Sadie flinches behind me, and I want to break his goddamn jaw.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut your fucking mouth,” I bite out.
His eyes shift to her. “I fuckingknewI wasn’t making it up. You think this means something to him?”
Sadie swallows, her voice quiet. “Lane, don’t do this. You’re drunk. Just walk away.”
But he doesn’t listen. Instead, he leans in closer, whiskey heavy on his breath. “Tell me—do you make them all take turns, or do they get to use you all at the same time?”
There’s no warning, no thought—just pure, unleashed rage and the crack of my fist slamming into Lane’s jaw.
He stumbles back into the wall, clutching his face and cursing through his teeth.
My fists are still clenched at my sides. I’m so angry I’m shaking. Every fiber of my being begs me not to stop, to hit him again, to put him through the fucking wall.
One hit isn’t enough. Not after what he said. Not after he looked at her like that.
This does mean something to me.
Shemeans something to me. She’s more than I’ll ever deserve.
The words burn in my throat, desperate to crawl out and confess everything.
But I can’t.
Admitting the truth would blow everything apart.
“What the fuck is going on?” Landon’s voice echoes down the hallway.
He puts himself between us, one arm braced against my chest, the other stopping Lane before he can lunge at me. Landon’s eyes flick between us, assessing the situation. He doesn’t need the details to figure out what happened.
Lane spits blood onto the door, glaring at me with glassy eyes.“Fuck you—”
“Shut your fucking mouth.” Landon cuts him off, his tone leaving no room for argument. “You’ve done enough.”
Lane mutters something under his breath, but he doesn’t push it. Even in his state, he knows better. He staggers back a step, then another.
My jaw grinds. My fists ache from clenching. I want to turn to her, tell her he was wrong, that she matters to me. But when I glance back—
She’s already folding in on herself. Arms wrapped tight around her ribs, eyes glued to the floor, like if she makes herself small enough, she can disappear.
Minutes ago, she was coming apart in my arms, gasping my name like it was the only word she knew.
Now she feels woefully out of reach.
And that is worse than Lane’s drunk rambling. Worse than the bruises already blooming on my knuckles.
“That’s your last strike, Lane. You won’t get another.” My voice comes out low, gutted, more a promise than a threat.
Landon stares at me, then at her. He’s not stupid and I couldn’t be more obvious. I already know he’s going to tell me the same thing he said last time. But for now, he blows out a breath and shakes his head. “Alright, kids. Time to call it a night.”
My eyes drop to my fist, skin split open and smeared with blood. Not sure if it’s mine or Lane’s or a combination of both.
I’m still fuming, my pulse raging in my ears. But nothing compares to the hollow ache of watching her shut down again. The weight of everything we can’t say hanging between us, and the fear that I just fucked everything up beyond repair.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SADIE
