Cassidy flinched away from me.

It felt like I’d been shot in the chest with a shotgun.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Jackie screamed at me.

“Oh God, Cassidy!” I took a short, painful breath in. “Baby, are you all right? I’m—” Another painful breath. “I’m so sorry.”

I got to my feet and followed as Ethan lifted her up and walked quickly back to the bedroom with Jackie; Ty wasn’t far behind.

“Are you kidding me? You’re always going on about me hurting her and you hit her?!”

I felt like I was going to throw up. “I had no idea it was her, I didn’t even know she was in the room. God. Cassidy, are you okay? Please say something.” Ethan had already sat her on the bed so I got closer and gently touched her arm but she jerked away.

“Don’t touch her, you ass**le!” Tyler pushed me back and went toe-to-toe with me.

“Stop fighting,” Cassidy said in a soft, robotic voice. I turned and my heart broke when I saw the right side of her face was in that familiar, lifeless mask. “Tyler.”

“Yeah, sweetheart?” He squatted next to her and grabbed her hand, the smile on his face showing how happy he was that she was going back to him, like always.

“I need you to leave, I need some time—”

“Cassi, I’ve always—”

“Not anymore, not after what you did to me.” Her voice lost some of its mechanical sound and got soft as a whisper when her eyes focused on his. “You closed the window, Ty.”

I could see that was the one thing that could hurt Tyler the most. Having Cassidy say those last words, confusing as they were, killed him. He stood there wide eyed for a moment before nodding and walking out of the room. As much as I hated him, I still felt somewhat bad for him. I couldn’t imagine how much that hurt, but from the way Cass glanced up at me I thought I was about to find out.

“Ethan, Jackie, can you guys give us a minute, please?”

Fuck.

As soon as the door shut behind them, I looked up to see her looking at me. Her hand had left her face and I saw it was a deep red. I had no doubt she was going to have a massive black eye in the morning. I swallowed back bile and took two steps toward her.

“Do not touch me, Gage Carson.”

Oh God. What the hell have I done?

“Cassidy.” My voice came out rough and quiet. “I swear I didn’t know you were even in the room, darlin’. I would never hurt you.”

“A part of me knows that, Gage.”

A part of her. A part of her. What the hell?!

“But I can’t—I don’t—you . . . you . . .” Her mask slipped and her head fell into her hands; a sob instantly tore through her body.

Fuck this. I took the last two steps toward her and sank to the bed, pulling her into my arms and onto my lap. Her body jerked like I’d shocked her, but I kept my hold tight and didn’t let go. No way was I letting go.

“Cassidy, I love you so much.” My voice came out tight and I kissed the top of her head. “God, baby, I’m so sorry.”

CASSIDY

THIS WAS THE first time in many years that I’d cried after getting hit. But then again, this one was completely different from all the rest. This one was intended for someone else and was an act of self-defense; I knew that. Really, I did. But this one? This one was by far the worst hit I’d ever taken.

Walking out of the bedroom into the short hall had been like falling into a hellish nightmare. I hated any type of physical fighting. Hated it with every ounce of my being. And walking out to at least ten guys beating the crap out of each other had brought back flashbacks I’d worked so hard at erasing from my mind. Seeing Gage in the middle of it had taken it from hellish nightmare straight to hell. That was my personal hell, seeing Gage beating the crap out of Grant. I still didn’t know what started the fighting, or who started it, but that didn’t matter. For me, there is only one reason to fight someone, and it’s if they’re trying to take your life or the life of someone you love. But seeing as all those guys were close, I seriously doubted that was the case.

I shouldn’t have rushed in there, I should have yelled at Gage to stop. I’d been trying to yell, but I couldn’t make anything come out, and as for rushing in there . . . it was stupid, but I just wanted the fighting stopped. Instead, I’d taken an elbow to my eye. Considering what I’ve endured, it wasn’t that bad at all. I’d been so shocked by the way my head had snapped back so quickly, it took me a second to realize why I was falling backward, until I landed smack on my butt at the same time Ethan’s hands shot out to catch me. The pain in my eye and head finally registered as Gage turned around with a murderous glare in his eyes, his right arm cocked back, ready to strike again. And that was all I could see and feel anymore, even now.

Pain rushing through my head. Gage’s face twisted with rage and his fist aimed at me, ready to deliver another blow.

His arms tightened around me as he kissed the top of my head again. I brought my shaky hands up to his chest and pushed but he didn’t budge. I couldn’t be here in his arms, not when all I could see was that horrible image. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to get that out of my mind. It was evident my words hurt him, but I didn’t want to lie to him. A part of me did know that Gage would never hurt me. Before tonight all of me had known that, and although I knew he didn’t do it on purpose and it was my fault, my past wasn’t letting me comprehend that.