Michael lunged.
He charged for Damon and slammed his fist across his face, sending Damon flying back and crashing into the stove.
He didn’t come back swinging, though. He just stood there, blinking long and hard and breathing fast. He was either in too much pain from the wound or he knew when he was outnumbered.
He swallowed and stood up straight again, continuing like nothing had happened. “We went out to your car and got the masks. If she thought it was Kai, Will, and me together, she’d get the shit scared out of her and never come around us again. Will was piss-drunk, so we put him in the car and went back in to get her, but she’d already left. We caught up to her on the road.”
“And you left my sweatshirt in the booth,” Will chimed in, “along with the phone.”
“Which I found and wore on the walk home,” I added.
Christ.
“And then Trevor found the phone when she lost it in the struggle,” Kai finished.
“So she says,” Damon snapped. “We can’t trust her.”
“I trust her a hell of a lot more than I do you!” Michael bellowed.
“Yeah, fuck you,” Damon growled. “She’s a worthless fucking cunt, and I’ll show you exactly what she’s good for!”
Damon shot out from around the island and moved to pass Michael. I instantly backed up, steeling my jaw as he came at me, but Michael grabbed him and threw him against the counter.
Damon howled, holding his wound, but before he could straighten up again, Michael threw a right hook across his face, sending him flying to the floor. He crashed, and Michael came down on him immediately, grabbing his hair and raising a fist in the air.
“You choosing her?” Damon choked out, reaching up to grab Michael around the neck. “Huh? You choosing her over your friends?”
Michael’s fist came down over Damon’s jaw, but then Kai and Will were on him, trying to pry him off as he fought against their attempts.
Damon’s face turned red as he raged up at Michael. “You’re no better! What’d we bring her here for, huh? She’s nothing! And she’s making you we
ak!”
Michael lunged for him again, tearing out of Will and Kai’s hold, but I didn’t stick around to see what happened next.
I ran out of the kitchen and raced through the foyer. Slamming into the wall next to the door, I opened the keypad and punched in the code, unlocking the front gate. Digging my keys out of my pocket, I reached for the front door and pulled the handle. But then something hit the door, and I gasped as it was pushed out of my hand and slammed shut again.
I jerked my hand back as I watched the basketball that had hit the door bounce to the ground and roll away.
“You’re not leaving,” Michael’s voice came behind me.
I reached for the door again, but he came and grabbed my arm, whipping me around.
“Let me go.” I tried to yank my arm free. “I won’t stay here!”
“We’re not going to hurt you,” he gritted out, and I could see blood on the knuckles of the hand he had wrapped around my arm. “No one is going to hurt you. I promise.”
“Let me go!”
But then I straightened, rearing back as I looked over his shoulder at what was coming behind him.
Michael turned around, facing Damon. He wiped blood away from the side of his mouth as he charged toward us.
“Get out,” Michael ordered.
Damon shot him a scowl and then locked eyes on me, grabbing the door handle as Michael pulled me out of the way.
He stared into my eyes, and what I saw there was no longer dead. His glare coursed right through me and coiled around my neck.