Fallen Crest Home (Fallen Crest High #6)(14)

Mason tucked me behind him again. His hand gripped mine, and I realized he was guiding it somewhere. Down. Down. To my pocket. He pressed my hand around my phone. I was so stupid. Cursing softly under my breath, I turned and hunched my shoulders, trying to hide the phone as I sent a text to both Brandon and Heather. I hoped one of them wasn’t too drunk already to notice their phone blowing up. I sent another text to Matteo. I didn’t have Channing’s number, or I would’ve sent him one, too. After that, I said a quick prayer and moved my hand away. I was hyperaware of the phone, and when it didn’t buzz back, a feeling of helplessness hit me hard.

I blinked back tears.

Mason was outnumbered. He hadn’t had to fight in so long. This wasn’t good.

“Look.” Caldron threw his arms out, swinging his bat wide as he gestured to his friends. “This talking thing we’ve got going was just a stall tactic. I needed time to make sure the rest of my friends got into position.”

The rest of… I looked around again. The six friends now had another four added to their numbers. So it was eleven to Mason. No. Eleven to two. I was fighting, too.

“Now that’s all done.” He flashed us a smile. “Let’s get to dancing.” He hadn’t finished his last word before he was swinging the bat, but Mason ducked. The bat cleared his head, and he twisted, catching Caldron’s arm with both hands. He shifted, pulling Caldron to lie across his back. His toes were just grazing the ground. Caldron’s eyes went wide. Panic flared for a second, but then a murderous rage came to the forefront, and he started to struggle.

Mason adjusted his hold, ramming his elbow into Caldron’s face before wrenching his wrist to the side.

Three things happened then:

The bat fell to the ground.

I heard a snapping sound as Mason broke Caldron’s wrist.

And the ten friends rushed in.

What followed was a blur. I was terrified, desperate, irrational, and scared. But I surged forward, my hands already in fists. I was going to help, and I didn’t care what I had to do to keep him safe. My vision tunneled. I could only see Mason and feel the impending assault when he knelt down and scooped up the bat.

He tossed it to me.

I caught it, surprised.

He grunted before turning and hitting Caldron with one last good punch. “Aim for their knees.” And then, as Caldron’s body hit the ground, unconscious, Mason began exchanging punches with the others.

I blinked once, tasted the salt from my tears, and felt someone’s hand on my shoulder. I stopped thinking then and fell to the ground in a kneeling stance, sweeping out with the bat. I swung it with all of my might and heard a crunching sound as it made contact. Someone yelled and fell next to me. That was my first victory. I enjoyed it for a split second before I was plucked up in the air.

There was no strategy after that.

I fought. I fought hard. I swung with everything I had. I kicked. I bit. I scratched. I made my body go limp on more than one occasion to get out of someone’s hold. They didn’t punch me, but I was slapped and knocked to the ground. I saw stars, but I jerked upright, aiming for the groin and receiving an ear-splitting sound as my reward. I didn’t know if it was a squeal or a gasp, or even a scream. I could only hear the thumping of my heart. It drowned everything out, and I was back on my feet again. I had no time to stop and think.

I had to fight.

I had to hurt.

I had to protect.

Feeling someone behind me, I let loose with the bat, a scream erupting from my throat. Someone caught the bat and wrapped an arm around my waist. I tried kicking out. He dodged my feet and said hurriedly in my ear, “Damn, Strattan. It’s me, Channing. Stop!”

Channing.

He was friendly.

Stop.

I sagged in his arms, looking for Mason. Where was he? He was circling a guy, still fighting.

I started forward, but Channing caught my arm. “Whoa. Chill.”

I growled as I yanked my hand free and started forward again, but Channing grabbed my arm once more.

He got in front of me, holding his other hand up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Look. He’s fine. We’re here. He’s got that. Look. Look, Sam.”

My senses began to calm. The black around my eyesight faded. I could see more normally, and the buzzing in my ears subsided. I gulped for breath, tasting salt and dust in my mouth.

Channing was right. Mason’s eyes were deadly, but alert, his mouth set in a flat line. His shoulders were tense, but he looked in control. His opponent was a heavier-set guy. He probably outweighed Mason by fifty pounds, but as he threw a punch, Mason evaded it easily and slammed back with one of his own. The guy faltered, falling to his knees. Mason reared back, his hand coming down hard, and a moment later, the guy collapsed to the ground.

Mason knocked him out.

“Shit.”

I glanced at Channing, who’d spoken beside me. I heard the awe before he broke out in a grin, heading toward Mason.

“Fuck, Kade. If football doesn’t do it for you, and if you’re not going to become a millionaire businessman like your daddy, you’ve always got fighting as a backup.” He laughed again, shaking his head. “You and your girl took on ten of Caldron’s crew.” He swung around. “Heather, you should be taking lessons from Sam here.”

I looked and sure enough, Heather was right next to me, her hands holding her elbows. She gave me a shaky smile. I saw the fear in her eyes then, and another moment of reality hit me like a slap across the face. The adrenaline had been a nice blanket surrounding me, but it was gone now, and I gasped, feeling aches and pains all over my body.