Fallen Crest Family (Fallen Crest High #2)(71)

Mason barked at them. "Get lost!"

They jumped back into action. The conversations doubled in volume.

Sighing as he came back to me, he raked a hand through his hair and growled. "I hate that bitch."

My hand touched the side of his jaw, but it was still rigid. Then I sighed. "Looks like the next semester won't be as much fun as you thought."

He grimaced and his jaw flexed against my hand. Then, because it had been bugging me, I had to ask, "Is she right?"

"About what?"

"Does Logan still love her?"

A wall slammed over him, and he turned away. That's when I knew it was true, and that's when I realized how threatening this girl really was to their relationship. Maybe it was karmic coincidence, but it was at that moment when I looked up and saw members of the Elite in the kitchen. They had stayed away from me since Logan dumped Miranda so long ago, but she was there. In Peter's arms, dressed all in white, laughing at something one of the others had said and looking radiant in her happiness. But she hadn't been, not after Logan screwed with her. She'd been humiliated.

Miranda had been a blip on Mason's radar from the one time she taunted him that Logan might've had feelings for me. If he had reacted like that to her, I had no idea how he would handle Tate. She was the real threat.

Chills went down my spine.

When Nate returned, he gave Mason a look. An understanding transmitted between them, just the two of them. My teeth gritted together. For some reason, I didn't like the closeness those two had, not anymore.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Later in the evening, I was on the back patio. Mason lounged next to me with an arm around my waist and his head next to my shoulder. He lay there as if he were a lion, resting for his next battle. Since Tate had left, he kept a hand on me at all times. It was a possessive touch, not the loving touch from the apartment, but I couldn't deny the reaction it was having with me. A primal thrill had been burning deep in me. It mixed with a sick excitement.

Everyone else seemed to react to this side of Mason too. They were more alert, a bit more silent than at other parties. Nate hadn't left Mason's side since Tate's arrival either and sat on the other side of him. One of his legs was kicked up to rest on the table in front of us while a few of their guy friends sat in the remaining seats across from us.

Logan emerged from wherever he'd been and joined us on the patio.

As if it had been practiced and scripted, Ethan, Strauss and another guy stood up and left. When a few girls started up the stairs, they blocked them at the bottom. Then all three of them got comfortable. They were the guard dogs.

Logan watched them too before he slunk into one of the empty chairs and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "What's going on?" His voice was guarded.

I sighed. He had closed off. This wasn't going to go well.

Mason leaned forward. Nate remained silent.

"Maybe I should go." I started to stand up.

Mason clamped a hand on my arm. He kept me in place while Logan rolled his eyes. "Stay, Sam. You're family."

So I stayed, but my chest swelled with a smidgen of fear. I couldn't deny it. As I watched Mason turn hawk-like eyes on his brother, I wondered why he seemed so upset. Logan hadn't done anything.

Then it started, "Your ex was here."

Logan's eyes flashed. The hands came out of his pockets and he straightened in his chair. "Are you kidding me?"

Mason jerked his head to the side. "She says she's moving back."

"Are you messing with me?" Logan's nostrils flared now. Anger started to swirl in his depths, it mixed with something else, something that sent chills down my back again. Danger.

He shook his head. "No. I wish." He gestured to his side. "Nate kicked her out."

"But she'll come back," Logan clipped out.

Nate swiveled his head over to look at him, but there was no reaction. Mason's best friend was like a Greek god statue, made of stone. He showed no emotion. He was there for Mason. Logan was right when he said that Nate was only there for Mason. He wasn't there for Logan and me. He struck me as another silent guard dog, but I sensed ruthlessness in him that I have never experienced before. It wasn't the first time that I'd been struck off-balance by him, but it was the first time that I was starting to fear him a little bit.

He spoke now, "She won't be allowed to any of my parties."

Mason frowned at him. "That's not the point." He turned back to his brother. "She says she loves you. She wants you back."

Too many emotions crossed over Logan before he shut it off. He collapsed against the back of his seat. His hands gripped the sides of it. "Whatever. The bitch took enough skin from me, she won't get any more."

Mason leaned back. His chest never relaxed; instead, it tightened even more. "You sure?"

He didn't believe him.

Logan shot back a dark look. "Back off. She hurt me, not you."

"She hurt my brother, that means she hurt me too," Mason whipped out, bristling from his anger.

The air was thick now, filled with tension.

The only one who didn't seem affected was Nate as he stood. "I'll be back."

Logan snorted and kicked his feet up on the table. He scooted down in his chair, restless and on edge. He reminded me a coiled cobra, ready to strike but without a target in sight. "What's with him?"