Page 99 of Dirty Little Mistake

My hands clenched at my sides.Keep calm. Keep steady.But beneath that forced control, rage burned hot and familiar. Someone had touched my little sister. Had made her bleed.

Had signed their own death warrant.

"What happened, Syn?" My fingernails bit into my palms, forcing calm into my voice. "Who did this?"

Her shoulders curled inward. "I just want to go home."

"Syn..." Jax snapped, raising his voice. "Who the fuck hurt you?" Jax was angry, and I didn't blame him, but right now, that wasn't what she needed.

"Jax," I said, my tone commanding his attention. "Can you go back and let everyone know Syn is okay?"

Jax's face darkened. "What?"

"Jax." One word. A command wrapped in understanding. His gaze darted between us—Syn's bloodied face, my steady stare—before he surrendered with a sharp nod.

"Fine." The word was pure venom. He backed away, each step radiating reluctance until the darkness swallowed him.

I waited. One wave crashed. Two. Three.

"What happened?"

Syn lifted her chin. "First, promise you'll let it go."

My jaw flexed because I wasn't sure I could let it go. Walking away from someone putting their hands on my sister would be the hardest thing I ever did. "Just tell me what happened."

"I'm not saying a word until you promise, Trystan." She squared her narrow shoulders. "I need you to trust that I can handle myself. That I don't need you to defend me."

Sucking in a heavy breath, I nodded. "Fine, I promise," I said through gritted teeth. "Are you dating Sebastian? Did he do this?"

"Do you want to tell the story?" Rolling my eyes, I waved my hand for her to continue. "Yes, or I was."

"What? Syn..." I shook my head. "Why?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I thought he was different with me and..." She paused, her gaze dropping to the sand as we walked. "I'm not really attracted to normal guys. I kind of like..."

"The bad boys," I finished for her.

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess, but now I know that's the wrong kind of bad I'm looking for."

"So Sebastian put his hands on you?"

"Yeah." Something flickered across her face—pride warring with leftover fear. "But he's the one who needed the ambulance."

"What?"

"Forehead split open." Her lips curved, savage satisfaction bleeding through. "Guess he didn't expect the bottle to break that easily."

The knot in my chest loosened, just a fraction. Of course. This was Syn—the same girl who'd broken Abel Martinez's nose in third grade for trying to cut her hair.

The same girl who'd never needed saving.

I'd forgotten that, somewhere between big brother instincts and blind rage. Sebastian had, too, apparently.

His mistake.

"Is he the one putting those bruises all over you?"

Her fingers traced the fading marks on her wrist. "Yeah." She stared out at the dark water. "I was blinded by..." The waves crashed against the pier, filling the silence. "By I don't know what, but something that made me think he didn't mean to."

---