The feeling swirled inside of me. Mason was home, no matter the problems. As his lips opened and he took control of the kiss, I let him. Things would be fine. They had to. I couldn’t go without this.
As he pulled away, he held me close for a moment. Burying his head into the crook of my shoulder and neck, a shudder wracked through him. I held him close, wrapping my arms even tighter around him. He didn’t think it would be easy. I realized that then. He was scared.
So was I.
“Let’s go in. We can find Logan afterwards.”
“Okay.” He pulled away, lacing our fingers together, and we both turned for the door.
*
Going into the party was like walking through a minefield. There were bombs everywhere. I could see some, but most were hidden. When we entered, I was surprised at the amount of adults in the room. Then I realized they were the parents of the Elite. Seeing Cass and Peter in one corner, I followed his gaze. He stood with his hands in his pockets. Cass had a hold on his arm, but he was looking across the room at Miranda. I stopped when I saw her. She was smug, standing with Emily and Amelia. Mark and Adam were with them too. The five looked like a tight unit.
Adam saw me first. He snapped to his fullest height when his gaze collided with mine. He seemed bored, but that fled instantly. Anger flashed in his eyes. His eyebrows bunched together when he jerked his gaze to Mason before looking away.
The rest of the group saw us then too. Emily waved and saluted me with her drink. Mark frowned. Amelia glanced at Cass and then Miranda before turning away. The only one who wasn’t affected was Miranda. She lifted her chin, holding my gaze in a challenge.
Anger pooled in my stomach. It started flowing through me now. Bitch. She did this. I started for her without thinking. As I realized what I was doing, my foot tripped and I stumbled to the side. Mason caught me, readying me with a hand on my hip. He was right behind me and said in my ear, “Let’s go. It’s time, Sam.”
He didn’t mean leaving the event. I knew what he meant. It was time to handle Miranda and the Elite. I knew without a doubt that I was out after this night. Miranda had stepped wrong. She was going to pay the consequences.
When we got to the group, Peter and Cass were there too. He was frowning, but he seemed transfixed on Miranda. She took a step forward. She was the leader now. It happened just like that. The others didn’t react, but Cass faltered. Her hand fell from Peter’s arm and she turned to Miranda. “What are you doing?”
Miranda folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “What do you think?”
“You’re not in charge anymore. Remember?”
“Are you sure?”
Miranda let her question hang in the air. No one argued against it and Cass gasped. “Are you f**king kidding me? You guys want her back?”
Emily grinned and took a sip from her glass.
Amelia looked away. Mark shrugged while Adam was looking away too. His shoulders were tight, and his jaw was clenched. I had a feeling Adam didn’t care about Miranda’s resumed position as their leader. His hand jerked at his leg into a fist, but he shoved it into his pocket.
Cass’s eyes were wide and round. She hissed, “I can’t believe this. This is ridiculous. Amelia, she called you a whore.”
“You too.”
“What?’
Amelia swallowed but lifted her chin. Her voice trembled. “You too. You slept with Logan too. We all have now.”
“So?”
“So maybe we shouldn’t do to her what she did to us. She fell for him too, but he set her up. He didn’t seduce me or you. He seduced her.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
Amelia’s gaze jerked to mine but turned away. Her shoulders slumped down. “That’s what Miranda said.”
“And you believe her?” A laugh gurgled up from the bottom of Cass’ throat. A high pitch came with it. “This is f**king unbelievable. He f**ked her. He f**ked all of us.”
“Cass.” Peter glared at her and moved away. “Stop it.”
“But--what?”
He looked at Miranda, who gave him a small smile in return. It was a secretive one. My eyebrows arched high at that. Those two were going to get back together. No. As I watched, Peter returned Miranda’s smile. They were together. A grin pulled at my lips. I wanted to laugh. This was a train wreck in the making.
Cass saw it too. Her mouth fell open. “I can’t, no, oh my go--” She sputtered out, skirting between the two. “Are you serious?” She rounded on him. “I threw you this party. You. My boyfriend. Now you’re,” she looked at Miranda again. A full smile was on her face. Cass screamed. “Oh my god!”
Her hand jerked. Her entire body tensed.
I saw it coming.
Cass’ eyes narrowed. She turned so she was facing Miranda squarely. Then the decision was made. She attacked.
She launched herself at Miranda, tackling her down to the ground.
I couldn’t hold back. I was loving it. My entire face was one big smile. It stretched from ear to ear.
Miranda shrieked. Cass shrieked back.
“Bitch.”
“Whore.”