All The Wild Ones | Wildfire Series

First & Goal

GRAYSON

I knew I was in deep with this girl, but it didn't take me long to realize that today would be the day that I came to terms with how deep.

As annoyed as I was that she kept trying to run to her friends' sides to fight off some murderer, there was also a bit of something that swelled in my chest. Nessa was so fierce, so loyal.

It wasn't only that, though; she was wild, too. I nearly lost my goddamn mind when we started texting. I'd always known it would be like this once she let down her guard. I'd known that since she grabbed my face and kissed me at Julian's house all those months ago. Still, holy shit.

When Nessa's phone rang an hour later—that was the moment, though. That was when I realized.

She sprang out of my bed, answering the call before it even had a chance to ring a second time.

"Beau?" she gasped.

I heard his muffled voice from the other end of the line, but I couldn't make out what he was saying beyond the fact that his words were quick and tense. I studied Nessa's face, which was quickly crumbling. There was a sharp inhale at something Beau said before Nessa held her breath, nodding and making little mhm sounds.

It wasn't until she hung up that she fell apart, and something twisted in my chest as I caught her in my arms.

Sweeping Nessa up, I brought her back to bed. She was crying hard enough that wet tears soaked through my shirt, and I prepared myself for the worst when I leaned down to breathe in her ear.

"What is it?"

Nessa took a few controlled breaths and lifted her head, wiping her cheeks.

"Bren's dad was already there when Beau and Madie showed up. He—" She broke off, swallowing hard before whispering the last words. "He stabbed Madie before the cops could arrest him. She's already in surgery, has been for a while. It's bad, Grayson. I should—I should go to Fresno. What if—"

Choking on the end of the sentence, Nessa looked at the ceiling, blinking rapidly.

Shit.

The terror in her voice and eyes knocked the breath out of me for a moment. But then I came to my senses, pulling Nessa close. We faced each other, and I brushed a tear off her cheek as I spoke in a low voice.

"Everything will be alright, okay? Beau's there for her, and so is Bren. Madie will be out of surgery soon, and then we'll get an update so we can decide what to do."

Her eyes were shiny as they searched my face. She sniffed.

"We?"

"There's no way in hell you're getting rid of me right now."

A small smile inched its way onto her face. And then she inched closer to me, biting her lip as tears continued to fall in fat droplets from her eyes. But she wasn't gasping for air, and she wasn't running for the door. Progress.

"I don't even remotely want to get rid of you," she whispered.

My heart flipped. Deep. I was in so, so very deep.

Her face scrunched up, anger mixing with the pain. "I knew something bad was going to happen. I fucking knew it. I just didn't think—"

She blinked quickly, and I wondered why she thought she had to fight tears in front of me.

"God, Bren's probably a mess," she muttered, still trying not to cry. "He better not do something stupid."

Definitely an understandable concern. I'd witnessed how Bren got about Madie, and I could only imagine how he was handling this. I could only imagine how I would handle something like this. If Nessa got hurt and my family had been behind the blade, I didn't even know what I'd do.