Fallen Crest Public (Fallen Crest High #3)(93)

Yes. I had.

Sam’s hand tightened around mine and she moved closer to me.

Glancing down into Sam’s eyes, I’d do it again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Mason took me home that night. He parked in my dad’s driveway, but there were no other cars. I knew there wouldn’t be. I texted David to stay at Malinda’s and that I’d be with Mason. We were there, and it was time to go in, but I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. So many emotions and thoughts were swirling through my head.

“What is it?”

There were no back lights on so we were in complete darkness. The moon shone down, casting a soft glow over us. It matched his soft tone, but I couldn’t get what he’d done out of my head. He’d been ruthless and knowing what more was coming to Kate, I didn’t know what to think anymore.

I glanced at him. He was watching me. He was always watching me. I was coming to realize it would never be the problem if he wasn’t going to be there for me, but what wouldn’t he do for me. I said, “I’m very lucky.”

A grin appeared over his face. “What makes you say that?”

“You’re willing to ruin someone for me.”

The grin vanished. “That’s not it, Sam.”

“Can you explain it to me?” I didn’t get it. I really didn’t. “You took away her friends, and you made Budd believe that she’s your girlfriend. She has no power. She has no support, and he’s going to do something horrible to her. It’s like you gutted her and threw her into the ocean for a hungry shark to devour.”

“The choice was you or her. I lined things up so that it wasn’t you. I’ll never let it be you. That’s what I did.”

I drew in a breath until my lungs hurt. A tear slipped from my eye, and I brushed it away. Jeezus. What was I doing? He was right. Budd Broudou was a serious problem. He saved me from him.

“You’re not remembering what she did to you.”

“What?” I looked at him again.

He was so beautiful—tall with broad shoulders, a trim waist, and emerald eyes—but it was his angelic face that held me spellbound right now. Mason wasn’t an angel. That was obvious, had always been obvious, but when he loved, he truly loved. It was beautiful, and it was something that I’d forgotten the past couple days.

He leaned back, but he watched me. I caught the wariness in his eyes.

He was always so cautious and on-guard. He was scared of me right now. This man that could render so much power was fearful of me. The irony was not lost on me. “I’m not remembering her the right way?”

“She wanted Nate to drug you, Sam.”

I sucked in my breath. “I didn’t know that.”

“He was supposed to get you naked and then he was supposed to take pictures of you. He was supposed to do worse things, too.”

Nate. My ribs were in flames now. Everything was screaming from pain inside of me. Nate … I couldn’t believe it.

Mason added, “Heather and Tate.”

My mind was reeling from Nate, what they wanted him to do. I frowned. “What about Heather and Tate?”

“Heather stood against them. Tate did it once, but it was enough.” He paused a moment. “Kate wanted to take your friend away and I think she wanted to make Tate your enemy again.”

He was right. He was so right. I sucked in another breath. Why did it hurt so much to breathe? I shook my head and pulled my shirt away. I needed to breathe, but I couldn’t forget. “She sent Heather text messages threatening her.”

“They were going to go to Manny’s tomorrow night.”

An invisible hand went to my chest. It began pushing down on it, pushing down on me. He was saying …

“They were going to break in and destroy as much as they could before anyone woke up in the house. You said they sleep with loud fans because they’re all light sleepers. Think about how much damage they could have done before someone woke up.”

I turned away. I didn’t want to hear any more, but his voice had a soft beckoning to it. I couldn’t look away. His eyes darkened, but I couldn’t tell if it was from pity or regret. I didn’t want to know. They were going to hurt my friend.

He continued, “She wanted to take your friends away and Tate would’ve turned against you too. I know what kind of person she is. She would’ve blamed you for that. Heather would’ve eventually grown leery. She wouldn’t have turned on you like Tate would’ve, but she would’ve distanced herself. She would’ve done it to keep her family safe unless she knew a way to handle Kate, but there’s no way to handle Kate. It’s why I had to gut her. It’s the only way to take care of Kate. I removed any power or support she might’ve gotten.”

“I took everybody on at the Academy. I didn’t have any friends there.”

“You can’t do it alone at our school. This is a school where you can get jumped in a bathroom.”

I flinched as I was transported back to that room. The door closed, but they were already there. All four of them. They chased me into the stalls. They crawled underneath to grab me. I’d been so close to the door, but they pulled me back in.

Mason was right. Kate had to be destroyed. He had done it for me. He had done all of this for me. “Thank you.” The words wrung from me.