asshole was going to pay.

  “Fancy seeing you down here,” I said, keeping my tone light as we flanked the four Allbrooks.

  Conor flinched and their conversation died down as they all turned to face us. Fear darted across Conor’s face, but he quickly replaced it with an easy smile as though he was greeting old friends.

  “Glad you could take time out from your busy schedule of hand holding to pay us a visit, Vincent. I’m touched.” Conor placed a hand to his chest, mocking me.

  “Well, Conor,” I said, taking three steps forward so I was in his face, “the thing is, I don’t like it when the people close to me get hurt. It makes me real mad, ya know?”

  The corner of Conor’s mouth lifted in a smirk. The son of a bitch was pleased with himself for getting to me through Estella. What a spineless, weak asshole.

  “I was just trying to get to know the people in your life, Vincent. I mean, man, I’d love to get to know that piece of ass you’re screwing right now. Estella, right?”

  As soon as her name came from his disgusting mouth, a white hot rage snaked its way through my body and coiled around my chest.

  I grabbed Conor by the collar of his jacket, lifting him slightly off his feet. “Say her name one more time, asshole. I fucking dare you to.”

  The fear was clear in Conor’s eyes as he stared back at me, but he was a ballsy son of a bitch; he had something to prove to the other Allbrooks and the only way he could do that was by standing up to me.

  His bottom lip curled. “The more I think about it, the more I want to fuck Estella.”

  My vision went blurry and the rage inside my chest exploded. He was going to pay for threatening Estella. He was going to pay for talking about her like that. I didn’t see reason, I didn’t think of the consequences; I wanted to show him what happened when he messed with the people I cared about.

  I shoved Conor so hard that his back hit the pool table with a loud thud. The other Allbrooks reacted and rushed at us, but all I could see was Conor. His bravado was gone now—I could see it from the way his eyes darted left and right—but that didn’t mean I was going to let him off easy.

  Someone’s fist connected with the side of my face, and I turned just in time to see Todd take on the Allbrook guy that’d punched me. My attention went back to Conor who suddenly leapt out at me and threw a couple of punches at me.

  Only one punch connected with the side of my nose before I grabbed his fist, twisted it, and then punched him three times in the gut. Conor immediately doubled over, and I hit him in the face with my knee. My knee connected with his face and blood spurted everywhere.

  Conor stumbled back, yelling out as he covered his face with both hands, trying to stop the blood from flowing. But it wouldn’t help. I’d gotten in a good hit.

  My boys had easily overpowered the other three guys who were now sporting swollen faces. Todd had the guy who’d hit me in a headlock, and pushed him hard against the pool table before releasing him.

  “Let’s call this a friendly warning,” I said, wiping a small trickle of blood from the side of my mouth. “Next time we won’t go so easy on you. Let’s get one thing clear; you touch her, you so much as look at her the wrong way, and I will destroy you. Tell that to Troy and the rest of your Allbrook pussies.”

  From the way Conor and the other guys stared at us in silence, I was pretty sure my message had been received loud and clear.

  * * *

  I knew Estella would be at the house this afternoon. I’d told Three to pick her up and take her there for Dylan’s lesson. What had actually slipped my mind was the fact that I’d been punched in the face and probably looked like shit.

  All I’d wanted to do was go home to Estella. I wanted to eat one of her meals and watch her dance and bring her warmth into my home.

  I hadn’t expected Three and Estella to be waiting out on the porch with me as I rode up with Goat. As soon as I’d removed my helmet and gotten off the bike, Estella hurried down the steps and ran to me.

  "What happened to your face?" She let out a gasp and clamped a hand over her mouth.

  Even though I’d done this for her, I couldn’t look her in the eye because I knew she would hate me for it. Instead, I shook my head to discourage her from asking any questions.

  I reached out for her. "Hold me, Stelle, just hold me. Hold me like it's our last day together, and tomorrow might not be."

  Estella didn’t resist at first—she stepped into my arms and let me rest my head on her shoulder. She even ran a hand through my hair which made me grasp her by the waist a little tighter. But it didn’t last long, because just as quickly as she’d held me, she pushed me away.


  Her eyes were fierce, the amber in them dancing like the glows cast from candlelight. It kind of scared me a little the way she was staring me down.

  “What happened to you, Vincent?” she asked again—her tone was firmer this time and I knew she wasn’t messing around.

  Hesitating, I ran my fingers over the skin of her hand before grasping it in mine. “It doesn’t matter, Stelle. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Instead of meeting her gaze, I focused on Three who had approached us and was now standing just behind Estella. For some reason, he didn’t look as happy as he should to see me.

  “Well, I do.” Estella’s words were commanding, but I heard the slight quiver in her tone, as though she was afraid to know the truth. “I need to know that you haven’t done anything bad; that no one is hurt.”

  “Well, that depends on your definition of hurt.”

  “Vincent, this isn’t funny. I’m being serious; did you hurt someone?”

  “He deserved it,” I say, pointedly looking away from her. “He had no right to put his hands on you.”

  “Conor did this to you?” Her eyes searched mine, large and concerned.

  “Yeah, but you should see what I did to him.”

  From behind me, Goat let out a gruff “hmm” of approval.

  Tears were forming in Estella’s eyes, and I couldn’t hide the wall of emotion that hit me at seeing her reaction.

  “Vincent, this needs to stop. If you love and care about Dylan the way you say you do, you need to stop doing this. You can’t keep putting him in danger.” Her hand tightened around mine.

  “I’m not putting him in danger.” My voice came out like a low growl. “I’m protecting him. I’m doing the best I can for him. I’m making sure I win these fights so he can go to a good school and have a future.”

  “Don’t you understand? It’s not about sending him to private school or college. It’s about teaching him to be the best that he can be. And that starts with you.” She jabbed the center of my chest with a finger. “You need to set the example for him to become a better person. He’s had nothing but disappointment in his life. Don’t do this to him.”

  I wanted to say that she was wrong; that I was setting a good example for him, but a part of me was telling me that Estella was right. Everything she was saying was making a scary amount of sense.

  “I know you’re better than this. Don’t let your circumstances dictate the kind of person you turn out to be. You can make your own choices, Vincent. You can walk away from this.” There was desperation in her eyes as she spoke.

  Each word she said lashed at me like a whip, leaving a mark, leaving an imprint. No one had ever gotten through to me the way Estella had. Ever.

  Feeling winded, I pulled my hands away from her and turned to Goat, feeling light headed. “Take her home. Now.”

  I couldn’t think straight. Why did Estella make me question every decision I made in my life? Why did I let her get to me?

  Estella let out a cry of protest, but I ignored her and headed towards the creek, far away from Estella and the truth of her words.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Estella

  The buzzing in my ears refused to fade.

  My stomach churned as I tried to piece together what had just happened. I hated it when Vincent and I got like this. I missed the sweet moments we had shared together.

  I’d never been so worried about Vincent before. It honestly scared me to see his face swollen and bruised like that. From what I understood, he had beaten up Conor for threatening me. That act alone confused me.

  Why would he beat someone up for me? He’d told me I meant nothing to him. He’d acted cold and indifferent towards me. His behavior made no sense at all. His reckless behavior was bad for Dylan, but it was also bad for him. I knew he had the ability to leave that life behind, but maybe it was too late for him.

  “He’s not a bad guy.”

  Goat’s voice broke into my thoughts, startling me. “I’m sorry?”

  We’d just pulled up outside my house and I’d been too distracted by my thoughts to get off the bike, and Goat had finally decided to say something about it. I guess it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was troubling me.

  “Vincent,” Goat repeated as I climbed of the bike. “He’s not a bad guy. He’s been through a lot of shit and he doesn’t know how to deal with things in any other way. You gotta understand that about him if you’re gonna be around him.”

  I stared at Goat in surprise, letting his words slowly sink in. I’d never expected this big, hulk-like, tatted up guy to be so insightful.

  “I do understand, but I wish he could learn to handle things differently. He goes on about wanting a better life for Dylan but I don’t think he realizes the effect his own actions have on the way Dylan is raised.”

  “Give it time. People can change.”

  Goat looked me right in the eyes, and I couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He was right. I had to give Vincent a chance. I had to have hope that he could change his life.

  “Thanks for the talk, Goat.” And despite my aversion to tattooed guys and the Madden gang, I stepped forward and wrapped Goat up in a hug. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  Goat let out a gruff laugh and gunned the engine of the bike. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Bye,” I said with a smile, watching him pull out and speed off past the dilapidated houses on the street.

  I turned to head inside and that’s when I caught sight of my brother’s car parked out the front of the house. That was strange. I didn’t know that Nate was going to be coming over.

  Increasing my pace, I hurried up the steps and into the house. When I walked into the living room, Nate wasn’t there. Savannah sat by herself watching TV.

  She glanced up when she heard me. “Hey.”

  “Hey, is Nate here?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then why is his car here?”

  “He left it for us.”

  My mouth fell open. “He what?”

  Savannah shifted around on the couch, tucking a leg underneath her. “Nate got a new car and gave us his old one to share. He picked me up in his new car this afternoon and I went and got the old one.”

  Never in a million years had I ever expected my brother to give us his car. We were lucky to have a brother who cared about us that much.

  “That’s awesome,” I said, because I was just so amazed that he would do that for us. “Where did he get the money for the new car?”

  Savannah shrugged. “I don’t know. He told you to call him.”

  That was strange. My brother worked part-time as a cashier at a grocery store, but I wasn’t sure how he’d been able to afford a new car. Maybe he’d been saving most of his money.

  Pulling my phone out from my bag, I dialed Nathan’s number and waited for him to answer.

  “Hey, Estee,” he said, answering on the third ring.

  “Did you really give us your car?” I asked immediately.

  Nathan chuckled on the other end. “Yeah, I got a new one so I figured you two could use my old car.”

  “Really? Wow! Thank you so much!” The excitement was spreading through me at the thought of not having to rely on everyone else to drive me around. “How did you afford a new car?”

  Nathan sighed. “I worked hard, Estee. We don’t have the best things in life, but I want to change that. I want to make sure that things get better from here on. I’m going to try to change our life around, I want you to know that.”

  Tears stung my eyes at my brother’s words. I was lucky to have a brother who cared so much about us and was trying so hard to give us the life our parents had failed to. In a way he reminded me of Vincent—he was also trying to give Dylan the kind of life he deserved.

  “I love you, Nate. Thank you for doing this for us.”

  “I love you too. Don’t mess up my car or put girly stuff in there, okay?”

  Despite my tears, I laughed. “Don’t count o
n it. I’ll have rose-scented air freshener and floral themed car seats in there tomorrow.”

  He let out a groan. “I’m regretting this already.”

  When I got off the phone, Savannah and I cooked dinner together like always and sat around watching TV. I wasn’t in a hurry to get my work done since it was a Friday night—I figured I could use this time trying not to think about a certain tattooed guy.

  At about nine o’clock, Savannah left to hang out with her friends. I figured there was a guy involved since she was dressed up really nice, but I didn’t want to pry too much. Besides, she’d tell me when she was ready. I was glad that Savannah was going out and doing normal teenager stuff. She needed to escape from all the negative stuff that surrounded us at home.

  I could go out too, but I wasn’t much of a party girl. Mariah was always trying to get me to go out to a field party with her, but I wouldn’t even know what to do at those things. Those parties seemed like the place to make out in and I wasn’t that kind of girl.

  I’d just started watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory, when I heard loud knocking on the door that made me jump.

  Oh no. Dad had been out drinking all day and I didn’t want to have to deal with him tonight. I should’ve just gone to bed a long time ago.

  The pounding on the door grew louder, and I jumped off the couch and hurried to the front door, dreading what I would find.

  When I pulled open the door, my heart stopped.

  I definitely didn’t expect to find this.

  Vincent was standing outside, swaying on one spot, his fist raised as though he was about to knock on the door again. When he caught sight of me, a goofy smile spread across his face.

  Oh my gosh. He was completely drunk.

  “Stelle, I need to talk to you.” He slurred his words as he spoke, and the overwhelming smell of whiskey hit me. “I should’ve told you this a long time ago.”

  “Vincent, what-”

  He staggered forward, pressing his hands into my shoulders. “I just-you make me feel so many things, Stelle.” He placed a hand to his chest. “I don’t know what to do about it. I can’t explain it. I think about you constantly. You need to know that.”