Fallen Crest Forever (Fallen Crest Series Book 7)(97)

“I don’t want to be a lawyer.”

“Logan does.”

“Because of you. Because you and your dad kept fucking with us. He sent Caldron after Sam. He sent him to hurt her, and you were there.” That flame was a full fire in me now. Fuck what I did to his life. He tried to take mine. “You were there, you fucker. You did nothing. You stood there and did nothing!”

“I didn’t know. I didn’t. I didn’t see them, and when Becky told me, I couldn’t stop him. He was there with his friends. All of them against me. It wouldn’t have worked.” Some of his rage left. He sounded sorry. “I never wanted to hurt Sam. That was one concession I made with my dad. I insisted she’d never get hurt. Caldron went rogue that day.”

“Or the first time he attacked me and her? Are you not remembering that time either?”

“That was at your friend’s fight?”

I nodded.

“He wasn’t supposed to touch her. Just you.”

“Him and ten of his friends.”

Adam shrugged. “Whatever it took.”

To hurt me. That was what he meant. Whatever it took to hurt me.

I wanted to hurt him. All over again. I could feel it rise up in me, and I had to remind myself that I had hurt him. That was why he was there, but he wouldn’t go away. This asshole was never going to go away.

“But why Becky? Why her?”

“Because you loved her, and you lost her. You. Not me. And she doesn’t even know about the video.” I grinned, knowing it was a hard smile. “Imagine what she’d say if she knew what you’d done there.”

He paled, but he didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Those were all his fuck-ups, and he knew it. He couldn’t spin it around to blame someone else, and my patience was growing thin. If he was here to do something, he needed to get on with it—and before he realized Sam was here. I didn’t trust him. He claimed he didn’t want to hurt Sam, but I felt no guarantee.

“You lost her,” I ground out. My hands moved into fists. “You did that. Maybe I was pissed after you tried to set me up. Maybe I was even madder after you broke into our house. Who the fuck cares? Or maybe Nate knew she was single. She told Sam she broke it off with you. Maybe he wanted to see how she was doing, and he called once to do that, and that morphed into something else.”

“You’re lying.” His voice was shaking. “Stop lying!”

I moved toward him again. One more step. Come on, fucker. Do what you came to do.

I kept my voice level, steady. “Have you asked yourself why she answered the call? If it was something about you, Sam would’ve called. Or maybe she didn’t answer? Maybe he called, and she waited for him to leave a message?” I waited one second. I wanted his mind following along. I wanted him to imagine her perspective, to understand what I was saying. I was lying through my teeth here, but I didn’t care. I wanted him to act now, not later, not when he knew Sam was here. “That means she would’ve called him back. She would’ve dialed him up.”

His shaking was worse. I didn’t think he could get any paler than he was, but he did. He was almost as white as a piece of paper, with fury in his eyes. They were near black. “Stop it.”

No. Fucking. Way.

“Whatever the reason she’s going with him, she decided to do it. Her. Not me. Not him. Her.” I looked him over. “She already left you, but that’s insult to injury. She’s going to hook up with your enemy’s best friend.”

The coat remained in the back of my mind.

Why the coat?

I risked a look over his shoulder. Sam covered her mouth with her hand, and she was visibly trembling.

I wanted her to go. My eyes caught and held hers. I tried pleading with her.

She shook her head, lowering her hand and crossing her arms over her chest.

“Go,” I mouthed once more.

Another head shake.

Quinn was watching me. I had to look back at him or he’d notice. I couldn’t let him do that. If he did, if he turned—I’d take him down.

The coat. I started eyeing it again, forcing myself to look away from Sam.

She didn’t like when I toyed with Adam. That was what she thought I was doing. I was the better guy, tormenting the lesser guy. She didn’t see him for who he was. He was toxic. He kept coming back. He kept trying to take mine away.

I didn’t know what else to do.

But Sam was good. I was not.

I wouldn’t let him hurt her. Ever.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

I jerked my gaze back to him. He’d reached into his coat pockets again.

“I came to you,” he said. “I should be attacking you, but you’re attacking me. Maybe that’s my fault. That’s what you do, isn’t it? When you’re backed in a corner, you go on the offensive.”