Page 29

29

MASON

I SWEAR TRAFFIC IS always the worst when you’re in a hurry. Tapping restlessly against the steering wheel, I continue to inch down the street. Anticipation rises in my chest as I think about the message Anya sent me. This feels like old times, and I’m so happy for it.

I pull up, managing to snag a park, and my eyes move to the door of the club as it pushes open. My fingers tighten around the steering wheel as Anya appears with Kai, who’s touching her elbow as he guides her out the door. Her foot stumbles and she lurches forward, hitting her knees on the cement. I jerk in surprise, jumping out of the car. Kai roughly yanks her back up to her feet, shouldering most of her weight as he begins to push her in the opposite direction to me.

‘Get the fuck off her,’ I snarl, storming up to him.

I curl my hand round his arm and yank it back so hard, he loses his footing, stumbling backwards. Anya falls onto me, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close. Her head rests heavily on me, and my heart plummets to my stomach.

Something is wrong.

Pushing the hair back from her face, I touch my hand to her cheek. ‘Anya?’ I whisper, brows pinching together. ‘You good?’

Her breath comes out heavily, but she doesn’t speak.

‘What is going on?’ I demand, staring down at her. Her eyes are closed, her lips parted, and she can barely keep herself upright. Rage fills me, potent and raw. My glare swivels to Kai and I glower at him, a look of panic crossing his face. ‘What did you do to her?’

‘Nothing, she’s wasted,’ he spits, clambering to his feet.

‘Bullshit,’ I seethe. ‘She was sober.’

‘Clearly not,’ he snaps back, gesturing to her. ‘She’s a fucking mess, and I was looking after her.’

I scoff. ‘Yeah. You’re just that nice of a guy.’

Making fists with my hands, I turn, searching for the two police officers I saw walking down the other end of the street as I drove in. My eyes land on them as they approach their car. I shout at them, and they startle, whirling around before quickly racing across the road. Kai curses, ready to make a run for it when I slam him against the wall, one arm around Anya, the other now pinned across his throat.

‘What’s going on?’ one of the officers demands.

‘My girlfriend texted me to come pick her up, and this asshole was dragging her out the door. I think he’s slipped something into her drink,’ I quickly explain, and despite everything going on, it feels good to call her my girlfriend.

A sharp intake of breath captures my attention, and then Anya collapses against me.

The last few hours have been a blur.

Anya spent the night in hospital as they monitored her, restoring her hydration and everything else the drug affected. She was sent home sometime this afternoon, feeling a lot better now and managing to keep down some food.

As I suspected, Kai spiked her drink. I shudder to think about what his plans were with her. He insisted to the police that it was a harmless prank, only meant to scare her a little. He pleaded with them, saying he didn’t mean for the dosage to be so high. Considering the strength, and the history of fights between our group and Kai recently, the matter isn’t being treated lightly. I spoke with an officer, who said that Kai will be going to court.

Closing my eyes, I exhale heavily. It was a close call, and I can’t be more thankful she made it out safely. Thank God she messaged me when she did. I dropped everything to meet her. Things could have been very different if I hadn’t.

‘Can I get you anything?’ Zayden asks her, hovering near the lounge like he has been all afternoon. He has dark circles under his eyes and looks as if he hasn’t slept at all in the last week.

‘I’m fine,’ she says with a weak smile. ‘Thank you.’

‘I’m so mad, I could kill him.’

‘Justice will get him, Zay. Don’t you worry about that,’ I grunt, cracking my knuckles as I glare at the floor, jaw tense.

‘Thank God you were there, and that the police were just down the street.’

The street with all the nightclubs is heavily monitored by police, and I’m thankful they weren’t too far away from us when it all went down. If anything, it was one of the worst places to try something like that, considering how much police gravitate to the area.

‘I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Please,’ Anya whispers brokenly, rubbing her eyes, probably feeling drained after everything.

I collapse onto the couch next to Anya, and Zayden does the same on her other side. She rests her head on my shoulder, and I place a hand on her arm, softly rubbing my thumb over her skin. Zayden leans against her.

‘Thank you,’ she murmurs softly, curling into me. ‘I feel safe being between the two people I love most in this world.’

Kissing her hair, I let my own eyes drift shut, and after a moment, we all fall asleep.

Sweat stings my eyes. Shoving my hair back from my face, I run forward. Zayden zips the ball to me and I race ahead, feeling the wind on my face and the presence of others chasing me.

Launching over the line, I slide across the ground as the ball hits the grass. I’m back on my feet within a second, whirling around to face the team. We’ve split into two, and the players on my side wander over, slapping me on the back.

‘Alright,’ Coach calls out, blowing his whistle. ‘Good. That’s enough game for today.’

The rest of training is winding down, and I’m eager to hit the showers. The cool water runs through my hair, feeling incredible, and I spend longer than I probably should cleaning myself. Stepping out, I curl the towel around my neck and wander towards my bag.

‘Every time I watch you play, man, you remind me why you’re the best on the team,’ Zayden says, a lopsided smile on his face. ‘You’re just a natural.’

‘Thanks, man,’ I reply, a rush of warmth filling me. ‘I appreciate that.’

‘You know, in the past, you let yourself get distracted, but you’ve really got your head on straight now. You deserve to be captain.’

Pressing my lips together, I stay silent for a moment, guilt coiling in my gut. I was so worried about how Zayden would feel if I became captain – whether he would wish it were offered to him, whether he might’ve thought I don’t deserve it – but here he is, proud of me. He’s so stoked for my achievement, and I’m repaying him by sneaking around with his sister.

I need to talk to him about it. I know how he feels about men, and anger, and the trauma that comes from that. The dynamic between us is also something he doesn’t want screwed up, though I already technically did that. I understand all this, but I’ve grown up. We both have. I just need to know that Anya is all in, otherwise, this entire thing is pointless.

‘You good?’ Zayden asks, frowning at me.

‘Er – yeah, sorry. Just thinking.’ I clap a hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m really working on being the best I can for the team. So I appreciate you saying that. Means a lot.’

Zayden nods. ‘Any time.’

Turning his back to me, he disappears through the door, and I lean back against the locker, eyes tilted towards the ceiling.

I don’t deserve him.