Page 8 of Relapse
Let’s see you get out of this one, Freckles.
She ducked back down and shook her head. I couldn’t help but notice how her fingers had tightened on the bottom of her shirt.
Enough with this shit.
I reached down, snatched both her wrists in one of my hands and used the other to grab her shirt. She struggled, which was about as useful as paper slapping on a rock. I had the fabric lifted before she could suck back her gasp.
The purple and yellow marking her skin blended into one color. Red. Hot, deep, and full of rage. It bled into my vision then burned down my veins until it was all I could see. Someone didn’t just hit her, they beat the fucking shit out of her.
Blood boiled through my ears muffling the gasps coming from behind us. I didn’t give a shit what anyone else thought. There was only one thing on my mind. The name of the asshole I was about to fucking kill.
“Who the fuck did this to you!”
Harper tore her hands out of my grasp and yanked her shirt back down. “I fell.”
“Bullshit!” I barked down at her. “You don’t think I know the difference between an accident and a fucking punch?”
Half my free time was spent in a ring pounding on pricks. I knew what a beating looked like.
“I fell,” she insisted again.
Suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. She was a liar, after all.
“Tell me who did this to you.” I slammed my fist on the door, making Harper jump. “Right fucking now!”
Riley stepped forward and placed her hand on my back. “Mason, you’re scaring her.”
Good. She should be scared.
“Did I ask for your fucking opinion?”
She didn’t like that. Riley went from gently trying to lure me away, to yanking on the back of my shirt.
“When you start picking on my friend, it is my business.”
Tension poured through my veins, clenching my jaw as I spun around and glared at my brother’s girlfriend.
“Why don’t you ask yourfriendwhat happened last time someone beat the crap out of her?”
Riley puffed her little chest out and met my glare with one of her own. “I’m not going to let you push her around.”
“You’re going to stop me, are you?”
I was tired of this shit. No one stepped up to defend me. They said they believed me, but I could see it in their eyes. The doubt and wonder if I was indeed the horrible person she accused me of being. I was the weak link, after all. The only member of The Order that couldn’t be trusted with the truth.
Well, fuck them. And fuck Riley too.
“You’re damn right I’m going to stop you,” Riley growled.
I stepped in on her, pushing her back with my chest. “Try it and find out what happens.”
The rest of the group had joined us in the entryway. Shelby’s eyes widened as Logan pushed her back, while Silas stared at me with a sympathetic frown on his face. But it was my brother that got my wrath.
Micha reached out and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me away from his girl. “Back off…”
My fist sailed through the air before he could finish speaking. By the time I thought about what I was doing, it was too late. My knuckles were already clacking off Micha’s jaw.
Time seemed to slow down. Micha’s head twisted to the side while he staggered back. The only thing I could think as I watched a drop of blood trickle from the corner of his mouth was,I just sucker punched my brother.
