From the black and orange jerseys, I saw some Roussou people up ahead. I flashed past their cars. A few got out and watched, but no one chased me. I kept going. Then I was closer to the house. Three more cop cars had arrived, one that had two guys cuffed in the backseat. As I neared the house, they put another two in the squad cars.
Then a cop reached out and caught me around the waist. “Whoa, girl.”
I panted up at him. “Sorry. I like to run.”
He eyed me up and down, but lingered on my eyes. “I can see that. You on anything?”
I opened my mouth, but he had a flashlight on before I could respond. He flashed it on my eyes and bent closer. I felt his breath against my skin before he moved back. “Guess you really do like to run.”
I flashed him a grin, slightly silly from the adrenalin that pumped in my body. Then I rasped out, “Where are the Kades?”
He gestured to the house. “They’re being questioned in the kitchen. You should head home, kid.”
“I can’t. They’re my ride.”
He gave me an odd look, but I jogged up the hill and headed inside. A bunch of guys sat in the living room, on the couches, as five police officers stood in front of them. They had notebooks out and pens at the ready. When I headed for the kitchen, Mason and Logan were both at the table. Two cops stood in front of them in plain clothes. Their badges hung from around the necks and their eyes snapped to me when I entered.
Mason groaned.
Logan shook his head before his forehead slumped to the table.
The female cop asked, “Who is this?”
Mason answered for me, “She’s no one. Send her home.”
I couldn’t look away from him and I ignored the anger in his eyes. He looked fine, irritated, but fine. A knot loosened in my gut and my chest lifted with more ease. I could breathe again. Then I blinked back some tears. I knew they would come from the relief, but I turned and wiped them away. A scowl came over my face. What the hell? I was crying, now?
I heard Logan giggle and whipped around. “Shut up. I was worried.”
His shoulders shook, and he doubled over. Then Mason shared in his grin.
The female cop cleared her throat. “Wanna fill us in?”
Mason fixed me with a stare after he stopped his laughter. “Go home, Sam.”
I swallowed thickly.
He gentled his voice. “We’ll talk later.”
It was all I needed. I needed to know he was safe, they were both safe.
As I made my way back outside, exhaustion had settled in. Everything in me wanted to fall to the ground. I wanted to curl in a fetal position, have Mason carry me home, and tuck us both into bed. But when I saw Ethan by his garage, I figured he’d do. He stood with a group of guys, but all of them moved away when I approached.
“No cops?” I glanced around.
Ethan’s frowned as he took in my sweaty state. “No,” he clipped out. “The main attraction is inside. I just own the property.”
I was a bit more wary now. “Could you give me a ride home? Mason—”
He lifted a hand. “No need. I’ll give you a ride.” Then he gestured for his buddies to leave and they did. One of them tossed a pair of keys to him and he caught it in a swift motion. He nodded towards the red Ferrari behind us, and I slid into the front seat with even more relief.
The engine purred to life and he drove frontwards instead of backwards. There was another driveway that rounded to the edge of his place. He was able to bypass a lot of the extra traffic and any that lingered on the premises. As we turned at the end of his street, he murmured, “You might want to duck down.”
“Why?”
He eyed a group on my side. I caught the orange and black and slid to the floor. There was no explanation needed. When we went past, I heard a few curses yelled at the car, but Ethan drove past with a bored expression on his face.
“You can come back up.”
I glanced in the rear view mirror. A few of their guys stood in the street now. It was obvious they still watched us.
And then I asked him, “Who’s Broudou?”
He grimaced, but he didn’t hesitate. “Budd Broudou.”
“Who is he?”
“Their ring leader. He hates Mason.”
He grunted and rolled his eyes. The car slid smoothly down the street. “Because his little sister is obsessed with Mason, that’s why.”
“Are you kidding me? This is all because of his sister.”
He lifted an easy shoulder. “More or less. Broudou was unstoppable in football and pretty much every sport he played, but that ended when Mason and Logan came to town. They moved here two years ago, you know. When they did, the first football game we had against Roussou took the cake. They always dominated us before that, but we killed ‘em. We massacred them. They got pissed and Budd took it personally. Then his little sister propositioned Mason after a game. You can figure how well that went over.”
“He turned her down?”
“He laughed in her face.” At my lack of shock, he grinned. “Mason doesn’t laugh in girls’ faces anymore, but he did then. He was a bigger jerk back then.”
It was hard to believe, but moving along.
He chuckled at my face. “Broudou lost a scholarship to Mason. He tell you that? He’s got a golden ticket to most schools he wants, but he also got the one that Broudou wanted. Mason turned it down ‘cause he wants to stick close next year, but they never offered Broudou the alternate. They learned of the rivalry and threw his application out of the prospects. Another reason to hate Mason.”