Snow gasps, grip loosening as he doubles slightly. I don’t wait. I shove him again, sending him back into the wall with a dull, satisfying thud. His head snaps to the side. Blood appears at the corner of his mouth, bright and immediate. He spits.
For a second, we just stare at each other.
My heart is hammering. My hands are shaking. Not from fear.
From fury.
“You do not put your hands on me without my express consent, Callum Frost,” I say, voice low and shaking with restraint. “Not ever.”
He straightens slowly, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes are wild now, desperation finally burning through the control.
“I’m trying to save you,” he says hoarsely.
“No,” I reply. “You’re trying to stop me choosing.”
I attempt to move past him again.
This time, he grabs for me without thinking, fingers catching fabric at my back, tugging me off balance. The move is clumsy, panicked.
And that’s when I know.
He isn’t protecting me.
He’s afraid of what happens if I go back without him controlling the narrative.
I spin, shoving him away again, hard enough that he stumbles into the streetlight pole, breath leaving him in a sharp grunt.
“Stay away from me,” I say.
He looks at me like he doesn’t recognise who I am anymore.
Good.
Because I don’t recognise him either.
Footsteps hit the pavement behind me. Fast. Heavy. Multiple.
“Kayla!” Honey’s voice carries first, sharp with panic. Then Bones, swearing loudly, the sound already edged with violence. Ghost’s comes last – calmer, cutting through the noise like a blade.
I turn just as they spill out of the hotel entrance.
They take it in all at once.
Snow against the wall, blood on his mouth, posture half-coiled like he’s bracing for another hit. Me squared up in front of him, breath still coming too fast, fists clenched at my sides.
They didn’t see the beginning. They didn’t see the hesitation, the silence, the hands where they didn’t belong.
They only see the aftermath.
Bones’ expression changes instantly. No pause. No questions. His body shifts forward like he’s already committed.
“What the fuck did you do?” he snarls, eyes locked on Snow.
Snow straightens, wiping his mouth again, jaw setting hard. “This isn’t?—”
Bones doesn’t wait.
He lunges.
