Page 94 of Pucked Around and Found Out

“Shut up,” I cut him off, my voice like ice. “You don't get to say my name. You don't get to act surprised to see me. You knew exactly where I was for an entire year and you did nothing.”

I step closer, and he actually flinches.

Good.

He should be afraid.

“Do you have any idea what effect turning your back on me took?” He looks at me with confusion so I push on. “The day I left the hospital, I thought we were going home so I could recover. I was a fucking fool, wasn’t I, Mase?” I don’t give him a chance to respond.

I pull away from Carn and begin to pace the length of the room in front of my brother.

“I assumed you couldn’t tell me any details because Dad was there. I thought he had sunk his claws into you and turned you against me, but turns out, you were the one who chose to let him place all the blame on me so you could live out your dream. How’s that dream looking now, Brother?” I spit the last word out like it burned my tongue.

“Once I heal from the fucking gunshot wound, I’ll be back on the ice and getting drafted.” His tone is filled with loathing and it sends white hot fury rolling through me.

“He’ll never let you touch the ice again. You stole not only his sister and best friends… you robbed him of his dream. He’ll burn in hell before he ever watches you get drafted.” My tone is firm and cold.

He drops the mask he’s been wearing and shows me the monster underneath. Unlike Xaden, who doesn’t hide from his darkness, who embraces it and shields nothing. Masen is a coward who hides behind the wealth and power of our family.

“You think you’re so smart don’t ya, Tink?” I suck in a sharp inhale of breath at him using my pet name from Xaden. Suddenly Masen doesn’t look so weak and terrified, his eyes have darkened and he sits straighter like he’s the one in power. “I knew you would find me.”

I scoff. “Bullshit.”

My brother smirks but it’s cruel and filled with malice. He pulls his attention from me to look over at Halo and Carnage. “Didn’t you think it was a bit too easy tracking me down?” I look back at the twins, neither of them show an ounce of surprise. “Ever think I wanted to be found?” Dread begins to pool inside me. Suddenly I feel cold as I stare at my brother. He lazily looks back at me with a smug look on his face. “Nice try, Sister, the Kellar Cartel men are loyal to me.”

My eyes widen, Ezekiel, Vivian and Pope have been trying to help locate my father’s second in charge to take control of my family's cartel, but none of them have been able to find anything and now it makes sense why. Masen already set things in motion. I thought he tucked tail and ran. Turns out I was wrong yet again.

“My men are stationed outside the building. We knew it was only a matter of time before you came looking for me. All I had to do was wait. You’re so predictable, Toren.” His tone is venomous and filled with hate. “I could almost laugh at how fucking stupid you are⁠—”

“You got a lot of teeth for a smart cunt,” Carnage snarls. Masen ignores him as he keeps focused on me.

“You really thought opening your legs and letting that cunt fuck you like a whore—” Masen doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Carnage flies at him with the speed of a panther and lands a jaw-cracking punch to his jaw. Before he can deliver a second, Halo and one of the other guys grab his arms and drag him back.

Masen turns his head and spits blood onto the floor. Then looks up at me and smiles. “What’s your next move, little sister?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

TOREN

The smile is the worst part.

Not the blood on his teeth. Not the calculated calm in his eyes. Not even the knowledge that I walked right into this like the predictable fool he's always believed me to be.

It's the smile.

Because it tells me that nothing that follows is going to be clean.

The silence stretches for three, four, five seconds, the kind of silence that has a weight and a texture to it, the kind you feel pressing against your eardrums. Carnage is still held back by Halo and the others, his chest heaving, the vein in his neck standing out. Scott and his men have gone very, very still.

And Masen just sits there in that chair, bleeding and smiling, like a man who has already won.

I am so tired of underestimating him.

“How many?” I ask. My voice comes out quieter than I intend, stripped down to something cold and flat.

Masen tilts his head, the way he used to when we were kids and I'd asked a question he thought was beneath him. “Enough.”

“How many men do you have outside this building, Masen.” I don't ask it this time. I state it. I hold his gaze and I don't blink and I watch the way his expression flickers just a fraction, just enough. When he realizes the girl who used to tremble in front of him isn't here anymore.