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“Kian and Jace.”
Shock tore through me, and my grip tightened on my gun. “They’re on campus?”
“Yeah. She didn’t look like she wanted to go with them.”
“Fuck,” I cursed, spinning around to go back through the woods, tucking my gun back in my waistband as I went. How the hell did we not hear that the Phantoms didn’t have them anymore? I slowed down just long enough to shoot a text to Ellie.
“I can help,” Hyde said, chasing after me.
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Why? You haven’t spoken a word to Rynn since Chris killed your guy in her room.”
“On her orders,” he retorted. “She told me to stay away. But if she’s in trouble, then I want to help.”
I laughed coldly. “This isn’t some game like how you play bouncer here on the weekends. You’re not from our world. You’ll only get in the way.”
“No, I won’t.”
I didn’t waste my breath as I began flat-out running down the trail. If he wanted to get himself killed, that was on him. I could hear him keeping up with me as I got to the main part of campus, and I didn’t check to see if he was still following once I got to the dorms. Punching in the code, I raced down the empty hall to the stairway and took the steps two at a time to get to the second floor.
The panic that was sliding through me was a foreign emotion that I couldn’t shake off as I climbed the stairs. I lived life working and doing what Ellie needed. Never had a person affected me the way Rynn did. I didn’t worry about others. I didn’t risk my own life for someone else.
But I would for her.
I forced those thoughts away as I stepped into the hall and strode to Rynn’s dorm. The door was still splintered from when Chris had come, and I only had to ram my shoulder into it once for it to slam open. Rynn was on the couch, and when her eyes landed on me, she tried getting to her feet. Jace was on her in a second, grabbing her, and I saw her arms were bound behind her back. Red lined my vision, rage pouring into my veins as I stalked forward, remaining aware of my surroundings since I hadn’t seen Kian yet.
“Gage, he’s not—”
Jace pulled her onto his lap, clamping his hand over her mouth before looking back at me. He didn’t have a weapon in sight, making me wary that it was more than him and Kian in here. I was itching to grab my gun, but neither Rynn nor I would leave campus alive if I killed him.
“We’ve been waiting for you,” Jace mused, ignoring Rynn’s struggles. “Took you long enough.”
“You’re going to let her go,” I commanded, my voice deadly. “Then she and I are going to walk out of here.”
Jace laughed. “I don’t think so.”
“If you keep her, you’re going to start something you’ll regret,” I threatened. “You have no idea who’s backing us.”
“I have a feeling whoever they are won’t touch us when she’s in the crossfire,” Jace retorted. “Which is why she’s staying with us.”
My eyes met Rynn’s, and she stayed still for a moment before Jace suddenly let out a pained yell, ripping his hand from her mouth when she bit him. While his attention was focused on her, I barreled forward until I saw a body coming out of her bedroom. I turned just in time for Kian to slam into me, and we both crashed to the floor.
I threw my fist into his jaw when he tried climbing on top of me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, twisting him off me. He punched me in the gut as we rolled around, and I reached for my gun just to warn him away. He pushed my arm away before I could reach it, his knee slamming into my chest a moment later. I sucked in choppy breaths, jamming my elbow into his lower back. My hit slowed him down enough that I could climb to my feet. I heard Rynn’s yell right as Tripp appeared and he shoved me back toward the door.
“Chris wants to see you again,” Jace said from behind me.
I scoffed, not taking my eyes off Tripp. “Is that supposed to scare me?”
Kian came up on my other side, along with Jace’s guy, Pratt. I whipped out my gun, making them all freeze, and I shuffled to the side until I could see Rynn again. She was standing in front of the couch, Jace holding her arm tightly as she stared at me with worry covering her face.
“We all know you aren’t dumb enough to kill us,” Kian said quietly. “You wouldn’t make it out of the dorms.”
“Nah, I wouldn’t kill you.” I aimed at his shoulder. “But I would fucking hurt you.”
“Someone will call the cops if you use that in here,” Jace snapped. “You don’t have a silencer on it.”
“Make this easy on yourself,” Kian murmured, calling my bluff and taking a step closer to me.
I silently cursed, my mind racing with my choices. Jace was right. If I shot, someone would call the police, and then we’d all end up behind bars. I couldn’t chance that. And I couldn’t fucking kill them. Yet. I could probably handle myself against two of them, but three was pushing it. Especially if Jace got involved. I should have called Ellie and waited for her orders before coming up here. Should have. But when it came to Rynn, I had a one-track mind.
