Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
I’m down the steps and moving across the floor toward them in the span of a couple of heartbeats, and I feel mine pumping harder when I get Aiden between my crosshairs.
He isn’t facing me, he’s talking to Hex, so I see the black band stretched around the back of his head and know his mask is still on. So, when I walk up behind him, I grab him by it and yank him back.
I’m about to plant my fucking fist in his face, too, when someone grabs the back of my jacket and pulls me away before I can.
I swing around to glare at Hex, but he’s glaring right back, his blue eyes flashing dangerously.
“Get your hands off me,” I tell him, holding his gaze.
He knows I’d like to punch him, too.
He also knows I can’t.
He’s an asshole, but he’s still my friend, so despite being all over my fucking girl mere minutes ago, he tries to deescalate my anger. “I left you alone with her as a gesture, Killian. I hoped it would calm you down. But you know the rules. Blue Bloods do not fight over girls.”
“Let him go, Hex.”
For a second, I’m surprised when the guy I most want to punch in the face tells the guy holding me back to stop.
But when I look back at him holding the mask I broke, I can see his whole face.
I can also see an answering glint in his dark eyes, and I know he wants to fight me as much as I want to fight him.
“Luckily for me and Killian,” he says with a malicious smirk as he drops the broken mask, “I’m not a Blue Blood.”
And then he takes the first fucking swing.
Chapter Forty-eight
Brynn
I huff with annoyance when Killian ignores me and goes back inside.
It’s not like him to do that, and I don’t feel good about it.
I’m worried he’s going after Hex, and while that would be profoundly stupid, clearly love makes fools of us all.
I feel like the biggest one as I pick up my skirt with one hand and hold the mantle together with the other (so I don’t offer anyone a peep show), then haul ass back into the building.
I glance at the guard on the way by, but he doesn’t stop me. I’m no longer dressed properly in the slightest. My dress is a mess, my mask is back in the woods. I did manage to retrieve my hair clip before we left since I bought that myself, but I’m sure my hair is a mess, too.
I could open my compact and look, but I feel too much urgency to follow Killian and make sure he doesn’t put himself in danger over the choices I’ve made tonight.
I might be putting myself in danger by going in after him, but I can’t just wait in the car.
Maybe if he does go after Hex, I can help plead his case. I can’t tell if Hex likes or dislikes me, but he did give me his mantle. It doesn’t feel like he would do that for just anyone.
What a mess.
And I think that before I scan the room and see Killian grabbing Aiden by the back of his mask and preparing to punch him.
I gasp, taking off down the stairs and then making a beeline through the crowd.
“Killian, don’t.”
I’m too far away, so I don’t know if he can hear me, but I have to try.
By the time I reach the dance floor, no one is dancing. People are rushing away from the edge to make room for the unfolding violence, but staying crowded around to watch, too.
“Excuse me,” I say, heart pounding as I push my way through.
I come out on the other side and stop when I see Aiden and Killian exchanging punches. I gasp when Aiden lands a punch, hitting Killian square in the jaw. Then my heart lurches when Killian charges him, knocking him back into Hex, who quickly steps back out of the way. Aiden tries to pull Killian off him, but he trips on the leg of a chair and they both go down. Killian moves quickly, straddling Aiden and punching him with both fists while he has him on the ground.
“Killian, stop!” I shout.
Killian does stop on instinct at the sound of my voice. He looks back at me, but unfortunately, my distraction costs him. Aiden slams a fist into his jaw, locking his legs around Killian and rolling him over to reverse their positions.
“No!”
“Aiden, stop it!”
I glance over at Sloane, stumbling to a stop at the edge of the crowd right next to me.
She looks at me, too, but our attention swiftly returns to the scene the guys are making.
“Where are the fucking… their friends?” I ask, just short of asking where the Blue Bloods are, but fuck. Hex is the only one I see, and he isn’t doing anything to stop this madness.