Page 39 of Twisted Trails
If I’m going down, I’m going down with all the truth.
“I took her virginity in the gondola before the race. I’m the reason she crashed, because she thinks I told her it was a mista?—”
Dane doesn’t even let me finish.
His fist connects with my face so fast it’s just light, then darkness. My nose shatters with a crack, and pain explodes behind my eyes as the world spins sideways. I hit the floor hard, ass first, a wet gush spilling from my nose.
Yep, I deserve this.Every fucking bit of it.
“Dane! Stop!” Alaina’s voice tears through the static in my head, but I can’t see her, only his fist pulling back again.
He’s on me in a flash, fury in motion, ready to throw another punch, but then Delacroix drags him off me, stepping between us.
“Please, Dane!Pleasedon’t!” Alaina is clinging to Dane’s arm, sobbing. I’ve never heard her cry like this, never seen her plead.
Delacroix extends a hand to me, and I take it with theone not clamped over my nose. He hauls me upright and only lets go when I stop swaying on my feet.
Piper is now holding onto Dane’s other arm, holding him back with Alaina, while Fisher slots himself beside Delacroix, who gives me a once-over and grimaces. “You’re bleeding like hell,Papi.”
Yeah, I can feel it. Or rather, the pain, because agony is coiling behind my face.
No bike crash ever hurt this badly, and I’m not new to pain.
“Oh cherié.”Élise appears in front of me, cradling my face with cool hands. “It’s broken. You need to go to the hospital.”
I shake her off as gently as I can, making my brain hurt too. My hand wipes at the blood, but it only smears. I probably look like the wreck I am.
Dane is still roaring behind them. “Get him the fuck out of here or I swear?—”
I’ve never seen him like this, not even with Raine when we were teens.
But this is different.
This is betrayal with a name.My name.
I glance at Alaina, who’s still crying, tears streaming down her pretty face. She looks like her heart is in pieces, and all of it traces back to me.
I did that to her.
To them.
To the Crews siblings—my family. I can see the hurt and betrayal in both their eyes.
But I swear, I’m going to fix this.
“I’m sorry,” is all I manage to mutter, though, eyes still on Alaina as Dane tries to breathe through his rage.
She shakes her head at me when I turn, leaving blood on the floor, broken trust in the air, and the only people whoever made me feel like I belonged in my wake as I almost run out of the house.
I stumble down the driveway, the cold air biting at the blood, which is still slick across my face. My hands shake, my ribs ache, and my head is pounding from more than just the punch.
The silence out here feels like judgment, and every crunch of gravel under my shoes sounds too loud.
I deserved that hit and probably a hell of a lot more, but I still can’t breathe right from watching her cryfor me.
Reaching the end of the driveway, I drag my hand down my face and flinch when my fingers come away slick with fresh blood.
I should call a cab to the hospital. Get checked out. Maybe let them stitch up what Dane cracked open.
