"Hold her still, Norm!" Heather snapped at him. She softened her voice and brushed some of my hair out of my eyes. "Hey, hey. What's going on? What's wrong? What happened between here and Manny's?"

"You know this chick, Heather?" A different voice chimed in.

She gave him a dirty look over her shoulder. "Yeah,so shut your pie-hole. She's my friend."

"She's Kade's bitch. Drop her, Norm."

"Shut up, Channing!" She gave Norm a look over my shoulder. "You drop her and I will rip your balls off tonight after you've passed out. She's my friend."

The arm tightened around me. A deep voice rumbled through the chest that held me. "I don't know, Heather. I don't want to mess with the Kades. They might be rich pricks, but they don't mess around."

"They're not preps, Heather." That same voice argued from the side. It was low and full of warning. "You might like the girl, but she's theirs. We shouldn't even be here. I knew it was a stupid idea to come."

Heather's eyes snapped in irritation before she twisted back around. "There are no other parties. This one is it. Besides, we're not doing anything wrong. I know this girl and she's scared. I want to know what happened—"

"And if it's because the Kades did something to her? What then?" the guy mused. He didn't sound threatened, just reasonable. "She's not our problem. You're not sticking your neck out for her."

Her mouth dropped, ready to fight back—

He spoke over her, "I don't care. You're not pulling us into a fight against them and I won't let them hurt you. If it comes to it, we're walking away. All of us. You too."

"Channing," she seethed.

As she turned back, the haze had dissipated enough so I could think a bit clearer. I could also see clearer, and the guy who had been speaking was tall and lean. He had a model's face, but his body was covered in tattoos. The simple black tee shirt that he wore didn't hide the muscular build he had despite his lean physique. And I'd been right. There was no fear in his dark eyes, but he was wary. As he gazed down at Heather in front of him, there was also concern.

The plan I had to introduce her to Logan was gone now. I didn't know the story between those two, but she wasn't single. As I thought about it, I never asked if she had a boyfriend or not. I'd been so focused on keeping my own love life to myself.

"Norm." The guy sent him a pointed look. "Drop her."

"Don't—" Heather gasped.

But the arm abruptly released me and down I went. I caught myself before I fell all the way and choked from the sudden oxygen I could now breathe. When I looked up, with tears in my eyes, I saw that the guy who'd been holding me could've been a bodybuilder. He was a giant, but he gave me a timid smile. "Sorry about that. He said drop so I dropped."

I nodded as I still coughed from all the air. "No problem."

Heather glared at him before she touched my arm. "Hey, you okay, hon? What had you so spooked before?"

I shook my head. I couldn't tell anyone about it.

"Sam?"

It didn't matter now.

I turned and stared at Mason, who stood a few feet from the group. His hands were clenched in fists. There was no one behind him. He had come alone. His eyes never left mine, but I felt the sudden question in his depths.

I didn't think. I couldn't.

I ran toward him and he caught me as I threw myself at him. His arms felt like home as he held me against his chest and I breathed him in. My legs wrapped around his waist. When his hand brushed my hair back and he kissed my forehead, I burrowed into him. I couldn't have been anywhere else.

We were both going to hell.

CHAPTER TEN

Still enveloped in Mason's arm, I felt him look over his shoulder. "It's fine. I'll take care of her."

"You sure? She freaked." Adam's voice sounded far away.

I sucked in my breath as his hand ran down my face and arm. I didn't want the moment to end. I wanted to make it last as long as it could because when the real world came back, I knew there would be consequences, serious consequences, and I couldn't think about them now. The damage was done. I was already in his arms. My mom said not to see him and I had already broken that rule once.

"Yeah, she's fine." Mason's voice had a rough edge to it.

"Who's she scared of?"

I held my breath again as Heather joined the conversation.

Mason stiffened beneath me. He hated explaining himself. I lifted my head this time and looked at her. Slowly, but too fast for my liking, I moved so I could slide back to my feet. Mason kept his arms around me. He anchored me against his chest.

I met Heather's gaze and saw the concern in them. Something flickered in my gut. "My mom."

"Sam—"

I ignored him. "She's made threats if—"

Mason's arms swung me back up. He started walking back to the house immediately.

"Hey! Wait!"

He threw over his shoulder, "It's none of your damn business, Jax. Leave her alone."

"It is my business! She's my friend."

"Since when?"

I looked over his shoulder and shook my head. I didn't want her to tell him about my job. That was for me to do. As she saw the plea on my face, the words died in her throat. Mason kept going. When he went a few more steps, I saw the other guy grab Heather's arm. He pulled her back to their group, but then Mason carried me past Adam and as he fell into step behind us, he blocked her from me.

When we went into the mansion, the music tripled in volume. I felt the bass through the floors, through Mason as he swept up the stairs and towards our room. Our room. An excited shudder left me as I thought about the sanctuary of that room. It'd just be me and him…and Adam as he followed us inside.

Mason turned back, still holding me. "Dude."

"I just want to know that she's alright. I picked her up outside some bar tonight."

"You what?" He whipped his head to me and lowered me to the ground. "You were at a bar?"

Adam added, "Alone."

"You were alone at a bar tonight?"

I opened my mouth, ready to explain everything when the door was thrown open. Logan strolled in with a charming smile on his face and his arms spread wide. He snapped his fingers on both hands and bowed to us. "I've got it all fixed, Sam. You don't have to do anything your mother says."