T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,96

hell I could let Lucas Brant get away with what he’d done to my sister. No matter what she said, there was no way I was going to let this go. I couldn’t. I took a step towards her and pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly as I whispered, “I’m going to take care of this, Lyssa.”

“But ...”

“Don’t worry. No one will ever know what happened,” I assured her. “I’ll make sure of it.”

I held her a moment longer, then turned and left the room. I heard her calling my name, but I continued out the front door and towards my truck. In a matter of minutes I was on my way to Janey Kay’s house, and all I could think about was that dickhead’s hands on my little sister while she pleaded with him to stop. The thought sickened me, making me want to rip him apart limb from limb.

When I pulled up, the party was still going strong. The music was blaring as I started up the steps of the two-story colonial home. There were tall white columns along the front porch and an overdone flowered wreath on the front door. As soon as I stepped inside, I couldn’t help but grimace at the mess: beer cans and bottles strewn all over the place, tables and chairs turned over, and drunken teenagers wobbling around in an inebriated state as they tried to keep themselves from falling. Several were completely blistered, but I didn’t give a fuck about any of them. There was only one person on my mind—Lucas Brant.

When I spotted Michael, one of Brant’s friends, walking in my direction, I charged towards him, then grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and twisted it in my fist. “Where’s Brant?”

“What the fuck, man?” he scowled.

“Gonna ask one more time.” I gave him a hard shove, pinning him up against the wall. “Where the hell is he?”

“Last time I saw him, he was out back by the fire.”

I released my hold on him, then turned and stormed through the living room. When I walked out the back door, I spotted Lucas standing by the fire, bullshitting with several of the other guys on the football team. I was filled with so much blinding rage as I headed towards him that everyone else faded from my sight. Without giving him a chance to prepare for my attack, I grabbed him by the shoulder, whipped him around to face me, and then plowed my fist into his jaw. He started to stumble back, so I grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and punched him again and again. With a thud, he landed on the ground, and I took the opportunity to pin him down with my knees. Once I was sure he couldn’t budge, I started in on him again. A couple of his buddies tried to get me off him, but their efforts were all in vain. Nothing was going to stop me from making Brant pay for putting his fucking hands on my sister. Determined to make a lasting impression, I kept hammering away at him. It wasn’t long before Lucas’s entire face was bloody, bruised, and swollen, and he was barely conscious. Sensing he was about to blackout, I wrapped my hands around his throat, gripping him tightly as I leaned forward and placed my mouth close to his ear.

My voice was low and ominous as I whispered, “If you breathe a word about what happened tonight between you and Alyssa, I’ll end you once and for all. You got that?”

He managed to nod, but I didn’t remove my hands from his throat. I couldn’t. Every time I tried to let go, I’d see Lyssa’s face and the anguish in her eyes as she stood there crying in my room. I knew I should stop. I was reaching the point of no return, but I couldn’t pull myself together. The rage was just too much. I kept tightening my grip, slowly squeezing the life out of him. Thankfully, Michael lunged towards me, using all of his weight to push me off Lucas and forcing me to release my grip on him. Before I had a chance to react, several of the others jumped in to help Michael—each of them kicking and punching me wherever they could land a hit. I tried to get back up on my feet, plowing away at each of them like a crazed lunatic, but I couldn’t get my footing. There were just