Page 52 of Lust Hate Love (Fallen Angel 4)

Jesus, where to even start.

“Why would you mess with my sister, you asshole?” Halo had his arms around Jagger’s waist, trying to get him on the ground, but it wasn’t until Jagger knocked into the others, losing his balance, that Halo succeeded.

Halo straddled Jagger’s waist, throwing blows that Jagger struggled to fend off.

“Yo, this may be the way you like it, but this position doesn’t work for me,” Jagger yelled, arching up to try to throw Halo off. Then, because he was an idiot who wanted to fan the flames, he added, “It only works with your sister.”

Aaand that’s where to start.

“You fucking bastard—” Halo went to pound Jagger’s face, but I reached them just in time, grabbing Halo’s arms and lifting him just enough that Jagger was able to wriggle out from beneath him. Imogen was there in a flash, checking Jagger’s face as he assured her he was fine.

With Halo’s arms pinned behind his back, he was at an awkward angle, but the guy was hyped on adrenaline and stronger than I expected.

He broke free again, heading straight for Jagger. Imogen put her hands up, trying to get him to stop, but Jagger was ready, and the two of them went tumbling around on the floor.

“Halo, stop, I’m not a kid—” Imogen’s voice got lost in the pandemonium, and to my right, Killian had lost his hold on Viper and Slade after one of them accidentally knocked him in the jaw with their elbow. Rattled, Killian stepped back for a second, rubbing his jaw.

I’d rather have been the one knocking him senseless. I still couldn’t believe what he’d said to Viper, how he’d blown me off so casually, as if I didn’t matter. It had hurt. It had hurt like hell, and it still did. But I didn’t have time to think about that now.

Killian looked up at me, and it was impossible to miss the apology in his eyes, but I didn’t want to hear how sorry he was for getting caught.

When Viper plowed Slade into the wall with a loud boom and Slade landed an uppercut on Viper, everything between Killian and me was put on the backburner. We had to get this situation under control, or there was no way we’d be heading back to the States today…at least not with anyone alive.

“Should I call for help?” Liam asked from behind me.

“No,” Killian answered. “You two deal with Halo and Viper, and I’ll get the others the hell out of here.”

I gave him a curt nod and turned to Liam. “Get rough if you need to.” My brother was no slouch in the ass-kicking department, but I knew he wouldn’t want to hurt a member of one of his favorite bands.

Too bad, I thought, letting him deal with beast Halo this time as I snuck up behind Viper, who still had Slade up against the wall, and wrapped my arms around him. I jerked us back hard, hard enough that we half fell onto one of the couches.

Viper let out a howl of frustration, but I held tight to him.

Liam had somehow grabbed hold of Halo and was pinning him to the ground as Killian freed Jagger.

“Fuck your face,” Halo shouted as Jagger got to his feet. Even struggling beneath my brother, he was spouting off insults. Then Halo’s eyes narrowed on Slade. “And fuck you too, man. You motherfuckers. That’s my baby sister you’re messing with—”

“That’s enough.” Liam pressed his knee higher up on Halo’s spine, cutting off his words. The expression on my brother’s face told me he was worried about incurring the Fallen Angel singer’s wrath for what he was doing, but it was that or watch these guys fight to the death over something they could talk out eventually.

I hoped, anyway.

“You three,” Killian said, pointing to Slade, Jagger, and Imogen. “Out.”

“Going.” Imogen grabbed both the guys’ hands, pulling them toward the door, but they dragged their feet until Killian brought up the rear, forcing them out.

When the door slammed shut, I dropped my hold on Viper, but Liam kept Halo on the ground.

“You sure it’s safe?” Liam asked. When I shrugged—because honestly, who knew at this point—Liam cautiously stood up.

Viper practically rolled off the couch, his joints cracking in protest the same way all of ours were, and made his way over to Halo, who was still lying on the floor, his head in his hands.

“Angel,” Viper said quietly, running his fingers through Halo’s blond curls. “You okay?”

Halo shook his head, not saying a word. I took the silence as an opportunity to sit up and survey the damage.

Nothing broken in the room, at least, and hopefully no broken bones on any of the guys.

Liam stopped in front of me and grinned. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you such a mess, bro.”

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