Camden's Redemption (Gloves Off #4)(38)
“I don’t know. I guess because you looked so innocent and fragile. I never understood why a beautiful girl like you would want to be involved in the shit we have to deal with. It’s dangerous.”
“What can I say? I like adventure. The beauty queen role was for my sister. I always felt the need to protect her. I don’t regret my decisions to do this. It brought me closer to my brother and I’ve met some great people in the process.” Speaking of my brother, he just walked in the room and realized what was going on.
Gabe smiled and bumped me in the shoulder. “Like me?”
I bumped him back. “You know it.” And also Camden, who was beating the shit out of my ex. He currently had Blake pinned on the mat with his fist raised high.
“What’s going on here?” Jason asked, eyes wide at the sight before him.
“Just a bunch of bullshit. This has to stop before it goes too far.” Mason was nowhere to be found and the others were enjoying the show a little too much. Camden’s fist connected and more blood sprayed from Blake’s nose. I thought it would knock him out but he held on strong and elbowed Camden in the cheek. Everything after that moved in slow motion. Camden hit Blake again and again, with no sign of stopping.
“Camden, stop!” I shouted. Blake wasn’t on the offense anymore; he had his arms up to protect himself. And yet, Camden didn’t stop. “Jason, we have to do something. Tell Reese it’s over.”
He nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t going to be enough time for talk. As soon as he set off for the others, I knew I had to do something. It was stupid, but I had no choice. Taking a deep breath, I jumped over the rope and onto the mat. Camden had his fist raised and Blake’s eyes went wide when he saw what I was about to do.
I grabbed Camden’s arm and then everything moved in slow motion. He gripped my wrist and twisted his body so fast, we both fell to the mat. The breath knocked out of me and I gasped as his weight pinned me beneath him. For a split second, I thought he was going to hit me until his eyes caught mine. I had my hand up, ready to protect myself and he backed away, face frozen in horror.
“Holy f*ck, baby. I’m so sorry,” he expressed, his voice full of anguish. He reached down to touch my cheek, but then Mason grabbed him up and pushed him away. I was frozen on the mat, looking straight up at the ceiling when Gabe’s face came into view .
“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling me up and putting his hands on both sides of my face. “Thank f*cking God he realized it was you. If he didn’t, he’d be a dead man right now.”
I nodded and searched the room; Camden and Mason were gone. “I’m fine. I had to stop him. Everyone else was too chicken shit to do it.”
Blake slowly got to his feet and stumbled over to me, his hands and face bloody. “What the hell were you thinking? Don’t ever do something like that again,” he growled.
“I was trying to stop him from hurting you! You deserved to get your ass beat, but not at Camden’s expense. You were the one who provoked him.”
He scoffed. “The guy’s a f*cking lunatic. Surely you see that now. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be around him, much less on him.”
The blood boiled in my veins. “You don’t know him,” I spat, glaring at them both. “None of you do.” With those words, I turned on my heel and rushed out of the basement and up the steps. I had to find him.
WHAT THE FUCK had I done? I was so blinded by rage, I’d reacted without thinking. Brooklyn was never going to forgive me. I f*cked up everything. Mason pushed me out of the bar but I had to get back to her, to tell her what a fool I was.
“You’re not going back in there, Jameson,” Mason shouted, blocking the door.
“Like hell I’m not. I have to talk to Brooklyn.”
He started toward me but I stood my ground. I could never fight against him and win, but he had to know I wasn’t going to leave without her. “You are going to leave and you’re going to leave now. All they need is a reason to f*ck you up and you gave them one when you lashed out at B.”
“But I didn’t hit her! I would never lay a hand on her like that.” It made me sick to think of ever putting a hand on her, of others thinking I would hurt her. Was that really how people saw me?
Mason put his hands firmly on my shoulders, pushing me away from the bar. “I know you wouldn’t, but I don’t know who the traitor is. If you so much as provoke him and fight, what makes you think he wouldn’t off you and say it was self-defense? You have to control yourself. You’re not at the Dark Side anymore.”
I fisted my hands in my hair and pulled. “What the f*ck am I going to do? She’s never going to talk to me after this.”
Sighing, he held out his car keys. “What you’re going to do is take my car and go back to B’s house. You need time to clear your head. I’ll get Jason to drop us off soon.” I looked over Mason’s shoulder and caught sight of Brooklyn inside the bar, frantically searching around for what I hoped was me. I wanted to go to her, but Mason blocked my path when I tried to sidestep him. “Jameson, if you don’t get out of here I’m going to kick your ass myself. Go!”
Without another word, I turned around and stormed away. I clenched the keys as hard as I could and felt the metal bite into my skin. I needed the pain. It was something to take my mind off of what I’d done.