The Handoff (Big Play #3) (16 page)

Snapping on the light, Finn makes me flinch as he reaches for my face.

His expression softens instantly, his anger at Derek disappearing behind a heart-melting concern. “I just want to see if you’re okay,” he whispers. Gently pinching my chin, he turns to look at my cheek. It must be slightly red because Finn’s dark brows dip into a sharp frown. “Does it hurt?”

I look into his eyes, toying with the idea of lying, but then drop my gaze and murmur, “A little. I think it just scared me more than anything. He was fierce, Finn. You should have seen his face. If I hadn’t run, I don’t know what he would have done. He looked ready to end me.”

“Oh, baby.” Finn unbuckles my seatbelt and pulls me across to him. His strong arms wrap around me, his large hand cupping the back of my head as he nestles me against his chest. “I’m gonna kill him.”

“No.” My voice is muffled by his shirt. “We’re not going back there. I just… Can we go to Colt’s, please? I just want to be somewhere safe.”

After a long, silent pause, Finn flicks the interior light off and starts driving. He doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t let me go, either. His arm stays locked around me as he slowly drives us to the Burgess’s house. I hope Colt’s parents aren’t home; I don’t want to have to explain myself to anyone.

I don’t know what’s going through Finn’s mind right now. All I can focus on is the feel of his taut muscles and the protection they can offer me.

#26:

No Matter What Anyone Says

Finn

Layla’s shivering. I squeeze her a little tighter to my side, but I don’t want to hurt her. My muscles are so tight I’m worried I’ll crush her. Anger is pulsing through me in thick waves that are making it hard to see straight. My mind is flooded with all the ways I could maim Derek, but all I really want to do is find him and start punching. I want to sink my knuckles into his face until he’s unrecognizable.

I’m not usually a violent guy—I’m all about breaking up the fights, not starting in them.

But that asshole hurt my girl.

I punch the brakes and we jerk to a stop in Colt’s driveway. Opening the door, I pull Layla with me, tucking my arm around her waist as I lock the car. I keep her close against me and we walk up to the house. The porch light illuminates her face, giving me a clear view of her red cheek. I’m surprised my knuckles don’t splinter the wood when I knock on the door.

Less than a minute later, the door pops open.

“Are you okay?” Tori reaches out for Layla’s hand and tugs her inside. “When Finn just split like that, I was worried you’d been in an accident or something.”

“I’m fine,” she murmurs.

“You’re not fine!” I don’t mean to snap, but now that we’re in the safety of Colt’s place and Layla’s got someone else to be gentle with her, my anger’s starting to show again. “Have you got any ice?” I ask Colt the second he appears.

He looks at my knuckles and then my face before tracking over to Layla. The second he spots her red cheek, his eyes bulge and he tips his head towards the kitchen.

I stalk after him while Tori guides Layla into the den.

Colt yanks open the freezer and grabs an ice pack. “What the hell happened?”

“Derek hit her,” I growl. “He fuckin’ hit her, man. I want to kill that asshole.” My jaw quivers as I clench my teeth together. My whole body is vibrating. I’ve never felt like this before, and it’s freaking me out a little bit.

“Just calm down, okay?” Colt holds up his hand, obviously unnerved by my out-of-character emotion. “Layla’s already had to put up with one guy’s wrath tonight. She shouldn’t have to cope with yours too.”

I make a fist and slam it against the counter.

With a light snicker, Colt hands me the ice pack. “Yeah, I know. Being in love sucks, right?”

I give him a dry glare, but his knowing smile takes my anger from a rage to a controlled boil. “I just hate that I wasn’t there to stop him.”

“Do you know why he did it?”

My shoulder hitches as we turn for the den. “She said she got mouthy with him. He was trying to make her do something else, threatening her with those photos… She must have just lost it.”

A small spark of pride or affection, or maybe a combo of the two, blooms inside my chest, only growing stronger as I step down into the den and spot her on the couch with Tori.

Pixie Girl has her arm wrapped around her shoulders and is murmuring something. Layla bobs her head, a trembling smile growing on her lips. She sniffs and glances up, catching my eye. The second she sees me, her expression changes to something beautiful. It’s like I’m suddenly the only person in the room…or at least the only one who matters.

Striding over to her, I crouch low and gently place the ice pack against her cheek.

She hisses, her nose bunching as she tries to flinch away.

“It’ll help with the bruising.”

“There’s going to be bruising?” The slight whine in her voice has me fighting a grin. “Please tell me it’s not going to leave a mark!”

“It’s not going to leave a mark.”

“Okay, are you just saying that because I told you to, or do you actually mean it?”

Pulling the ice pack away, I check out the red blemish on her cheek so I’m able to answer with one hundred percent honesty.

“It won’t leave a mark, but even if it did, you’d still be my
sundar
.”

I can feel Tori’s curious gaze on me, but refuse to look away from Layla. Her brown eyes soften as she fights a small smile. “I just don’t want people asking questions.”

Then tell them the truth!

I move onto the couch beside her so she’s sandwiched between me and Tori. I try to keep my voice light and diplomatic. “He can’t do this to you anymore.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Expose him. Show those photos before he can.”

Layla bulges her eyes at me then whips around to look at Tori. Pixie Girl gives her a kind smile and gently pats her hand. “It’s okay. Colt told me about the photos. I don’t know what went down at that party, but Derek should not be doing this to you. I think you should listen to Finn.”

“Thank you,” I murmur, smiling over Layla’s head.

My girlfriend whips back to glare at me, her face bunching into a tortured expression. “Would you guys stop! You haven’t seen them!”

She flicks her hand in the air. It smacks down onto her jean-clad knee before she wrestles herself off the couch and heads for the door. Colt subtly shifts to block her retreat, his solid body impassable. She growls at him and spins back to face me. “They’re awful, okay? His hands are all over me. I’m practically naked in half of them. Is that what you want people to see?”

“No.” It’s hard to keep my voice even when she’s telling me this stuff. Details hurt, but I’m not backing down. “I’m not asking you to expose them to everyone. Just tell your mom.”

“I’ve told you, she won’t believe me! They’ll take one look, and all their assumptions about me will be proven true. It doesn’t matter which guys are in that photo. All they’ll see is me letting two guys have their way with me!”

“Maybe not.” Tori’s voice, although soft, cuts between us.

Layla’s sharp frown makes Pix shrink back a little, but she keeps going, her voice growing in confidence as she builds momentum.

“If you expose the photos first, you might be able to prove the fact that you didn’t want to be doing what you were doing.”

Layla’s eyes shut tight and she swallows as though she’s fighting the urge to puke. “The photos make it look as though I do, okay?”

Tori winces. Thankfully, Layla’s not looking at her. I nudge Pixie’s arm and silently tell her to keep going. It’s nice to not be the only person saying this stuff.

She wrings her hands and looks from me to my girlfriend. “But if you can admit your mistake to everyone then Derek’s got nothing. It’ll be like pulling out the rug from under him.”

“He’s probably already posted the pictures online! My best move is to just go into hiding. That was the original plan anyway. I should have just stuck with it.” Her gaze flashes past mine, then dips to the floor.

I try to brush off the sting of her comments and force my voice to come out calm and even. “How are you going to do that? Skip school for the rest of the year?”

“If I have to.” She looks up at me, her chin rising in defiance.

I roll my eyes and stand. “Layla, stop this. Please. Stop letting him own you.”

“You can’t tell me what to do!” she snaps, then whips around to leave.

Colt blocks her way, shifting to the side before she can duck around him.

“Would you move?” She stomps her foot.

“No, Layla. We’re not letting you leave.” Colt’s firm voice makes her shoulders sag. “You need to claim this. It’ll make him look guilty. He’s the one who’s been hiding the truth. People will want to know why he didn’t push you away instead of mauling you.”

Layla scoffs. “He told me getting it on with his hot stepsister will make him a king.”

My nostrils flare, hot magma firing through me as I make a fist. Colt’s eyes connect with mine and I see a flash of anger.

His jaw clenches, but he somehow manages to keep speaking in a calm, quiet tone. “I’m sure his dad wouldn’t feel that way.”

“You want me to show my stepfather too?”

“I think he’s your best bet. Play this thing right and Derek could end up in some pretty hot water.”

“He said I came onto him.”

“What if he’s lying?” Colt’s quietly countering every one of Layla’s arguments, calmly wearing her down. “All we need to do is get those photos and present them in the right way.”

“All we need to do?” Layla scoffs. “How are you even going to get them?”

Colt clears his throat and looks to the floor, scratching the back of his neck while I step up. “We figured we’d get them off Derek’s phone…or computer.”

“His…” She spins to face me, her expression bunched into a tight frown. “You’re going to hack into his computer?”

I shrug. “Something like that,” I say, deciding not to go into the details Colt and I have been discussing all week.

“We just need copies of those photos in
your
hands so you can spill the truth in your way. Take back the power.” Colt’s voice spins Layla back around.

“This is insane!” Her voice pitches high. “Finn and I have been through this, okay? They’re never going to believe me. When it comes to my word against Derek’s, he’ll always win. And if Mom finds out, Mack definitely will. He’ll be so disgusted. He will hate me for the rest of my life!”

“Well, I’m gonna love you no matter what anyone says.” That was not at all how I planned to spout my big confession. My emotions are running so high that the words just kind of burst out of me.

Everything goes painfully quiet while Tori and Colt share this amused little look and I wait in agony for Layla to slowly turn and face me.

It takes an eternity, I swear, but finally she’s looking into my eyes and I can show her that I’m not bullshitting. She doesn’t know what to say to me. Her lips part like she can’t quite believe what I’m telling her.

The silence starts to grow thick and even more awkward. I scramble to fill it, but mushy-brain-syndrome is kicking in big time.

Tori clears her throat and steps forward with a grin. “You know what? I’m going to love you too.”

Layla’s face bunches with confusion as she looks at Pix. “Why?”

Tori just smiles and shakes her head, stepping forward with a hug. Not expecting the move, Layla kind of tips to the side. I reach forward before they topple over, but Colt’s there, steadying her with his hand.

He gives me this bemused smile over Layla’s head and all I can do is grin as Tori steps back and holds her shoulders.

“I know what it’s like to put on a show. And I can tell you from experience that it doesn’t get you what you want. Honesty hurts, but at least it’s real…and if you’re lucky, it scores you the things you want.”

I can tell by the mushy look on Colt’s face that Tori’s looking at him.

Layla turns to me, her brown eyes still swirling with dread and fear. Closing the space between us, I pull her away from Tori and wrap my arms around her waist.

“You’re not the person everyone thinks you are.” I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Stop living up to their expectations and show them the real Layla Mahoney. Tell the truth. Expose him before he can use you again. Please. I’m not going to be able to stand by and let him hurt you anymore.”

“But I’m scared.”

“I know.” I step back and take her hand, resting it over my heart. Flattening my hand on top of hers, I play a total cheese card and whisper, “Trust this. No matter what anyone says, I’m not changing my mind about you.”

It takes a second, but ever so slowly, her whole faces rises with a smile that could keep me running for the rest of the year.

Gliding my fingers along her jawline, I step back into her space and claim her mouth. I don’t care that Tori and Colt are standing there watching; I’m sealing my promise with a kiss. Layla’s fingers fist the back of my shirt, her mouth parting as she just maybe starts to believe me.