Tainted, Book One: Possessed

36. You Ever Kill Anyone?

Kerry

Gemma squeaked out of math ahead of me on Wednesday and several students were crowded behind me, which made me tense up, so I stepped aside and let them go by first. Then the last girl dropped her folder and papers went everywhere. I helped her gather them up and nodded when she said a quiet thank you.

When I finally made it into the hallway, I found Anderson and Peale standing far too close to Gemma. My first instinct was to smash their skulls together, but I held back, wanting to give her a chance to deal with it. She wasn't weak and she wasn't dumb, not by a long shot, and I needed to remember that.

Then Anderson grabbed her arm, which crossed the line. Sliding between them, I tore his hand away from her and heard a satisfying crack. Hopefully, I'd snapped his wrist.

"And here's your guard dog to save you," he sneered, shaking out his hand.

"She can save herself, jerk-off." My chest rumbled with a warning growl. I had to be careful. Too much of this and I would go off. "I'm just her back-up."

"Tell me, dog, does she make you sit and stay? Does she make you beg?"

"Yap at me all you want, ankle-biter." I narrowed my eyes at him. "But you touch her again and Argaud will be missing one of his boys. I didn't promise not to kill you."

"I can't believe she taught you to speak!" Anderson's eyes narrowed, but I couldn't tell whether it was from fear or anger. "I wonder what other tricks you could learn. Maybe if you work hard enough at it, no one will guess you're just a monster who's been taught how to act like a man."

I was done with this piece of crap. My control was slipping and he wasn't worth the trouble I'd get into for hurting him. Before I could do anything, though, a little red whirlwind blew past me.

Gemma's hand blurred as she slapped his face.

Everything got real quiet then and, to tell the truth, I wasn't sure what to do. The angel in a temper was a new experience.

"How dare you, you pampered, babied brat?!" she snarled at him. "Have you ever once in your entire life endured anything that even came close to the torture he endured for a decade?"

Everyone in the crowd seemed as stunned as I was. She was furious. Her whole body bent forward, her chest heaved, and her face was redder than I'd ever seen it.

"You can't possibly understand what he went through unless you've had your mind raped every single day for ten years, then tried to be a man afterward while others jeered at you. Since you haven't, you can keep your filthy mouth shut about it, you pompous jerk!"

I glanced at Anderson and saw rage had replaced his shock. I worried he might make the mistake of hitting her and, no matter how angry she was, I didn't think she'd like it if I killed him. I looped an arm around her waist, pulled her back, and saw the tears on her face.

Then she slipped away from me and took off down the hall.

I was torn.

Follow her and risk Anderson getting me in the back, or give her a head start and deal with him first?

It wasn't much of a choice. I clipped Anderson on the jaw, and he went down in a heap.

"That's for making her cry."

I looked around for Peale, but he'd disappeared in the crowd.

"Gemma ran toward the office," Kyo Yumi called out.

I took off, students diving outta my way after one look at my face, and found her in a gap between two sets of lockers. She sat on the floor with her face in her hands and her shoulders shaking.