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The difference this time? I'm not so sure Mason won’t kill me.
ChapterThirty-Nine
TATE
Why is it so hot in here? And why did I think wearing a long sleeve was a good idea?
This is not my scene at all. I only got inside because Leo let me use his ID. Even when I do turn twenty-one, I don't think I will go clubbing. This is gross, and all the girls eyeing me make me feel like cattle.Jesus, I miss my guys.
I watch, only mildly amused, when Ry's face goes thunderous. I lose sight of her when a group of girls swarm them. Kicking off the wall, I try to get a better angle. By the time the birthday party moves, Rylee is gone. Gabby seems to be enjoying herself with the blue-haired guy, but I take a picture of the man just in case. She knows I'm here, so I'm assuming she felt it was safe for Ry to go off on her own. Unfortunately, I fuckinglosther.
Deciding the bathroom is likely my best bet, I make my way over to the hallway. I fight my urge to shove these idiots out of my way, needing to get eyes on my sister.Why the fuck would she go off on her own? She doesn't know I'm here.Fuck.She also doesn't know Mason is MIA.
Finally making it to the damn bathroom area, I see a group of women coming out of the bathroom together and moving toward a bunch of young guys. It feels like a fucking fire hazard to have so many people cramped in such a small space.
Thankfully, the women's bathroom is closest. I nudge it open a bit and shout, "Rylee! You in here?" My anxiety makes me say fuck it to being an invisible eye tonight. My sister slipped my damn protection. Maybe it was a bad idea to keep her in the dark.
Once the girls finally join the guys, they all bustle out to the cramped hallway. Honestly, I'm impressed with how they waited till everyone was together to head back out. Once the last duo is out of sight, the hall shows no other signs of life. Frustrated, I pull my phone out to call Gabby and see if she made it back to her yet. Maybe I just missed her.
Just as the first ring starts, a cool breeze tickles my neck. I turn to the emergency exit, my stomach twisting itself into knots. My adrenaline skyrockets just before a scream breaks through the thumping bass of the club.
I immediately replace my phone with the gun I kept in the back of my pants. I don't wait for another scream to tell me my sister is through that door. I calm myself enough to stay quiet as I slip through the heavy door. I lift the barrel towards the large body against the brick building. I can't see Rylee, but I recognize Mason. The high pitch whimpering tells me I need to be really fucking careful where I shoot the bastard.
The muffled cries turn more frantic as Mason's body shuffles around. Needing him off my sister, I aim for his meaty calf and let the bullet fly. Roaring, he shoves away from the wall and lands on his ass. All my rage boils up and over when Rylee's limp body crashes to the ground beside him. Blood is trickling from her neck.
"Rylee!" I lurch forward to help her, but the bastard stabs me in the thigh on my way past. I shove the pain away, whirl on him, and punch him in the goddamn face.
Spitting blood at me, he smirks. "Too late for that one." His chin juts out, indicating to my sister currently bleeding on the ground.
A red haze covers my vision and rage like nothing I have ever felt has me lifting my gun. I smirk when his face drains of color, and something uncoils inside of me. "Too late for you, too." Straight through the skull, I relish the way his eyes widen before all life drains from his beady eyes.
I'm jolted out of my murderous rage by the sharp pain in my thigh. Shuffling, I land on my ass, trying not to move the knife. I know better than to yank that shit out.
"Ry?" My hands shake when I reach out to her. "Please. Please wake up." The bleeding has slowed from her neck, showing me an inch-long cut that doesn't seem too deep. But her cheek is slowly producing blood drops from a long scrape across her cheekbone and to her jaw. I don't breathe, a sob strangling all the air from my lungs. It bursts free when my blood-soaked fingers finally find a steady pulse. Yet, she still isn't waking up.
"What do I do? Rylee, please tell me what to do!" Warmth tickles my cheeks. Seeing my sister lifeless on the ground in front of me, my adrenaline crashes, leaving me weak and scared. My fight fading into freeze.
Julian... I need Julian.
Keeping my hand over the wound on Rylee's neck just in case, I dial the one person who can help me enough so I can help my sister.I don't know what to do!Everything feels so muddled and confusing. My mind is buzzing, but no real thoughts are coming through.
"Hey, baby! How's it going?" My tears come faster, hearing my boyfriend’s soothing voice. "Tate?"
"Julian," I gasp, the pain in my thigh becoming a bit too much to ignore. "Julian, please help me."
"Hey, hey! What's going on? Are you hurt?!" I put him on speakerphone and drop it to my side, unable to hold it up any longer. "TATE! Answer right the fuck now!" Zach's demand jolts me out of my head.
"Ry won't wake up. I don't know what to do." I feel so useless. My brain isn't functioning.
I just killed a man.
My big sister won’t wake up.
There's a knife sticking out of my leg.
"Wyatt is calling Jackson. Just hold on for a little longer. Keep talking to us. Talk to Rylee." Julian's soothing voice is back.
I murmur my agreement, staring at the scrapes and abused flesh on Ry's stomach. "You never have to run again, Ry. So please wake up. Now you can stay. You have to stay with me first, though."
