Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,88

no trouble.

But me? I was still trapped by the child safety locks.

I watched in stunned disbelief as she slammed the passenger's side door shut behind her, and then headed not for her companion, but in the opposite direction, toward the nearby woods.

Well, so much for loyalty.

As for Mason, he slammed the driver up against the side of the car, just inches from my face. He hauled back and hit the guy in the dead center of his ski mask.

With my face pressed against the back window, I hollered out, "Willow's not here!"

Mason called back, "I know," just before hitting the guy again, this time in the stomach.

Huh?

By now, the masked car-jacker was babbling and cussing up a storm. And so was I.

Obviously, Mason still wasn't getting it. I scrambled over the center console and dove into the driver's seat. As I did, Mason called out, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get out!"

"Don't," he said. "There's broken glass."

As if I didn't know.

I glanced down at my hands and thanked my lucky stars that I was still wearing my gloves and coat. If the shards of glass were cutting me, I sure as heck didn't feel it.

Or maybe I was just too numb to feel anything but desperation.

I needed to stop Mason before he murdered the guy.

I grabbed the front door handle and gave it a hard yank. The door wasn't locked, but when I tried to push it open, I was met with hard resistance in the form of the guy's backside, which was blocking just enough of the door to keep it from swinging open.

I stuck my head out the front window and yelled, "Didn't you hear me? I said Willow's not here. She's with Arden."

Now Mason was gripping the guy by his shoulders, holding him firm against the car. Without letting go, he looked to me and said, "And I told you, I know."

"Yeah, but—"

"Hang on." And then, almost as an afterthought, he tossed the guy aside, sending him stumbling toward the road. The guy regained his balance for only a moment before he slipped and fell hard on his backside.

With a string of curses, he scrambled up and then bolted through the swirling snow, heading in the same direction as his female companion.

I watched for only a moment before I looked back to Mason. The snow was still falling in big fluffy blobs, lending a Christmas card quality to our surroundings.

The picture would've looked oh-so serene, if only there weren't two banged-up vehicles and a very ticked-off guy standing just outside the SUV.

He didn't look serene. Far from it.

His gaze locked on mine as he said, "I didn't come for Willow. I came for you."

My breath hitched, and my mouth fell open. I hardly knew what to say. I wasn't even sure what he meant, not for certain. After a long moment, I said, "Really?"

His gaze softened. "Is that such a surprise?"

It was, actually. And yet, I was so stupidly touched that I shoved open the driver's side door and hurtled myself into his arms.

When his arms closed around me and gathered me close, I gave a happy sigh against his chest. He felt so warm and strong, and so very real that I didn't even wonder if this was all a dream.

It wasn't. It was the happy end to what had been a nightmarish day. Until now.

When I pulled back to search Mason's face, his lips claimed mine, and I sagged against him, relishing the intensity of his kiss and the strength of his embrace.

At that moment, I didn't even care that my trip was delayed, or that I'd been scared out of my wits. All I cared about was the guy holding me close and kissing me like he meant it.

By the time I pulled back to gaze up into his eyes, I felt warm and wonderful all over, even in spite of the bitter cold. With a smile, I said, "You're totally crazy. You know that, right?"

He grinned. "Hell yeah."

Now, I couldn't help but laugh. "I feel like I should yell at you or something."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because," I said, "you could've been killed."

"Me? Nah. I'm indestructible."

This wasn't true. Mason might look indestructible, but he was made of flesh and bone like anyone else. Still, he was the most breathtaking thing I'd ever seen as he stared down at me with something that looked a lot like love.

With another laugh, I fell back into his arms and said, "But seriously, why on