A Stalker's Revenge

Chapter 2: A Stalker's Revenge

Brixton pov

I haven't been able to fucking sleep or do much of anything else since my little bird flew away from our nest.

I haven't seen her around either, which isn't like her. But then again, she did find out I betrayed her by stalking her for most of her life, so I'd expect nothing less. I've scoped out her apartment, but she hasn't been back. I didn't want to show my face where she works, but I found out I had no other fucking option. When Harley and I first started dating officially, she was working at one of the most prestigious gentlemen's clubs in Brockton, and that's where she still works today. I fucking hated it—the way she'd flaunt her perfectly sculpted body to random men and let them treat her like a piece of fucking meat. At that time, she had just lost her fiancé to a senseless murder, and she spiraled unbelievably out of control. Alec was her everything, and when she lost him, she lost the sparkle that illuminated her bright blue eyes. I was determined to make them shine again, and for a while there, I did. I swirl the vodka around in my glass, letting the liquid hypnotize me into another memory of my little bird- about the day the storm struck.

Two years ago...

Today's the day that my little bird's fiance comes home from deployment. He's been overseas for the last year, which has helped me out significantly. It's been easier to keep my eye on her, and I didn't have to deal with him getting in the way. Now, he comes home and I'll have to fucking share her again....even if she doesn't fucking know it.

Opting for a walk home from anger management and a visit with my PO, I'm sincerely hoping I don't run into them on the way. My phone rings halfway there, and I'm shocked when I see whose name is flashing on the screen. I answer it, keeping my eyes fixed on my apartment ahead, anxiety rushing through me.

“Yo, Trigger. I see your ass is finally fucking free, aye?”

“Yeah, Brix. I’m a free mother fucker who needs a fucking ride. Can you come scoop me up?”

“I live in the city, bro. There’s no need for a fucking whip. Besides, my license is revoked.”

“What for?”

“Because I’m a fucking habitual felon, man. They ain’t ever giving me another fucking license. Why don’t you hop on the fucking T and take it to Brockton?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll let you know, Brix. Glad to see you’re still out of prison. I thought for sure that your ass would’ve been locked up again.”

“Nah, not this time, Trig. I’m trying to do the right thing, sorta.”

Before hanging up the phone, we both continued to laugh and shoot the shit for a while. Trigger, a.k.a. Scotty White, was one of my best friends when we were kids. We had the same family dynamics and followed the same life path. We met on the streets, and it was a fucking wrap. We’ve even done some bids together due to being arrested for the same crimes.

I push Trigger to the back of my mind as I approach the corner to score and push Harley to the front, making her the only fucking thing I can think about.

Harley's pov

Alec is due home any day now. His return is all that I can fucking think about. He stayed true to his word and enlisted in the Marines right after graduation, leaving me a few short weeks later. We’ve talked here and there, but when he’s on deployment, it’s hard sometimes. This time, it’s been about two weeks since I last heard his voice. I walk inside the lobby of my apartment and sigh when I see the horrendous stairs that I'm forced to take because the elevator is still broken. I ascend the narrow, winding stairs to the second floor, where my apartment is located, stopping occasionally to catch my breath and brush the flyaways from my face. I keep my eyes on the ground as I ascend the final few and stumble into a solid chest. I was always told not to look at the ground while I was walking, but old habits are hard to break. One powerful, heavily inked arm curls around my waist as I begin to fall backward and lose my balance, lifting me back to my feet and off the stairs. When I look at him to thank him, I’m struck with a sense of deja vu, like I’ve seen this man up close and personal before.

“Oh, hi. Um, thank you for catching me, so I didn’t bust my ass. Those stairs are lethal.”

I make jokes in an effort to dispel the gloomy atmosphere that seems to hang over us, hoping for my gorgeous savior to smile.

“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

He says it dismissively while focusing intently on my face as if trying to imprint the image permanently in his mind. He still doesn’t smile, though.

“Haven’t I seen you before? I swear you look wicked familiar, but I can’t place it.”

“Look, just because I fucking saved your ass from taking a spill down the fucking stairs doesn’t mean we’re suddenly best friends. Shit doesn’t happen like that in real life, little bird.”

My attempt to respond is interrupted when a set of strong arms surrounds me from behind and lifts me off the creaky wooden floor. I shouted, but it only lasted a moment. As soon as I turn to face the offender, my jaw drops to the floor, and tears begin to stream down my hot, rosy cheeks. The gorgeous, enigmatic stranger who saved me sneaks past us and continues down the perilous stairs to get on with his day. I still can’t figure out where I know him from, but I swear I’ve seen him

Alec, who cups my face in his hands, stands before me decked out in his fatigues, looking like he literally just got back from deployment.

“Look at you, beautiful. Fucking look at you, Harley fucking Savage. Jesus, have I missed you, baby.”

I cover his hands with mine and squeeze my body into his, needing to feel him against me to make sure I’m not fucking seeing things again. I’m not, though. He’s here. My Alec is finally fucking home.

Back to present day...

As I sit here and think back on that day, the memories won't stop hitting me, and I'm sucked into another whirlpool of the events that brought Harley and me together. I keep thinking about catching her on that stairwell and the way she looked into my eyes. Her body against mine was surreal. It was more intoxicating than I could have imagined. My arm curled around her tiny waist with a fucking perfect fit. As soon as it did, I knew I was fucked.

With no sight of my little bird, I toss the vodka back and rest my forehead on the table, allowing myself to slip back into the depths of my mind.

Two years ago...

Brixton pov

The rain outside is pouring down in torrents, blinding the entire city with its icy, brittle streams that rage angrily in the ferocious wind. I'm tempted to look outside my apartment building's windows because of the sound of hail hitting the glass. I try to look through the rain with my eyes on the cold glass, but it is incredibly difficult to see anything below due to the white-out conditions. She doesn't know I'm at the end of the hall, watching her pace anxiously, waiting for Alec to return home after a night out with his friends. I know she's fucking worried, but I can almost bet that everything will be okay. Her phone rings, echoing through the hallway, and she's startled by the loud tone as she clutches her cell in the palm of her hand with force. I peek my head around the corner and watch as she answers it, listening to the conversation on speakerphone.

“Um, hello?”

“Yes, I’m looking for Miss Harley Savage, please.” A deep, monotone voice booms from the other end.

“Yes, I’m Harley Savage. May I ask who’s calling and what this is about?” She tries to say it calmly and confidently, but I can hear the shakiness and sadness in her voice.

“Ma’am, this is Detective Rollins, with the Brockton Police Department. I have some rather unfortunate news about Mr. Alec Savagged. You do know him, correct?”

“Um, yes, sir. Alec is my bo- fiance. What’s the matter? Is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Harley, but your fiance is no longer with us. He was shot and killed in an attempted carjacking moments ago.”

When I hear the news and see her swaying back and forth on her feet, throwing caution to the wind, I run over to her and catch her before she hits the ground.

Back to present time...

I feel a hard smack on the back of my head, which forces my eyes to open and my head to shoot up. I snarl when I see who it is, standing there with her hands on her hips, enraged.

“What the hell are you doing here, asshole?”

“Stop trying to be all big and bad, Lexi. I came for my fucking girl, and I'm not leaving until she fucking talks to me.”

“Well, then you're gonna be waiting a long fucking time, Brixton, because she quit and isn't coming back.”

I fly out of the booth and grab Lexi by the throat, slamming her back against the wall. Her murderous gaze pierces right through me, but I hit her with an even darker one.

“Where the fuck is she?”

“Gone. She left because of you and your stalker ways, dumbass.”

I release her and storm off, deciding to pay Trigger a visit to fuck him up for ruining my relationship. The consequences of my future actions don't even cross my fucking mind.

Harley's pov

I've been hiding out at Lexi's place since my breakup with Brixton, terrified to leave because I'm afraid he's going to be watching me. I still can't believe what he did. I feel so betrayed and absolutely disgusted with him.

I quit the club because I knew he'd hunt me down there. He left me no choice. I can't go home because he'll be there, so I'm trapped here to dwell in my misery. It's still hard not to miss him, though. I still remember the first time he let me into his apartment and let himself be real around me...

Two years ago, three months after Alec's murder...

Walking down the street, the sound of gunshots rang out in the air, sending panic rushing through me like a fucking bullet, ripping me apart on the inside. I'm so close to my apartment, but I don't know if I'll make it. I feel like I'm going to fucking pass out, and a dizzy sensation rocks my body and overrides all of my senses. I feel myself stumbling, and before I can hit the rough, frozen pavement, strong, tattooed arms lock around my waist and hold me up. Not just any strong, tattooed arms, but his strong, tattooed arms. Instead of walking away and leaving me to convulse and withdraw on the sidewalk, he lifts me into his arms and carries me inside our apartment building, braving the steep, atrocious stairs. I lock my weak arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest, squeezing my eyes shut to try and rid myself of the black and white dots and the blurriness. I don't notice what apartment he takes me to, but he closes the door with his foot, kicking it shut with a loud slam that reverberates in my ears. I'm laid on a bed, and he pulls a blanket over me. The scent lingering on the covers lets me know right away that this isn't my apartment, and this isn't my bed.

He brought me to his apartment. And I don't even know his name.

"What's wrong with you, little bird?"

At the sound of his voice, I slowly pull the blanket off my head, and come face to face with the stunning, tattooed man that always seems to be there when I need him. He's like a guardian angel. Or he's a stalker. I guess there's a fine line between the two. In my fucking eyes, anyway. His voice comes out smooth like silk and sweet like honey, with a depth that comes from deep within his chest. It's commanding yet gentle, almost as if he doesn't even know how to speak around me. He's mesmerizing, and I can't stop the obvious sweep my eyes do across his body before I return my gaze to the beautiful, defined features on his face. The tattooed man with the sweet, deep voice, I've decided, is my guardian angel. I mean, he's too fucking gorgeous and quiet to be one of the bad ones. Get a fucking grip, Harley.

"Are you going to answer me, little bird? Or are you going to look at me with those "Come fuck me" eyes?"

He sits down on the end of the bed and begins to mix up his drugs, something that my body is yearning for this very second. Once Alec was murdered, my life took a turn for the worse, and I got mixed up in a life on the streets, involving myself in risky behavior. Therapy hasn't helped. Narcotics are the only thing that seems to numb the unbearable pain inside me.

"Why do you call me little bird?"

"The first time you decide to speak, and that's what you say?"

"Why though? You know my name."

A silence falls around us, and our eyes lock. Neither of us moves. Instead, we stare at each other, searching our minds for the right thing to say, but the more we sit here in silence, my mind becomes blank.

"Thank you again for saving me from busting my ass."

"Look, little bird, as I told you last time we bumped into each other, just because I saved your fucking ass fr-"

"-Saved me from busting my ass on the stairs, yeah, I heard this speech before. Don't worry, I'm gonna go anyway."

"You don't need to go storming off. I never told you to fucking leave."

"No, but you clearly don't want me to stay either. I can read people, sorta, and the vibe i-"

"Fuck the vibes, little bird. Stay. Sit back down where you were and get fucking comfortable."

"Um, why would I do that? I don't even know your name."

"You don't need to know my name, little bird."

He lowers his voice, his tone softens, and vulnerability is written all over his beautiful face. I turn back around and reclaim my spot on his bed, pulling his warm fleece blanket up to my waist. He stands over near the window and gazes out at the autumn wind blowing orange and yellow leaves around in the air, scattering them all around the city.

"You look so lost and broken like you're afraid to learn how to fly again. You have wings but you're too afraid to use them, even though you've gained a few more… that's why I call you little bird…"

Tears fill my eyes and blur my vision as I take in his heartfelt words, laying here unsure of how to process them.

"You'll be able to fly again, little bird. All you need is a little push to feel the wind beneath your wings. You were born to fly, believe it or not, and one day, you'll soar high above the clouds, finally at peace with your demons…"

Present day...

A loud clap of thunder brings me back to reality, forcing the vivid flashback to evaporate from my mind.

I curl under the blanket and force myself to forget about Brixton and the betrayal he bestowed on me for so long.

I don't know how I'm going to move on from him, but I know it's possible. If I can get over the loss of my first love (sorta), then I can get over a man who I've only loved for the last year.

Brixton pov

I walk the streets, danger lurking all around me, in search of fucking Trigger, who I know is out here slinging drugs somewhere to make a living. I pass our usual spot where we make the most money and hear his loud ass voice booming from behind the building, coming from the rundown apartments back there. I'm gonna fucking kill this mother fucker. Best friends or not, he fucking ruined everything I've been working on for years. I turn the corner and spot him right away. A group of fiends surrounds him, wanting to buy whatever drugs he's selling this time. I pull the pistol from my waistband and cock it as I walk right up behind him. He freezes instantly at the sound of the hammer clicking. He turns around as the crowd pulls out their phones, probably to call the fucking cops, but I pay them no mind and focus intently on Trigger.

“Yo, what the fuck is this, Brix?”

I aim the gun below his waist, knowing that anything above is classified as attempted murder, and I'm not trying to take a charge for that.

“I fucking warned you to stay the fuck out of my shit with my little bird, didn't I?”

“She was bound to find out that you were fucking stalking her. All I fucking did was speed up the heartbreak.”

“Oh, you think this shit is funny?”

Aiming at his knee, I fire my gun and watch him collapse to the pavement, hollering at the top of his lungs as the bullet pierces right through his flesh.

“Who the fuck's laughing now?”

“You, mother fuc-”

“Drop the fucking gun, Steele. And put your fucking hands behind your back.”

I toss it to the ground as instructed and follow his commands to a t, knowing full well I'm going back to fucking prison for a while because of me shooting Trig.

I'll be coming for you, little bird. And I won't fucking stop until you're mine again.