f**k him. f**k him and his dogs. f**k him, his dogs, and his whole damn family. Dustin pressed his forehead into the brick of the wall at the side of the club and ground against it. The sound of gritting stone was too loud, echoing through his skull. But it was good, very good. It was almost enough to drown out the self-derision that was trying to push into his mantra of Nicolae-directed hate. Skin snapped against the pocked surface and a trickle slipped into his right eyebrow. Good, he thought. Bleed. Maybe the flow of blood would pull the poison out of his mind. “Stop.” The order was spoken sharply, and Dustin was flipped, hard. Shoulder blades took their turn against unforgiving surface. “Stop hurting yourself,” Nicolae commanded.
“Don’t touch me!” Dustin said, and the tone came out fa
