Page 53 of Fight for You

"Where the fuck is he?" I ask Kaleo, breathing hard as I stare down at him. Part of me desperately wants to wrap my hands around his throat and end this shit here and now, but I keep my feet planted. Killing him will only land my ass in jail, and I can't do that until I deal with Tony and get to my girl.

"Jail," Kaleo wheezes, pushing himself up off the ground onto his hands and knees. Rage rolls through his expression, but he doesn't come after me. He knows this isn't a fight he can win. I'm twice his size and running on sheer rage. "I turned him over to LAPD an hour ago for sexual assault."

"You sent him after her."

"That shit wasn't ever part of the plan, Kincaid. He was just supposed to flirt with her a little. Get your big ass riled up." Kaleo spits blood onto the ground and then climbs to his feet to face me. "I like January. She's a sweet girl."

I don't believe a fucking word he says. If he turned Tony in, it was to save his own ass. He knew I'd come after him for this shit.

"Send anyone else after her, and I'll kill whoever you send and then come for you," I promise him, meaning every word. "He gets out of jail, you better get him the fuck out of town. If I find him, I'll kill him." I stomp back to my bike.

Kaleo, Micah, and the kid stay where they're at, watching me. Hatred rolls through Kaleo's expression, and I know I probably just made this war between us so much worse. He's going to come at me with everything he's got for kicking his ass on his own turf with his boys there to watch.

"Fuck," I roar and peel away from his house, headed toward January's.

By the time I make it there ten minutes later, I don't feel any calmer. My entire body is screaming at me to get to her and make sure she's okay. I pound up the steps and then bang on the front door.

Titan opens it without a word and points toward her bedroom.

"January!" I shout, running down the hall toward her.

Her mom is on the bed with her, but hops up as soon as she sees me in the doorway. I damn near fall to my knees when I catch sight of January. She's got a scratch across her cheek and a ring of fingerprint bruises around her upper arm. Her face is pale, her eyes rimmed in red. She's still crying, her entire body shaking with the force of her cries.

Jana moves out of the way, squeezing my shoulder as I rush toward my girl.

"Cade," January cries, launching herself out of the bed and into my arms.

I catch her, holding her tightly. She wraps herself around me, burying her face in my throat. Her body shakes as she sobs so hard she chokes. I sink down onto the bed with her and squeeze my eyes closed, trying not to lose it. She needs me to calm the fuck down and take care of her right now.

"It's okay," I whisper to her, rocking her back and forth in my arms. "Everything's going to be okay, baby girl. I'm right here, and no one else is ever going to touch you again." Even if I have to kill every motherfucker in Kaleo's crew, I'll make sure no one else ever comes for her.

It takes her a long time to calm down.

When she finally stops crying, I glance up to find that her mom and Titan have disappeared, leaving us alone. I lay her down on the bed and then stretch out beside her, sheltering her with my big body. She curls up against me, clinging like she's afraid to let me go.

"You want to talk about it?" I ask her, running my fingers through her hair.

"I thought he was my friend," she whispers, her little voice so sad. It breaks my heart for her and renews my desire to kill Tony at the same time. "He was nice to me. And then today…he said he had something for me. He pulled me into the boy's bathroom. I thought he was just joking, and I told him that I had class, but then he asked me out. When I told him no, he got really mad. Said that I shouldn't be leading him on if I wasn't going to…wasn't going to fuck him."

Jesus. I squeeze my eyes closed and take a deep breath.

"I told him to let me go, but he wouldn't. He grabbed my arm." She winces like she's remembering the feel of his hands on her body. "Then he tried to kiss me. I tried to fight him, but he's a lot bigger than I am. When he tried to pull my shirt off, I screamed as loud as I could and then kneed him in the balls and punched him."

"He scratched you trying to get your shirt off?" I ask, running my fingertips over the angry red mark as gently as possible.

She nods. "Quan heard me screaming and opened the door. When he saw what was happening, he dragged Tony off me. I don't remember what happened after that, but Tony ran off." She shivers and pushes her body closer to mine. "Quan called the police and then called Titan to come and get me. Did they find Tony yet?"

"Yeah, baby girl," I whisper to her. "He's in jail. He'll never hurt you again."

"Okay," she whispers back, some of the tension draining out of her. Even then, she clings like she's terrified to let me go.

I stay with January until she falls asleep.

"Thank you," Jana whispers when I slip out of the bedroom a little while later. She's standing right outside, her back against the wall and tears in her eyes. Exhaustion weighs heavily on her. "I didn't think she'd ever stop crying."

I pull her into a hug. She looks like she could use one.

She pats my back. "You're so good to my little girl."