Midnight Daffodil (Poisonous Petals #1)

Chapter 45Matt

forty-five

MATT

T hat stupid bitch.

Hot rage still burned in my core like a volcanic eruption, remembering the paperwork served to me during the recess. A restraining order? Who the fuck did she think she was? Now that she got that pig's dick in her a few times, she thought she was the one with the control.

That piece of fucking paper wouldn’t stop shit.

My nostrils flared. My fist crumpled the envelope containing forty thousand dollars. The smell of rain permeated the air, and dinner threatened to make its reappearance. I slipped the money through the cracked window to the man stationed outside my car.

I rolled the tinted glass up swiftly, avoiding prolonged interaction. I needed to stay unscathed. The tan skin of Livie flashed in my mind's eye.

The terms of the protection order were that I couldn’t come within one thousand feet of her. Legally, they had to include all of the things that she submitted. She provided pictures of her bruised body and the notes that I’d lovingly sent her, but it was the recording of me talking to her that night at the police station that made my fists clench.

She was a lying little bitch.

The Livie that I owned would’ve never made such accusations. I never even hurt her.

A dramatic woman, too stupid to survive on her own; Olivia always sought attention. She hopped on the next hard cock she could find. Luke’s menacing glare crossed my vision.

I tried to reason with him. Why would he even want to be with her? Her pussy felt dry and boring. She laid there like a dead fish, sometimes crying, always useless. Nothing was special about her.

His proclamation of love only fueled the loathing that afflicted my very soul. Livie wasn’t worthy of love from anyone but me.

Luke shouldered the blame for ruining my perfect woman. I hated how he looked down on me, his nauseatingly blue eyes repulsive. The trailer park must’ve had something in the water to produce something as abhorrent as him.

God, I wanted to be the one to rip out Luke’s heart. I wanted to feel the organ cease to exist in my own hands. I wanted to mail it to Livie and watch the color drain from her face.

Then I wanted her.

Movement caught my eye. I sat in a parking lot facing a rundown shopping plaza on the outskirts of Seattle, a hotbed for violent activity.

A pivotal scene unfolded, unable to rip my eyes away. I watched a black SUV pull up to a smoke shop. Two men in all black walked into it. The neon sign in the doorway and the bars covering floor to ceiling of the glass windows obscured my view of what was happening. The ear splitting pop of bullets sent chills down my spine.

What the fuck was going on?

I fumbled for the ignition, ready to get the fuck out of there. The howl of sirens in the distance closed in. I stole a glance, my breath catching in my throat. Blood splatter painted the windows from the inside. My lungs burned for air as four police cruisers pulled up to block the SUV from moving but were too late. I drew in a breath, desperate to keep my position hidden.

The driver fled with the getaway car, leaving the shooters to escape on foot.

Officers whipped out of the lot to chase down the SUV that fled the scene. Two more cruisers pulled up, and both officers and a brown dog jumped out of the vehicle and joined the chase on foot.

Luke and his partner, Alex, something or other, and that fucking dog arrived. They split in different directions, the dog hot on the heels of the first guy with Luke while his partner ran after the other.

A chaotic blend of red, white, and blue lights obstructed my view as emergency personnel swarmed the scene. I decided to follow after Luke.

Shit just got interesting.