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He pushes me back and swings wildly, clipping my mouth. I taste blood, but I’m too furious to care. I slam my fist into his smug face. He stumbles back, but I don’t give him a chance to recover. I’m on him in an instant, tackling him to the ground. We roll around, trading blows. I barely feel the pain, my mind consumed with fury. How dare he talk about Lil like that? How dare he touch her, force himself on her?
Flashes of Lil’s terrified face invade my thoughts, and I’m transported back. Her suffocating, gasping for air as his hands closed around her throat. The desperation in her eyes. And I couldn’t do a damn thing. At first…
But it didn’t feel like enough. It will never feel like enough.
Not until I know she’s safe.
Not until I know she’s mine.
Forever.
She looked at me like I was her fucking savior. Like I could protect her from anything.
And I failed her.
I failed her when I left her in the library. I failed her when I didn’t rip Jason’s fucking head off the moment he laid a hand on her. I almost lost her when—
“Bash! Stop!” Brandon’s voice cuts through my rage.
But I can’t. I can’t let him go. Not until he pays for what he did.
Strong arms wrap around me, hauling me off Jason. I struggle against the hold, still seeing red.
“Enough,” Connor says. “Don’t do this. Not here. Not like this.”
I want to tell him to fuck off. To let me finish what I started. But then I see Anne, her face pale. And I know he’s right.
The reality of what I’ve done begins to sink in. I flex my fingers. There’s a sense of… satisfaction? Guilt? I’m not sure which.
I let them pull me away, my chest heaving as I try to catch my breath. Jason sits up, gingerly touching his swollen jaw and grinning. Guess I was too nice.
“Get him out of here,” Anne says to the security guards who have appeared out of nowhere. “And make sure he doesn’t come back.”
They nod, hauling Jason to his feet and dragging himaway.
My knuckles sting, but the burst of violence felt good. Too good.
Brandon releases me but keeps a hand on my shoulder. “You good?”
I shrug him off. “I’m fine.” I need a drink. Or ten.
But more than that, I need Lil. I need to hold her, to reassure myself that she’s mine and that nothing Jason says or does can change that.
“Like hell, you are,” Connor says. “You went apeshit on that guy.”
“I need to go.” I pivot. “I need to be there when Lil gets back.”
“Bash, wait—”
But I’m already walking away.
Is she okay? What if her brothers convince her to stay away from me? What if she realizes I’m not good enough for her?
The drive home is a blur. Each traffic light feels like an eternity, and every red signal is another obstacle keeping me from her. The taste of blood lingers in my mouth, metallic and bitter. City lights streak past the window, but I barely notice them, my grip on the steering wheel tightening, willing myself to focus on the road and not the gnawing worry in my gut.
When I arrive, the sun has already set, and the silence that greets me is deafening.
I run to her room. If she left, I don’t know what I’d do. Luckily, her stuff is still here.