Fallen Crest Home (Fallen Crest High #6)(13)

Mason came up behind me. I could feel his heat, and one of his hands found my hip again, burrowing in under my shirt. “We can call if we run into trouble.”

“Just watch out for Caldron. Now that you’re here, he can taste the blood in the water.”

“I’ve been watching. He and his buddies took off for one of the band stages a few minutes ago.”

Channing nodded, resting against Heather with his arms crossed over his chest. “They’ve been drinking all night. I had some of the guys keep an eye on them, too, but they’re only starting. Just keep an eye out. If one of them notices you leaving, they’re going to take a shot. You’re here without Logan and Nate. It’s the best chance they’ll get, and they know it.”

“We’ll be watching.” Mason nodded at him again, starting to pull me away. “Thanks for watching Sam before, and congrats on the win.”

Channing grinned. “I’d like to see you in the ring. Something tells me you’d hold your own.”

Mason mirrored his smile, but didn’t say anything.

I waved at Heather, and she waved back, but she was already melting into Channing’s side. He lifted his arm to encircle her shoulders as we stepped away from the group.

The area outside the tent was still filled with people walking around, but since the last fight was done, the main crowd had migrated toward the other tents that had bands playing in them.

We could hear the music while we’d stood with the group, but as we walked down the line of cars, it began to fade. It was quiet compared to the crowd we’d just left, and an almost eerie feeling came over me.

“You okay?”

I sighed, holding tight to Mason’s hand. “Why aren’t you madder at me?”

He stopped, turning around to look at me. “What do you mean?”

“This.” I indicated where we’d just been. “This place is dangerous for you.”

He lifted a shoulder. “It is what it is. We could’ve left before. I wanted to stay, too, and you wanted to spend time with your friend. There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, the enemies I have here are partly my fault,” he added. “We didn’t have to fight back so much with Broudou back then. We did some stupid stuff. Lighting cars on fire? Shit. Logan wanted to torch their barn even.” He paused, frowning. “I think he did light it on fire.”

I didn’t say anything. A barn was nothing compared to the fraternity house.

“Don’t beat yourself up. It’s a pile of shit, and you might’ve helped bring that pile of shit to my doorstep, but it’s not your pile of shit. It’s mine. You can’t look at it any other way.”

“A pile of shit?” I teased, bumping my hip into his. “You’re sounding like Logan.”

A faint grin lifted his top lip. “Don’t tell him that. I’ll never hear the end of it. He’ll start proclaiming that I secretly want to be him.” He grimaced, but I caught the look that passed in his eyes.

He missed his brother.

I murmured, “I miss him, too.”

He looked down, and we shared a look with music and moonlight as our background.

Then I heard, “You left without saying goodbye? Tsk, tsk, Kade.”

Jared Caldron stood behind us, a bat in his hand.





Three more guys filtered from the cars to stand behind Caldron, and I turned around to see another three standing behind us. We were boxed in, unless we ran through the cars, but as Mason’s hand took hold of my arm, I couldn’t gauge what he wanted to do. He moved me behind him and stood sideways, with cars behind us.

“Whatever beef we had is over, Caldron. It went to prison with Broudou.”

Jared came forward, his hard eyes glinting a boiling anger. “Right. Because you had nothing to do with that, and your little girlfriend there didn’t either.”

“She didn’t.”

“Bullshit.” The guy’s nostrils flared, and he started toward us, bouncing the bat slowly in his hand. He stopped a few yards away, lowering his head. “Kate squealed. I know you set her up so Budd would think she was your girlfriend, and this one here—” he pointed the bat at me “—had that clerk call the cops as she blew up his truck. You’re both the reason he went to prison.”

I might’ve gotten used to how safe Cain was, and I might’ve been shocked at the reminder how unsafe Roussou was, but my nerves and fear quickly dissipated. I was adjusting on the fly, and I almost growled. My nails sank into my palm as my hand formed a fist in Mason’s grip.

“Budd went to prison because he was going to rape her,” Mason said calmly.

“Bullshit.”

I surged forward. “I was there!”

Mason caught me, keeping me in place with a cement arm around my waist.

Caldron laughed. “You’ve got spunk—more than what I remember from high school.”

“Don’t talk to her.” Mason sent him a glare, adding under his breath, “Sam, stop.”

“Don’t talk to her?”

I stilled, hearing Caldron’s mocking tone.

“Who the fuck do you think you are? I can’t talk to your woman?” He snarled. “Boy, I’ll do anything I want to your woman.”

Two more steps. He was within arm’s reach now.