Page 46 of Unburied

He threw up both hands but was a fraction of a second late, and Knox landed a hard jab to his chin that snapped his teeth together. He cocked his arm back to return the favor. Just as he did, he felt a whisper of movement behind him as Vivi rushed forward again, reaching for him.

He couldn’t slow his momentum, and his elbow connected with what felt like her face. He snapped toward her, watching in horror as she collapsed backward, her head smacking against the hard floor.

“Viv!” He dropped to a knee next to her, reaching for her as Knox moved to her other side. Already, a bright red hue emanated from her right cheek, and her upper lip appeared puffy and swollen. His stomach twisted into a tight knot at the sight. “Virginia⁠—”

She smacked their hands away as she gingerly sat up and scooted away from them. He reached for her again, but she shrugged out of his grasp and pulled herself unsteadily to her feet. “Get out of my house. Both of you.”

The abrasion on her face was becoming more prominent, looking worse by the second. “Babe⁠—”

“Now!” He swore he saw tears sparkling in her eyes, but he couldn’t tell if she was hurt or furious.

“Okay.” He held his hands up in a placating gesture as he stood, feeling sick to his stomach. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Then you probably shouldn’t have punched me in the face.”

“I…” His heart clenched, and his hands fell to his sides as she glared at him. He felt helpless, full of remorse and guilt for hurting her, for allowing any of this to happen in the first place.

“You two are acting like idiots.”

Across from him, Knox spoke quietly. “Vivi⁠—”

“Shut up, Knox.” Her lethal glare cut toward her brother. “Right now, I need you to leave. I’ll talk to you later.”

Throwing one last dark look Mason’s way, Knox stepped outside. Mason looked at Vivi, but she just crossed her arms over her chest. “Viv⁠—”

“Get out.”

With a low growl of frustration, he followed Knox outside. The door slammed behind him, and he leaned against it as he called out to her. “Virginia.”

“Go away!”

“Babe, I need my clothes.”

The sound of feet stomping on the floor moved away from the living room, and he sighed as he turned to face Knox, whose dark eyes glittered with malice.

“My sister?” Knox shoved him, and Mason fell back a step, expressionless. He wasn’t going to fight him. If he were in Knox’s position, he’d do the same thing. All he ever wanted was for Vivi to be safe, and he knew Knox felt the same way.

“I trusted you, and you⁠—”

The door opened, and Mason’s jeans came flying at him, followed by one boot, then the other. They hit the sidewalk at his feet, then bounced into the yard. The door slammed again, and he let out a ragged sigh.

Knox scowled at him. “Seriously? You don’t have anything to say for yourself?”

Mason pulled on his pants, then stepped into his boots and shrugged his shirt over his head.

Grabbing his shoulder, Knox spun him around to face him. “Say something!”

“I’m sorry.” Mason met his gaze, still dark with barely restrained fury. “I should have told you.”

“You never should have touched her in the first place,” Knox spat, looking ready to swing at him again.

Mason rocked back on his heels, unable to come up with a good defense. What was he going to tell him? He’d been in the wrong, but he wouldn’t take it back. Whatever he and Vivi had going—hopefully it hadn’t been ruined—was worth Knox’s anger.

“This is…” Knox trailed off, looking ready to tear something apart. “I can’t even wrap my head around it. You’ve been sneaking around for God knows how long and you couldn’t man up enough to tell me?”

He was right, but no amount of apologizing or defending himself would change it now.

Knox glared at him. “So this is the way it’s going to be?”