“You can try!” the little shit exclaimed. I would have laughed, but I was too pissed off. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen, and though he was tall and decently built, he didn’t stand a chance with me. I knew another fighter when I saw one, and this guy wasn’t it. He didn’t look right; he didn’t stand right; and he didn’t move right. He was probably one of those that used his height to his advantage—intimidating others with it to the point where he never had to actually raise a fist.
“Liam!” Tria’s tone stopped me.
“What the hell is he doing here?” the guy said, taking a step forward. The fingers of Tria’s right hand tensed against my chest as I pressed against them, and her left hand went out to push at the other guy’s shoulder to keep him from coming any closer.
“I live here,” I growled.
“What!” His eyes went dark as he turned to face Tria and started screaming at her. “He lives here, Demmy? Seriously? You shacked up with some monkey in this dump?”
“He lives in this building, Keith. He doesn’t—”
“Fuck you, you little pup,” I yelled. “Where the fuck do you get off talking to her like that?”
“That’s none of your fucking business—”
“I’m making it my business!”
“—you fucking dick. Now get the fuck away from her—”
“Get your ass out of her apartment before I—”
“Stop it! Both of you!” Tria’s voice managed to carry over both of ours.
I tried to breathe through my nose to settle myself a little, but it didn’t work at all. I just ended up sounding like a raging bull or something, which was fitting because I was ready to charge. The second Tria was no longer between us, I was going to rip this fucker’s head off.
He glared at me for a moment before looking down at Tria.
“Who the fuck is this?” He snarled at her, and I pushed forward a bit again. The feeling of her hand against my bare chest was seriously distracting, and I had to concentrate to keep my focus on my goal—killing the motherfucker who dared talk to her that way.
“This is Liam,” Tria told him, “my neighbor.”
“Your neighbor.” The guy scoffed. “Does he always act like this?”
“Fuck you, you piece of—”
“Liam!” Her eyes blazed into mine, adding to the heat scorching my body. What was it about angry chicks that made them look so hot? She shook her head sharply. “This is Keith, my…um…a friend from home.”
“Friend from home,” he echoed sarcastically.
I really wanted to beat the shit out of this guy.
“Yeah, he’s very friendly,” I snarled.
He took a step forward, and Tria ended up straightening her arms to push both of us away from each other. He grabbed her arm to move it away.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” I screamed as I headed toward him, no longer concerned with Tria’s hand on me though she managed to keep the contact as I moved. Going around to her left, he was no more than two steps away. All I needed to do was to pin him down and go to town.
I was going to kill this guy.
“Please, Liam! Stop it! Please!”
Until she begged me not to.
Dammit.
My chest continued to rise and fall as I attempted to get a hold of myself. I took a couple of steps backward, allowing Tria’s hand to fall away from my flesh. The spot where she had been touching me went cold as I glared at the stupid little intruder.
Keith.