Patrick climbed on the bed straddling Furi's lower body. “This is what you left me for.” Patrick gestured around.
“I left you because you didn’t love me,” Furi whispered.
Patrick slapped Furi across his face, stinging his cheek and Furi yelled out at the sharp pain. “Shut the fuck up! I loved you every day I had you! I still love you!”
“If this is what loving you feels like, you can fuckin’ keep it,” Furi snapped back. His remark earned him another slap across the same cheek. Furi groaned but he turned back to look at Patrick. He was going to keep him talking. Because as long as Patrick was cursing and slapping him, he wasn’t raping and killing him.
“I gave you everything you asked for and even the things you didn’t. Then while I’m gone on business, you run away!” Patrick fumed. “I thought you’d been kidnapped! Do you know how long I searched for you? And here you are sleeping with some bum without two pennies to rub together. He can’t afford you!”
“I’m not a goddamn whore. I don’t need his money or yours,” Furi growled as well as slurred. He’d thought maybe he’d gone too far because Patrick gave him a look that chilled him to the bone.
Furi blinked and Patrick’s large hands were around his neck. The music was really loud but Patrick’s yelling and cursing could still be heard. Even though it was the early hours of the morning, no one came to ask Syn to turn the noise down. God, why? Furi could feel his world going dark. Patrick was literally choking him to death. Furi kicked and bucked, trying to throw Patrick’s heavy weight off him. All that did was cost him a lot of energy. Yelling was futile. His mouth was wide open but there was no sound coming out.
“Looks like the drugs are wearing off,” Brenden yelled over the music.
“I know,” Patrick yelled back. “Come hold him down! Then when I’m done, I’ll hold him for you.”
No. No. Furi yelled in his mind. Tears were streaming down his face, blurring his vision. The sound of a loud cracking noise followed by Brenden yelling out was just audible over the hard bass pounding in Furi’s head. Brenden went down on the bed, his face twisted in agony. In a split second Furi saw a bat coming down hard on the back of Brenden’s head. Furi struggled with Patrick. He was still trying to hold Furi down while yelling at whoever had barged in. Patrick’s eyes were focused on his unmoving brother.
Furi tried to make sense of what was going on. He hoped Syn had come, but it wasn’t him. It was ... it was ... it was the neighbor. The stoner that drove Syn crazy. His eyes were wide and alert as he held the bat up high in the air screaming at Patrick to back away.
“Get the fuck off of him right now! I’ll whack your ass too,” he hollered at Patrick, holding the bat in striking position.
Furi was so grateful at that moment. He’d really thought his life was over. Furi watched Patrick move off of him, his steel gray eyes honed in on the neighbor. Furi had to move. With every ounce of strength he had, he tried to work his way off the bed, but it was very difficult. He was having a hard time taking in air while he coughed and spat from being choked. He lifted himself some but fell back down again, his limbs still like dead weight. The neighbor came over and tried to offer Furi a hand and as soon as he took his eyes off of Patrick, his ex jumped on the neighbor. The bat flew across the room when Patrick landed on the scrawny man with a hard thud. Furi clumsily swung his legs over the edge of the bed and struggled to stand.
From the side of the bed he could see Patrick cock his fist back and land a devastating blow to the neighbor. Oh God. Furi couldn’t let this innocent man get killed because of him.
He’d just managed to half yell half cough. “I’m calling the police.” The statement making Patrick abandon the neighbor and come back to him. He couldn’t have called the police if he wanted to – no phone.
Fuck.
Furi was exhausted, he didn’t bother trying to get his heavy arms up when Patrick grabbed him and threw him hard across the room. Furi hollered out at the dresser connecting with his already tender ribs. Patrick closed the distance and was standing over him. When Furi looked up he saw Patrick’s fist aimed at his face. He closed his eyes but was jolted violently before he could feel the punch.
“Atlanta PD! Atlanta PD!”
Furi slowly opened his eyes and that’s when he saw God and Day barreling into the room, their guns drawn with at least five other men.