Bender (The Core Four #1)(30)

He didn’t even look at me. Luke’s body was tense. I wanted nothing more than to shove him out the front door and deal with this on my own. My face was enflamed, and I hated that not only was one Brooks brother here to witness my overnight guest leaving, but there were two of them. And now the macho pig, Camden, couldn’t bother keeping his mouth shut?

Wonderful.

Luke attempted to shrug it off in his casual easygoing way. “Yeah well, not all of us can be so lucky to be with someone like Keegan.”

I looked up at him and smiled. That was a sweet thing to say.

Camden’s nostrils flared. Did we hit a sore spot? He grunted and said, “Keep on walking Luke. Maybe you’ll get lucky, and she’ll open her legs for you again sometime.”

Ouch, talk about a dagger to the gut. That was all it took. Luke lunged toward Camden, and Dodger jumped between them. He pushed Luke back before he was able to land any solid hits on his brother. I was standing there shaking like a leaf. Not from being cold or scared, but because I was furious. I couldn’t believe that Camden would say something so hateful. Out of everything that’d come out of his mouth in the past month and a half, that was the worst. He made me sound like I was easy, like I was just like every other girl that he brought home. Luke was the first guy I’d brought into this apartment. How dare he make me feel like a slut when he was the one carting women in here by the truckload?

Dodger was seething too. He glared at his brother and said, “What the fuck Camden? Since when do you talk about women like that? Keegan is a good girl, and you know it.”

Camden brushed off his comment and stood tall, his muscles bulging like he was flexing. The look on his face screamed that he wanted this fight. He was begging for it.

Luke leaned in as close as Dodger would allow, and he pointed his finger in Camden’s face. “You ever talk about her like that again, you’ll be lucky if you wake up in a hospital bed. I see the way you look at her. We’re not blind. You want her. She’s not like anyone else you’ve ever been with, and it’s driving you mad that you can’t have her. So you treat her like shit because you don’t know how to deal with it.” Camden actually growled. “Here’s what’s going to happen, you so much as look at her wrong or say something hurtful to her again, and I’m coming for you, Brooks. There’s no question about it.” Luke straightened his shoulders, rolling them to loosen some tension. He looked over at me, his eyes softening. He mouthed the words, I’m sorry, before making his way to the door.

I stood there in shock. My emotions rolled around from hurt and extreme anger, to pity and confusion. I couldn’t even process what Luke had just spewed. Never had Camden indicated that he was into me… right? I wanted to march up to him and slap him across the face for being so ugly to me. And for some odd reason, I wanted to do the same to Luke, but that was because I didn’t like the way he threatened Camden. Holy moly what a weird way to feel. I should be thanking him for standing up for me. I really needed to sort out my emotions. I shook my head and looked at Luke who was heading for the door.

“I’ll call you later Keegan. Oh and Camden, why don’t you buy your roommate some fucking decent furniture. I can’t believe you’d let a woman sleep on an air mattress for a month and not at least help. You’re a real piece of shit.” He walked out the door, slamming it. The sound startled me.

Swallowing hard, I timidly looked over at Camden. I noticed that his eyes went from confused to angry in less than a few seconds. Oh no… why did Luke tell him that? Camden shook Dodger off of him and took a step toward me.

“What’s he talking about?” I kept my eyes on the ground. I could feel the anger emanating across the short space. “I said, what the fuck is he talking about?” I stilled at the clipped tone of his voice.

“Cam… chill out, you’re scaring her.”

Camden turned and started taking the stairs two at a time. Something in me snapped to attention. Shit he was going to my room. I didn’t want him in my personal space. It was private, and he didn’t deserve to see it. I started moving forward to chase after him. Dodger was hot on my heels. When I reached the top step, I saw Camden heave one quick shoulder into my door and break the lock. When he stood back up, I saw the look on his face. It was pure rage.

Oh. Shit.





I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME when I saw him standing in the doorway. All I knew was that I didn’t want him in here, and I was willing to do anything to move this mountain of a man. I went at him full speed, and I flung myself onto his back. I expected him to stumble forward or take a steadying step, something, but he didn’t move. Not even a little bit. As for me, I felt like I’d run into a cement wall. I made an ‘oof’ sound when my stomach hit his back. My arms were wrapped around his neck, and my legs were locked around his waist. My weight wasn’t exerting him in the slightest. Seriously, shouldn’t his knees be buckling under the pressure? It infuriated me that he came in here without my permission. Not only did he break my brand new lock, but I was feeling so violated that I was on the verge of tears.

“Get out,” I tried growling in his ear, but it came out garbled and weak.

I saw him shaking his head back and forth. Not being able to see his face wasn’t doing anything for me, nor was clinging to him like a monkey. Releasing him, I slid down his back and moved to stand in front of him. Maybe I could try and block him from seeing more than he already had. Oh who was I kidding? Standing in front of him, he could easily see over the top of my head. I took in how rigid he was. Camden’s eyes roamed the nearly empty space. Not but a few seconds ago, he looked so pissed his veins were bulging from his neck, and his jaw was mashed together. Now his expression just looked… defeated. I didn’t understand it.