Fallen Crest Forever (Fallen Crest Series Book 7)(99)

. . . Next to it was a gun.



Red and blue lights flashed in the night.

Someone had called campus police.

We sat on the back end of an ambulance. Two of them were here, one for Adam and a second for us. We were fine. Adam was the only one who got carted off. Mason had broken one of his ribs from when he shoved him against the Escalade.

The campus cops told us Adam would be charged for bringing a weapon on campus.

They asked Mason what happened, and he told them. He thought Adam had a gun.

They talked to me. I just wanted to talk to Mason; that’s why I’d come to find him.

I wanted to thank him for always protecting me.

They talked to Logan and Taylor. Logan explained that we weren’t at the dinner, so he wanted to come see if something was up. Mason wasn’t answering his calls, and that wasn’t like him.

What happened when they got there?

There was a pause at that question.

I didn’t look up, but I felt Mason tense next to me. He shifted, looking over. I assumed he and Logan shared a look, and then Logan’s tired voice spoke.

“Quinn was on the ground. Mason was consoling Sam, and he told me to look for a gun.”

“Who?”

I jerked. The cop was so impassive, so brisk. Like he dealt with this all the time.

A sad laugh bubbled up in my throat. He was campus police, but maybe this was a normal day at the office for him. Which was so sad, in so many ways.

“Uh . . .”

I looked now. Logan had a hand in his hair, his other arm around Taylor, who leaned back against him.

“Mason did,” Logan finished.

“This one?” The cop pointed at Mason with his pen. He looked almost bored.

“Yeah. My brother.”

The cop stopped, his eyes narrowing. “You guys are brothers?”

Who was this guy?

Mason was still so stiff. “I’m Mason Kade. That’s my brother, Logan.”

The cop cocked his head to the side, his eyes locked on Mason. “You’re that football star, aren’t you?”

Mason swallowed. “So?”

The cop pointed the pen back to where Adam had been laying. “Was he an avid fan or something? Why would you think he had a gun on him?”

“Because things have been shit between him and me lately.” Mason’s jaw clenched. I could feel his anger stirring.

My hand covered his leg, and I spoke, explaining what all happened over the summer, except the last visit to Adam’s cabin on the ocean.

The cop didn’t say a word once I finished. He kept staring between all of us, but lingering the longest on Mason. A minute passed. I felt Mason growing more and more tense next to me.

Then the cop said, “You have enough history to get a protection order. I don’t think you’d have any problem, and it sounds like you need it.”

The questioning took on a different feel after that. The cop’s supervisor came, along with Mason’s head coach. Coach Broozer pulled up in a car after that, and Taylor went running into his arms. The cop noticed that too, frowning.

“My girlfriend,” Logan said. “His daughter.”

The cop snorted. “Nice to be so connected.” He turned back to Mason. “You got some folks waiting for you at the hospital. You all need to go get checked out.”

Logan stood from the ambulance. “Shouldn’t that have happened before the questioning?”

The cop shrugged, smiling slightly. “You’d think, right?” He held up his notepad. “I got enough. Thank you all and stay safe.” He stepped past his supervisor, who came over to shake Mason’s hand. The first cop went over to talk to the two coaches, who then called Mason over to join them.

Taylor came to see me, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She kept glancing over her shoulder to her dad. “We’re going to go to the house. Do you mind, Logan?”

He shook his head, pulling her in for a hug. “Not at all. I’m sure this brought up flashbacks.”

She shuddered in his arms, closing her eyes as he kissed her forehead.

He promised to go to her house later. Taylor nodded, almost like she was relieved. She gave him one last kiss, hugged me, and started for her dad’s car.

Seeing her, Broozer clapped Mason on the shoulder and departed as well. The two drove off together.

I turned to Logan. “You okay?”

That’s when I saw the truth.

He blew out a breath, running a tired hand over his face. I saw the worry lines around his eyes and mouth. I saw the fear in his eyes. I saw how he’d been keeping himself together until Taylor left.

“Oh, Logan.” I pulled him in for a hug.

He clasped on to me, pressing his forehead down on my shoulder. “Holy fuck, Sam. I couldn’t lose you guys.” He was shaking, just a slight tremor. “Holy fuck.” He tightened his hold.