Page 47 of Cannon
Kingston’s jaw twitches. From beside him, I’m aware of the way his entire body tenses. This is it. From deep in his chest, he rumbles, “She belongs with us at Hawthorne Hall. That’s all you need to know, you obnoxious motherfucker.” And he darts forward, tearing Elliot free from his grasp. Bear and Mason lunge at him, but he manages to twist to the side and avoid them long enough to push her into my arms, where I quickly hand her off to Archer. I spin back around and swing at Bear, catching him full in the gut. Kingston sidesteps Mason and Duke, bobbing and weaving like an expert boxer, then steps in to slam his fist into Duke’s jaw. I grapple with Bear as he comes back at me, wearing a lethal, crazed smile.
I lose focus for a split second as I glance over my shoulder to see Archer and Elliot running for the door. As I turn back around, I take a fist to the jaw for my distraction. Shaking it off, I beckon Bear forward by slapping my cheek. I hiss out,“Pussy.”
I couldn’t fucking care less what happens to me, so long as I know Elliot is safe.
TWENTY-TWO
ARCHER
Fuck.The sound of fists hitting flesh punctuates the ending of one spectacularly awful night. I’m frustrated to not be right in the thick of it, but I get it. We all have our roles, and not only are Cannon and Kingston bigger dudes than I am, they have far more experience in brawls like what’s going on behind us.
But did they send her with me because they trust me with her safety or because they had no other choice? I swallow hard. That’s kinda what’s getting to me, I think. I was supposed to have been watching out for her this evening. Ensure she was fucking protected. And I failed miserably. Somehow, I missed the three guys sneaking up on me outside the bathroom. I had my head so fucking full of Elliot that I simply wasn’t paying attention. I touch a couple fingers to my lip. Regret coats every inch of my being and squeezes the life out of my lungs. I could have prevented this entire fucking mess. And I won’t easily forgive myself for that.
I tuck Elliot under my arm, relieved to have her with me, but anxious about what she’s thinking. We walk briskly around the huge fucking house and head for our SUV parked partway down the driveway.
Once we get there, I draw her to me, searching her eyes as I cup her flushed cheeks. She shivers even though it’s hot and muggy. “You good?”
She gives me a tremulous smile. “I swear I’m okay. I just—” Tucking her head against me, I feel her shaking.
It’s all hitting her.Hard.I get it. But fuck, does she blame me? Because maybe she should. I steel myself for the question I see brewing in her eyes.
“What happened, Archer? Where were you?” She looks up at me, her dark eyes wandering over my face.
I swallow. “I don’t know what happened. One minute I was waiting for you, and the next I had a fist in my face.”
She winces, as she whispers, “What do we do?” Her body quakes against my chest. I want nothing more than to put her in the Escalade and drive her the fuck out of here, but I also won’t leave Kingston and Cannon.No fucking way.In fact, I’m tempted to lock Elliot inside the SUV and go back to the pool house to dive into the melee, but the fearful look on Elliot’s face as she peers up at me keeps me from doing so.
“We wait.”
“Are you fuckingkiddingme?”
“No, Peaches.” I grimace, looking away.
She pulls one of my suspenders and lets it snap against my chest. “But—”
I huff out a breath, separating her from me and cupping her shoulders in my hands. I duck down and stare into her eyes, finding it so fucking hard to believe that not more than thirty minutes ago, I was kissing her and telling her all the naughty fucking things I wanted to do to her. And now all this has happened.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” I rasp, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. I let my fingertips trail from there down to her jawline, watching them as they move over her soft skin. “Did they hurt you? Touch you?”
She presses her pretty red-painted lips together, furrowing her brow. “No. Not really. Maybe my stomach hurts a little bit because that big guy’s shoulder rammed into it when he jumped down from the stage. But mostly, they scared the crap out of me.”
I let out a sigh of relief. If they’d really harmed her, I don’t know what I’d have done. Actually, I do. I’d have drank myself stupid, then committed triple homicide. Just the thought of any of those fuckers touching her has a lump the size of a boulder growing in my throat, and I can’t swallow past it. I squeeze my eyes shut, dropping my head, and gaze at the ground between us.
“Wait. Why are you sorry?” She pauses, scanning my face for answers. “Archer,” she murmurs, “this wasn’t your fault.”
I raise my head to meet her eyes, unease and anxiety rippling from my body into the night air. She reaches up, just barely touching the split in my lip with her fingertip.
Ragged breaths rip from my throat as I jerk my head away from her touch, and back away, even though I need her more than anything. But I don’t fucking deserve her right now. I work my jaw back and forth, then tear my gaze from hers as I mutter, “But it totally fuckingismy fault. I’m the one who wasn’t paying attention.” I throw my arms out from my sides. “I was distracted, and it left you vulnerable.”
She looks at me like I’m a few bits short of a byte. “It’s not your fucking fault, and you know it. Those dickheads—this was all planned. They said something aboutmy brotherstelling them where I was. I don’t know who they were referring to, or if they were lying… but they definitely planned to get me up there on that stage from the start. That Dukedickacted like he didn’t know who I was, but you can for sure assume that he did.”
As she’s finishing, Kingston and Cannon hurry down the driveway to us. Kingston gestures to me. “Help her into the SUV. Let’s get the fuck out of here.” His face and body are absolutely rigid with tension. Cannon, on the other hand, looks like he’s already blown his top. They are a rumpled mess, hair askew and clothing in disarray.
Kingston’s always so in control. It’s times like these that I feel bad for him. He’s got the weight of the entire brotherhood—including the alumni and his father—on his shoulders. We knew from the start that he’d be the one to take the reins this year, but I wonder if he ever regrets it, especially with all the problems he inherited from last year’s seniors who were too busy sticking their dicks into any pussy they could manage to detect the real problem brewing right under their fucking noses.
Once we’re all in the SUV, Kingston steps on the gas and peels down the driveway. Elliot gives me a reassuring smile and reaches out to take my hand, lacing her fingers with mine. I like the way it feels, but my face hurts and, honestly, I don’t deserve to feel anything good after how I fucked up. Everyone’s so quiet. It’s a little unnerving. Are they blaming me like I’m blaming myself?
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