Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 800(@200wpm)___ 640(@250wpm)___ 533(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 800(@200wpm)___ 640(@250wpm)___ 533(@300wpm)
And the next thing I know, everyone is diving into the fray. “No!” I yell.
Iron grabs Milo’s collar and throws him onto the hood of his car, pinning him with the tire iron, and Dallas crashes to the ground, one of Milo’s friends slamming into him and falling with him.
I twist. “Clay!” I bark, seeing her hold Krisjen’s hand, looking left to right and backing up as their wet hair flies side to side. Why the hell isn’t she in the car?
She meets my eyes, and I start off, but something grips my hair, my scalp screaming. “Ahhh!” I cry out.
I hit the ground, my wrist twisting and hitting the pavement, and I flip around, blinking up at Aracely through the rain.
“Let them play, Liv,” she snarls. “Go take your little whitebread pussy and get out of here.”
I growl and shoot out my foot, slamming her in the knee. She flinches and hunches over, but before she can fall, Clay barrels in and shoves her to the ground.
I suck in a breath, watching Aracely crash to the sidewalk, falling into the curb and crying out.
I shoot my eyes to Clay. Dammit.
Milo charges Iron, throwing his shoulder into his gut, Santos and Trace punch a Preppy, taking him to the ground, and Dallas has Callum in a choke hold, but Callum heaves forward and throws Dallas over his shoulder and onto the sidewalk. My brother howls as he hits the ground.
“Clay!” I rush over, grabbing her arm. “Stop!” I yell.
She pinches her brows together.
“Take Krisjen and walk home!” I shout over the storm, glowering at them both. “This is all your fault anyway. Just leave!”
I don’t need her help. That’s the last thing I need. Aracely isn’t my friend, but she’s practically a sister. I can hit her. Clay can’t hit her.
“Just go home!” I yell at Clay and Krisjen.
I pull Aracely to her feet. Dallas is right. None of them will pay for this. Swamp doesn’t get away with shit. We’ll pay for everything, and tomorrow, my brothers will be in front of a judge.
As soon as Aracely rises, she shoves me off and runs back into the fray, reaching down and yanking Amy by the hair, dragging her off Carissa.
I turn back to Clay who stands in the street, chaos swirling around her, making her look like the eye of a storm. The rain pouring down her face looks like tears, her eyes glistening too.
“We’ll always be this,” I tell her, loud but there’s too much going on for anyone to hear us. “Do you see that? Me loyal to my family, and you afraid of yours and your friends. This is all we’ll ever be!”
Why did she have to come tonight? She should’ve just left me alone.
“No one is worth this much trouble,” I tell her. “Not even you.”
Her eyes fall, and for the first time, I see her speechless. She knows it’s true. We’re never going to hold hands, and I will always choose my family over her.
Amy crashes to the ground at Clay’s feet, crying out as she lands on her elbow. Red instantly starts staining the rainy street.
Clay barely notices, looking down and blinking as if she were beamed into this brawl and is trying to figure out what’s going on.
Aracely grabs her hair and yanks her head down. Clay’s face contorts in pain, but she doesn’t make a sound as Ara shoves her with her foot and she lands in a puddle, breaking her fall with her hands.
Aracely advances, I dive in to stop her, but she takes hold of Clay again, fisting her hair at the scalp and dragging her.
“Ara!” I bark.
But no one hears me. I glance up, searching for my brothers, the rain shrouding everything. Dallas holds his hand over his eye, probably to keep it from bleeding as he swings his foot back and kicks something on the other side of Milo’s car. I can’t see whomever he’s finally subdued.
Trace is on the ground, underneath Luke Houseman, choking him from the bottom, while Milo tries to get his legs under him and shake his head clear.
Aracely releases Clay, but only for a moment. Fisting Clay’s tank top, Ara pulls, ripping the back of the fabric, and I can hear it scream from here. Clay hugs herself with her arm, holding it to her body as everything seems to happen in slow motion.
Ara lets her go, takes out her knife, swings out the blade, gathers a handful of Clay’s hair, and…
I suck in a breath. Breaking into a run, I pull my own blade out of my back pocket, unsheath the knife, and reach out, yanking one of Aracely’s braids. She growls but releases Clay just in time, and I put myself between the two women, glaring at Ara.
“She’s mine,” I bite out. “Mine! Get the fuck away from her or she’ll be Army’s tonight, too.”