Page 121 of Fall

“Stop!” he yells. “Let her finish.”

“Why the fuck do you owe Bianchi!” Caleb shouts.

“I told you she was no good.” Elijah’s voice is acidic and callus.

“It happened over spring break last year,” I hurry to say. “I had no choice!”

Elijah shakes his head. “Bullshit.”

“There’s always a choice,” Caleb sneers.

I lift my chin and look both of them directly in the eye. “He wants proof that the Knights are working with a new partner.”

“Why? Better yet, why didn’t you say anything?” Caleb says, trying to rein in his temper.

I let my lips curve up on one side and glare daggers at Elijah. “I did.”

Elijah’s face falls in disbelief and snaps to Micah.

“She told you?”

Micah raises his hands in submission. “Guys…”

Caleb rushes Micah and tackles him to the floor. He puts his large hands around Micah’s throat as Micah starts punching Caleb’s ribs. Micah bucks Caleb off of him, and they wrestle on the ground.

Elijah looks at me briefly. “You destroy everything,” he growls and runs to his brothers, trying to break them apart.

The three of them continue to scuffle, and I scream for Taylor, who rushes in. It takes him a matter of seconds to assess the room, and he quickly helps Elijah separate the other two. After a few minutes and a few more blows, the testosterone levels finally level off.

“You believe me now,” Elijah asks Caleb while holding him in a choke hold. “How much more proof do you need?”

Caleb’s eyes move to Micah. “Why?”

Micah raises his chin. “I owed it to her. Her secrets aren’t mine to tell.”

Caleb pushes Elijah off him, straightens his collar, and paces the room. “It’s late. Let’s get some rest and we’ll deal with this in the morning,” he finally says.

“What about her?” Elijah points in my direction like I’m not the only girl in the room at the moment.

I smile sweetly. “I get to go back to my dorm.”

“Like hell you do,” he growls. “We keep losing because of you. Can’t you see that? Why the fuck am I the only person who—”

“Come on, Elijah. It’s not her fault,” Taylor says.

Elijah’s steel-gray eyes swirl as he glares at Taylor. “Being that I’m the only guy in this room who hasn’t fucked her, my opinion is the only one that matters.”

“Fuck you,” I spit.

He glares at me. “Only in your dreams.”

“You mean nightmares,” I retort.

“All right, that’s it. Micah, Taylor, with me,” Caleb announces and heads toward the doors. He reaches the threshold and turns around. “You two are going to figure out how to play nice and learn to stop acting like goddamn children.”

“What?” I say incredulously. “You were just wrestling with Micah.”

“Momentary lapse in judgment.” He smiles. “Have a good night.”

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