Falling For The Mafia

As I whirled around, I saw Stun advancing on me with two of his preppy-boy lackeys on each side of him.

Fuck. What kind of a moron would lead me to risk revealing my covert location only to spite him?

Despite my still-clenched hands, I felt a flood of relief wash over me. Since Stun made the choice to get in touch with Mathew, my safety has been compromised.

I blanked out, but it was clear why they'd shown up.

They had every intention of bashing me senseless. Stun couldn't get over the fact that I'd made him seem horrible in front of his whole class. I understood his wish to avoid public humiliation, but I had no interest in joining in on the ribbing.

Given that I had previously seen more bloodshed than I could handle in one lifetime, I refrained from kicking him in the teeth. In the end, he learnt his lesson from yesterday, when I publicly humiliated him for groping Emily.

Stun rolled his eyes and said, "I want to kick your t ass. "

"Fine." I threw off my leather coat and shrugged. This would be unnecessary and distracting

". The two of us. "Proceed with haste. I made a snide remark to wound his ego.

"Are you a coward who needs his cronies to protect him?" If I had to, I could easily kill all three of them, but I didn't want to.

Stun took a deep breath and leaned back slightly, but his features soon stiffened with resolve. He nervously gave his jacket to a buddy.

"Okay. You and I,. "

No one would have spoken to me like that back home. The insult did Stunng a bit, I had to admit. I wish I could have lived the life of a typical college Stundent, but that opportunity was taken away from me.

But I certainly wasn't going to give this jerk any indication that I was weak.

I just stood there and gave him the cold shoulder, waiting for him to approach me.

He was obviously startled by my cool approach, as he paused. I could see he was unfamiliar with combat. No, not like I was.

Fighting was ingrained in me; it was in my DNA.

I had been running away from the constant violence in my life, but if this jerk threatened me, I would have to resort to my more vicious defense strategies. Even still, he deserved to have his as kicked. Emily had felt his hand on her. That pushed me over the edge and I became angry.

Stun swung wildly and clumsily at me. I sidestepped the blow and stepped in to punch him in the stomach. With a wheeze, he collapsed to one knee.

His pals wouldn't let me kill him alone, however. One of Stun's lackeys punched me in the jaw before I could inquire whether I had taken enough.

Fuck. I should have been more careful. After being away from my routine for so long, I had become rusty and soft.

I stumbled backward, and before I could recover, another blow jarred my sternum.

In fact, the pain helped me concentrate more intently, so I was able to execute each motion with laser-like accuracy. Stun remained squatting on the ground. The larger of the two guys still assaulting me, I swung around to face him. He was so young that he could scarcely be considered an adult. Nearly regretting breaking his nose, I almost felt awful.

His face hit the ground and he landed with a thud, moaning. I looked back at my last foe, but he had already fled across the parking lot.

I winced at the touch and touched my sore jaw. There was a good chance of bruising from that, and I had a rendezvous with Emily in a few hours. I thought about kicking Stun for that, but I wouldn't hurt someone who was already in pain.

I shan't have any more of this cretin's blood on my hands. No way would Emily let those people touch her. No way am I going to let anything stain her innocence.

"Are we finished here?" A chilly question came from me.

Stun nodded without looking at me because he was too stunned to speak. On the floor next to him, his companion continued to cry out in pain.

'I don't want to see your face again,' I told him.

Another nod from him and I was content with his loss. I could have made my point without resorting to greater violence. Less than five minutes had passed since the beginning of the "battle." I was quite certain in my conviction that they realized they couldn't mess with me.

Taking my coat in hand, I strolled nonchalantly to my vehicle. When I left the parking lot, both Stun and his buddy were still lying on the ground.

I blocked them out and decided to ignore the throbbing in my jaw and side. And I've dealt with far worse.

The fact that I had a date with Emily to look forward to helped me forget about the pain.