41. Sebastian
Chapter 41
Sebastian
Jason sneers, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Taking what’s mine, Barron. You got a problem with that?”
My arm tightens around Lil. “She’s not yours. She was never yours.”
“Bullshit,” Jason says. “She was supposed to marry me. She would have if you hadn’t stuck your dick where it didn’t belong.”
Lil flinches in my arms. Fuck.
“Leave.” My voice turns into a low growl. “You so much as look at her wrong again, and I’ll break every bone in your body.”
He scoffs.
Lil’s soft voice reaches my ear, barely through the red haze clouding my senses. “Let me talk to him.”
What? The hell I will. Every bone in my body is on alert, my teeth gritted so hard it aches. “No fucking way.”
“Give me a moment.” She grips my arm, eyes pleading. “I need to handle this.”
“Yeah, fuck off, Barron.”
My eyes snap to him.
Handle this? Jason forced himself on her, putting his filthy hands where they didn’t belong. On my girl. The urge to pummel him into the ground consumes me.
She cups my face, her touch firm, guiding my eyes to hers. Those amber eyes, usually so warm, now shimmer with desperation. And then, her lips are on mine—soft yet urgent, a silent plea. I inhale sharply, the scent of chocolate surrounding me, wiping everything else away, grounding me.
“Trust me,” she whispers against my lips.
“I can’t lose you again, princess.” The lump in my throat nearly chokes me. “ I can’t.”
Something flashes in her eyes, but before she can respond, Levi’s voice cuts through the air. “I suggest you back the fuck off before I make you.” He has Jason by the collar, holding him back from lunging at me. The prick’s face is mottled red, his eyes wild.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” Landon strolls up, hands in his pockets, the picture of calm. “First, Jason. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Jason struggles against Levi’s grip. “None of your damn business.”
“See.” Landon tilts his head, a humorless smile playing on his lips. “That’s where you’re wrong. Anything involving my sister is very much my business. So are you going to play nice if my brother releases you?”
Jason nods, and Levi whispers something into his ear before releasing him with a shove. My fists itch to connect with the bastard’s face, but I hold back. Barely.
Landon turns to us, his expression unreadable. “Lil, Sebastian, I apologize for this… unpleasantness.”
He hugs Lil and then extends a hand to me. I shake it, my grip a little tighter than necessary .
“We’d like to talk to our sister,” Landon says. “Away from here. Your mother put a lot of effort into this brunch. Let’s not ruin it with another scene, shall we?”
I open my mouth to protest, but Anne appears beside Landon, her brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”
Landon waves a dismissive hand. “I’ll fill you in later, love. For now, Levi and I need a word with our sister about this new… development.”
His eyes flick to me, and I bristle. Development? Is that what he calls me? Like I’m some fucking phase Lil’s going through?
Lil turns to me, her hand on my chest. “You okay with me leaving?”
No. “If that’s what you want.” I cover her hand with mine.
She nods, rising onto her toes to give me a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll meet you back at the apartment, okay?”
No, it’s not fucking okay. I want to wrap her in my arms and never let go, shield her from the world and all the assholes in it. But fuck, I can’t. I have to trust her. Even if it kills me.
“Alright.” My voice is rough. “I’ll be waiting.”
She spins around, walking away with her brothers, and I’m left standing here like a goddamn idiot.
What if they convince her that I’m bad for her? That I’m the asshole who broke her heart years ago? What if she decides not to come back? The thought gnaws at my insides like a relentless beast.
Anne touches my shoulder. “You okay? What happened?”
I run a hand through my hair, blowing out a harsh breath. “Jason fucking Campbell happened.”
Her eyes widen. “What did he do?”
“He put his hands on her.” The words taste like bile in my mouth. “Kissed her against her will.”
Anne gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh my God. Is she okay? ”
“I don’t know. She looks like it, but…”
But I know her. I know when she’s putting on a brave face, when she’s trying to be strong for everyone else. It’s one of the things I love about her. And one of the things that scares me most.
“She’ll be alright.” Anne squeezes me. “She’s tougher than she looks.”
If her brothers try to take her away from me, they’ll soon learn I don’t give up what’s mine without a fight. And Lil has always been mine, even when she didn’t know it. Even when I didn’t want to admit it.
“Aw, isn’t that sweet? Your supposed girlfriend left you for her brothers, and now you’re being comforted by her sister-in-law?”
Jason.
The smug bastard doesn’t know when to quit. I almost forgot that he still exists.
I glower at him.
Anne steps between us, her hands raised. “Jason, please. Don’t make this worse than it already is.”
“Worse?” His voice turns wicked. “I’m only getting started.”
“You need to leave. Now,” Anne says.
But Jason ignores her, his eyes locked on me. “You know, I missed kissing her. I wonder if she’s still the same in bed.”
“Walk away,” I say.
“It’s funny. Lil always did have a thing for… projects.” He steps closer, lowering his voice. “You’re nothing to her. Just a way to rebel.”
I ball my hands into fists. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
“What’s the matter? Can’t handle the truth?”
“The only truth here is that you’re a pathetic piece of shit who can’t take no for an answer.” My muscles tense .
“You should’ve seen her face,” Jason says. “It was like old times. Some things don’t change.”
Everything turns red. A tiny voice in the back of my mind warns me to stop, to walk away. Jason smirks, and all reason vanishes.
I lunge at him, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall. “You don’t know a damn thing about Lil or our relationship.”
“I know she deserves better than you.” He struggles against my grip.
“And you think that’s you?” I scoff. “You’re nothing but a fucking joke.”
Anne’s voice cuts through. “Bash, let him go.”
“You’re fucking delusional if you think she actually loves you,” he spits out. “She’s using you like the little whore she is.”
My fist connects with his face before I even realize what I’m doing.
A sick satisfaction curses through me at the crunch of bone against my knuckles. But underneath the rage, there’s fear. Fear that this violence, this darkness inside me, is exactly why Lil shouldn’t be with me. What if I’m no better than the monster she’s trying to escape?
But that’s the point, right? I had to be one to save her.
“You stay the hell away from her,” I say. “If you so much as look at Lil again, if you even think about her, I will end you. Do you understand me?”
He wipes his bloody nose. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
“And you’re still living in the past. How’s that working out for you?”
He pushes me back and swings wildly, clipping my mouth. I taste blood, but I’m too furious to care. I slam my fist into his smug face. He stumbles back, but I don’t give him a chance to recover. I’m on him in an instant, tackling him to the ground. We roll around, trading blows. I barely feel the pain, my mind consumed with fury. How dare he talk about Lil like that? How dare he touch her, force himself on her ?
Flashes of Lil’s terrified face invade my thoughts, and I’m transported back. Her suffocating, gasping for air as his hands closed around her throat. The desperation in her eyes. And I couldn’t do a damn thing. At first…
But it didn’t feel like enough. It will never feel like enough.
Not until I know she’s safe.
Not until I know she’s mine.
Forever.
She looked at me like I was her fucking savior. Like I could protect her from anything.
And I failed her.
I failed her when I left her in the library. I failed her when I didn’t rip Jason’s fucking head off the moment he laid a hand on her. I almost lost her when—
“Bash! Stop!” Brandon’s voice cuts through my rage.
But I can’t. I can’t let him go. Not until he pays for what he did.
Strong arms wrap around me, hauling me off Jason. I struggle against the hold, still seeing red.
“Enough,” Connor says. “Don’t do this. Not here. Not like this.”
I want to tell him to fuck off. To let me finish what I started. But then I see Anne, her face pale. And I know he’s right.
The reality of what I’ve done begins to sink in. I flex my fingers. There’s a sense of… satisfaction? Guilt? I’m not sure which.
I let them pull me away, my chest heaving as I try to catch my breath. Jason sits up, gingerly touching his swollen jaw and grinning. Guess I was too nice.
“Get him out of here,” Anne says to the security guards who have appeared out of nowhere. “And make sure he doesn’t come back.”
They nod, hauling Jason to his feet and dragging him away.
My knuckles sting, but the burst of violence felt good. Too good.
Brandon releases me but keeps a hand on my shoulder. “You good?”
I shrug him off. “I’m fine.” I need a drink. Or ten.
But more than that, I need Lil. I need to hold her, to reassure myself that she’s mine and that nothing Jason says or does can change that.
“Like hell, you are,” Connor says. “You went apeshit on that guy.”
“I need to go.” I pivot. “I need to be there when Lil gets back.”
“Bash, wait—”
But I’m already walking away.
Is she okay? What if her brothers convince her to stay away from me? What if she realizes I’m not good enough for her?
The drive home is a blur. Each traffic light feels like an eternity, and every red signal is another obstacle keeping me from her. The taste of blood lingers in my mouth, metallic and bitter. City lights streak past the window, but I barely notice them, my grip on the steering wheel tightening, willing myself to focus on the road and not the gnawing worry in my gut.
When I arrive, the sun has already set, and the silence that greets me is deafening.
I run to her room. If she left, I don’t know what I’d do. Luckily, her stuff is still here.
Fuck, I’m going crazy over here.
I sink down onto the couch in the living room, my eyes darting to the clock every few seconds. What’s taking so long?
I close my eyes, yearning for the sound of Lil’s voice when she sings along to her favorite songs while baking cupcakes in the kitchen. Or the sight of her fast asleep among stacks of books in the library—a room I added to the apartment for her because I know how much she loves to read. The way she sits on my lap while sewing …
Being with Lil feels effortless in a way nothing else does. Her laughter brightens even my darkest days, while her smile alone is enough to ease the tension in my shoulders.
I lounge back on the couch, my body still aching from the fight. What would she say if she saw me like this?
Maybe I don’t deserve her. Maybe I never did. But the thought of letting her go… it’s like contemplating cutting off a limb.
I’ve faced boardrooms full of sharks, made million-dollar decisions without breaking a sweat, but the idea of losing her reduces me to a nervous wreck.