Page 32 of Unmask
“You have no idea.”
Then he opened his arms, and I didn’t hesitate. I folded into his chest, letting myself have that one second of comfort. That one breath of feeling grounded.
Of course, it couldn’t last.
Carson was suddenly ripped away from me, so fast I floundered from the loss of his support. A loud crack thundered as a fist connected with the side of his mouth, and I barely had time to react before Carson stumbled back with a groan.
“What the fuck!” I shrieked, staring into Kreed’s dark, silver eyes.
8
KAYLOR
Kreed had Carson by the front of his hoodie, fists clenched so tight the fabric puckered between his knuckles. They were chest to chest, Carson tense but unyielding, his jaw locked and dark-blue eyes hard.
“Kreed!” I shouted, heart slamming against my ribs. “Let. Him. Go.”
He didn’t flinch. His glare never left Carson, fury simmering just beneath his skin, like a fuse that had already been lit.
I stormed forward, boots scuffing the cold concrete. “I swear to God, if you don’t take your hands off my best friend right now, I’ll never forgive you.”
His head angled toward me slowly, silver eyes burning like coals. “It’s not your forgiveness I want.”
My breath caught. Something fragile inside me cracked, and I forced the words out anyway. “Then why, Kreed?” My voice broke around the edges. “Why the hell did you hit him?”
His nostrils flared, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he finally released Carson with a shove that sent my best friend stumbling back. “He had his hands on you,” he growled, chest heaving,his eyes wild and unreadable. He looked like hell. His hair was a mess, his lips were in a frightening scowl, and his eyes were bloodshot and unfocused. He smelled like liquor and smoke, like sweat and rage, and all the things I hadn’t missed about him. He was a violent storm barely holding itself together.
“What is wrong with you?!” I screamed, rushing to Carson’s side.
Blood trickled from the corner of his lip, and Carson wiped at it with the back of his thumb, eyeing Kreed with disdain that could rival mine.
Kreed didn’t answer.
He just glared at Carson like he wanted to hit him again, the two of them in an epic showdown. There was only one way to get their attention before things escalated.
“We’re not doing this,” I said, stepping between them, pressing a hand to Kreed’s chest, not to soothe him but to stop him. “Not here. Not like this.”
His chest rose against my palm, breath ragged and uneven, but he didn’t move. Didn’t argue. Just stood there with too much emotion in his eyes and blood on his knuckles.
I didn’t know whether to scream or fall apart.
Kreed’s eyes flicked down to me, emotion fractured in them. Regret. Fury. Hurt. It was all there, tangled and twisted and too much to take in at once. “I’ll hurt him and anyone else who gets in my way.”
My spine locked, pulse thrumming in my throat. “You’re psycho,” I said, but it came out quieter than I meant.
He stepped closer, the space between us crackling. “Only when it comes to you.”
I shook my head. “If I didn’t already hate you, I’d hate you so much right now.”
A ghost of a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, dark and cruel and so heartbreakingly familiar. “We both know that’sa lie,” he murmured, brushing a knuckle along my jaw, slow enough to make me shiver. “And I’d be more than happy to prove what a liar you are…in front of your littleboyfriend.”
I slapped his hand away like it burned, but he didn’t flinch. Didn’t move. Just stared at me with that feral gleam, as if he’d already claimed me and would raze the earth to keep me. The worst freaking part? My body remembered the feel of his touch before my mind could catch up.
“Let’s go,” I said as I grabbed Carson’s hand without thinking, threading my fingers through his and tugging him toward the passenger side of his BMW. A piece of me wasn’t sure Kreed would let me go. If he tried to stop me from leaving with Carson, what would I do?
Carson didn’t say anything, didn’t look at me, just followed, his jaw locked. The second the door shut behind me, he slammed his closed and gunned it out of the school parking lot, tires screeching across the blacktop. His hard eyes glanced one last time in the rearview mirror at Kreed.
I refused to look back. My concern was Carson, and as much as I wanted to make sure he was okay, I’d known Carson long enough to recognize his mood.
