Fallen Crest Public (Fallen Crest Series) (41 page)

Tate took a breath, shook her head at me and a bitter smile flared for a second. “Mason hated me. I thought it was going to be the same as last time. I thought he was going to humiliate me at every chance he could, but he didn’t. That threw me for a loop. For a while.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe to piss him off one last time? Maybe because I’m the only one who’ll actually say it to your face? I don’t know. I don’t care. I’m done with high school. I’m off to college, and Mason Kade can no longer fuck with my life.”

That sounded worse than the first part. The knot doubled, and I was starting to struggle with breathing.

“Has he told you that Marissa’s going to Cain University too? That’s where he’s going, right? He and Nate. They’re roommates.”

He hadn’t. A part of me sank inside.

Then she laughed some more, the same bitter sound from earlier. “I started to suspect a while back, but it’s beyond me why no one else has. I was at Fischer’s party earlier, you know. The one where Mason relished ruining Kate’s life. Guess who I ran into there? Miranda Stewart. I heard that she dated Logan for a little bit, but I never thought about it. Who would? He goes through girls like beer. He chugs one down and throws the can away.”

This wasn’t going where I wanted it to go. I knew where it was going, but I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to hear the words and I began to shake my head. Things were good. Things were better than good. The three of us were united again. Mason and I were together. I needed him …

She kept laughing. “Miranda has no idea what happened. From what I heard, she got all judgment on whoever slept with Logan, then he turned the tides on her and seduced her. She dumped her long-time boyfriend for him, only to get dumped by Logan a month later.” She nodded. “She told me about that night at the party. She told me that she had words with Mason and Logan and that was when he seduced her. It was that night. It was because of Mason, wasn’t it?”

Dread began to form in me. It went deep, all the way down, and I couldn’t answer her. I started to turn away.

Tate kept going, as if she was enjoying this. “You see, Logan rarely does something without a reason. Not a lot of people know that about him, but you and I do. So does Mason. I was curious, so I kept asking her more questions. She explained everything, how she was a hypocrite to her friends.” Tate paused and drew in a ragged breath. She bit out, “She has no idea. That’s the beauty of everything. She has no fucking clue.”

“No, no, no.” I shook my head. I knew what was coming, and I didn’t want to hear it.

“And she didn’t even say anything. It was all in her look. She told me how she was so confused. She thought you were dating Logan, but then Mason stepped up and set her straight. She couldn’t believe it, but that was all that was needed. Mason saw it. Didn’t he?”

This couldn’t be said. It would make it real.

“She saw what he already knows.” Tate kept going. Her voice was so goddamn cheerful. “And I love it because it sent him into a tailspin. It wasn’t that he couldn’t lose his brother, it was you. He couldn’t lose you. I don’t know what he did, but I’m not stupid. I know how Mason works. He was behind Logan dating her and dumping her, wasn’t he? I love this. I love that I’m the one that’s going to spill it.”

I held my breath. My hands were in fists now, and I pressed them into my legs.

“He wanted to silence the one other person that caught on, and she might’ve said something. Too bad she never figured it out, but she is dumb. Quite dumb, though she acts like a princess.” A hollow laugh came from her. “She saw the same thing. She saw why Mason stopped giving a damn about me this year. That’s what she saw and why she was so confused that you were with Mason.”

I continued to hold in my breath and kept my eyes closed.
No, no, no, no …

“Mason didn’t get that video of me sucking off Logan out of the goodness of his heart. He didn’t even get it to help Logan. This is Logan. He doesn’t give a shit if someone watches him getting a blow job. Oh no. Mason got that video because he was hoping it’d keep my mouth shut because he knows I figured it out.” She snorted to herself. “He didn’t want me to tell you what I know. And like I said before, I no longer give a shit. You want to know what Miranda saw all those months ago, even though she never connected the dots?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t lose them.

Tate continued to laugh as she started to back away. “Logan couldn’t love me because he’s in love with you. It’s finally out there now.” She paused and an abrupt laugh came from her. “Logan’s in love with you.”

She kept laughing all the way to her car, but I couldn’t move.

Logan was in love with me.

Fuck.

Stay tuned for
Fallen Fourth Down
, coming soon. For more information, go to Tijan’s Books or
www.facebook.com/TijansBooks
.

I have enjoyed working with Ami so much on this book. It felt like a team effort and that was so greatly appreciated. I don’t think I can express how much that meant to me, but I also need to thank my three beta readers: Jocelyn (
[email protected]
), Cami, and one that wishes to remain anonymous. All three were wonderful and there if I needed them to read something quick or give me suggestions, or just reassurance.

Need to do a shout-out to my readers and the admins in my fan group. To the admins, I’m continuously amazed at you guys. You guys are always there to promote, inspire, encourage, and even be the bouncers in the group. Thank you, so very much for your work. To the readers, you guys rallied around me and have supported me. I try to give back, but I don’t know if it’s enough to express my gratitude. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Next, I need to thank the ladies at Crazies R Us Book Blog. Holy shit. You two have gone above and beyond for me. You are a great blog, but you have also become like friends to me. Thank you for all your amazing help. Lastly, I need to mention my significant other. Prior to this book, we suffered a tragedy. Thank you for fighting at my side.

Keep reading for excerpts from CARTER REED & BROKEN AND SCREWED.

Douchebag’s here.

That was the first thought that went through my head as I crept into our apartment. It was my apartment—
mine
—and I had to slink inside because my roommate’s boyfriend was a pervert. I always snuck in when I saw his car in the parking lot, but this time was different. They were in the living room and my roommate cried out. I heard the slap next as he backhanded her and that stopped everything. I couldn’t move, but I could see them. Then he growled at her to shut up before he went back to his business. She still whimpered, but quieted as he kept thrusting into her.

I couldn’t look away.

He was raping her.

Sickness blasted me. I couldn’t believe what was happening in front of me.

He kept thrusting as he held her down in front of him. His legs held her trapped and he was leaning over with one of his hands holding both of her wrists together. He kept going. My roommate lay there in surrender. He had defeated her, broken her, and I was witnessing it all.

Vomit and hatred spewed up in my throat, but I clamped them down. They wouldn’t burst out of me, not when I had a chance to do something that I knew I would regret. But even with that thought, the decision had already been made in my mind.

Mallory cried out again. Her agony was heart-wrenching. My hand trembled before he ordered her to shut up again. Then he thrust harder, deeper. He kept going, clueless as to who else might’ve been in the apartment.

This was my home.

This was her home.

He was not welcome, but he didn’t care. He kept going into her. Then he growled in pleasure. The sound of it went straight to the pit of my stomach. I wanted to spew my guts once more, but instead my eyes hardened and I went to the kitchen. There was a whole drawer of knives, but none of them would do. Not for him.

I went past the kitchen and knelt at the floorboards of our patio. I removed one of them and gripped the box that I knew my brother would’ve hated to know I had. Another scream ripped from behind me and my resolve grew.

My arm didn’t shake.

I found the gun my brother had never wanted me to know about. I gripped it and lifted it free from the box before I put the floorboard back together. Then, with my heart going slower than it should’ve been and clearer eyes than I should’ve had, I turned for the living room again. The sounds of his thrusting continued. The couch slammed against the wall with each thrust. My roommate cried out with each movement. It never seemed to stop, but I held on tighter to the gun before I turned the last corner.

He had readjusted them. He sat her up against the wall as he kept pumping into her. Now her head bounced against the wall. She was pale as a ghost; fresh tears fell over the dried ones. Her eyeliner streamed down with them so that her face was streaked black, with bruises starting to fill in the rest of the space on her face. Her cheek was already swollen and red from where he had slapped her. There were cuts at the top of her forehead. Blood streamed from them. He had sliced her and pulled her hair out so much that it bled.

Her eyes met mine over his shoulder. A whimper left her again, but his hand slammed over her throat once again. He squeezed with more and more pressure, her mouth gaping open for oxygen. As he gripped tighter, his hips jerked even harder. He was getting off on it. Then she started to thrash around—she couldn’t get any air.

He squeezed harder.

When her eyes started to glaze over, I saw a flash of something in them. It was meant for me. I knew it. And my hand held even tighter to the gun as I lifted it in the air.

I felt his gurgle of release before I heard it. I felt it in the air, through the floor, through my roommate. It didn’t matter. I knew he was near to climaxing and nothing had ever disgusted me more, but my hand was steady as I held the glock. Then I removed the safety and I cleared my throat once.

He froze.

He didn’t look around. He should’ve, but he didn’t.

I waited—my heart starting to pound, but he just started thrusting once again.

“Jeremy.”

My voice was so soft, almost too soft, but he froze anyway and twisted his head back to look at me. When he saw what I held, his eyes went wild—and then I shot him.

The bullet hit the center of his forehead. I wasn’t surprised when Mallory started to scream, still in his hold. His body held her against the wall even as he slumped. He would have kept her in place if not for her frantic hands pushing him off. His body fell to the ground, as much as the bones and tendons allowed. His knees were still bent, but the blood seeped from him slowly. It formed a pool underneath, and as I stood there, it grew and grew.