accidently went off. The cop looked around the yard and, not seeing anything suspicious, believed Charlie’s story and left.
* * *
Mick calmed down after a while, but couldn’t get Peter out of his mind. He needed to finish what he had started and make sure Peter never bothered Renee again.
Mick had a gut feeling that Peter was right under his nose somewhere. On a hunch, he rode over to the clinic. He parked his bike down the road and walked up to the building. The back door was unlocked. He opened it quietly and saw the shades had been pulled down and a small desk lamp lit the room with just enough of a glow for Mick to see Peter. He was sitting in front of a dog cage, leaning forward, his eyes wide and intent, watching two dogs mating.
“Fuck her harder, that’s it,” he heard Peter mutter. “Make it hurt, you motherfucker. Come on! Harder!”
He had his hand in his pants and was just about to pull out his prick when Mick grabbed Peter by his shirt and dragged him away from the row of cages.
“You fuckin’ perverted piece of shit!” He punched Peter in the face. “You sick bastard!” Mick steadied Peter and hit him again and again, all the while thinking of this scum touching Renee.
Peter’s attempts to defend himself were feeble compared to Mick’s powerful blows. When Peter was lying on the floor, a bloody beaten mess, Mick stomped his hand, crushing his fingers. Peter screamed out in pain.
Mick was in a rage. “That’s for touching Renee, you prick. You’re lucky you never touched my son or I’d blow your fuckin’ brains out here and now. Get up!”
Peter had to pull on the table with his good hand to help himself rise. He winced in pain and stood up, wobbly.
“Get to your car and drive out of here now. The only thing stopping me from killing you is prison time, so go before I change my mind and risk it. One more thing: I ever see your face around here again, I’ll hand you over to my club and, believe me, they’d love to have some fun with you.” Mick stood there watching Peter walk bent over to his car. It took him some time to get in before he started it up and drove away.
By the time Mick got the dogs back into their separate cages, he walked out the door and watched Peter’s car sway on its way out of the parking lot. He walked back to his bike and followed him until Peter hit the interstate highway and kept on going. Mick’s temper was still running hot. The idea of killing Peter when he got far enough away from Fulton entered his mind, but once again, he thought of his son and possible prison time. Instead, he turned his bike around and rode off in the opposite direction, flying down the highway towards home.
* * *
Renee tossed and turned in bed that night. She couldn’t fall asleep. Why did she let Peter keep hurting her for so long? She asked herself that question over and over and still couldn’t come up with an answer. Her mind felt like it was on autopilot to self-destruct or something.
She thought Peter might be her answer to a good life for her and her child, but she was so wrong. Why couldn’t she see that he was so wrong for her? What if she had married him and he started hurting Michael? She thought back to how stupid she had been; people who live behind white picket fences could be evil, too. She knew deep in her heart Mick would never treat her like Peter did. In fact, Mick had treated her so tenderly, she wished once again things could be different.
She heard a soft knocking on the door and she called out, “Come in.” Her dad walked into her bedroom looking older than he ever did, older and just plain disgusted. “I’m sorry, dad,” she said at once. “Sorry for putting you through all this. I know my life is one big mess and I just don’t know what to do or where to go from here.” Renee buried her head in her hands. “Please don’t hate me.”
Her dad hugged her tight. “I could never hate you, honey. I would hate myself for
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