AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s nothing,” she snapped, yanking her arm away from me.
I studied her, internally fighting about what to say next. I shouldn’t say anything. It would be better if she didn’t know until after.
“Fuck,” I muttered, weighed down by guilt I had no damn business feeling. “Ellie had two guys in the club tonight.”
Her head snapped up, the annoyance in her eyes flickering to uncertainty. “I know.”
“They saw it.”
Her face crumpled for a split second before her expression went blank. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I scoffed. “Come off it. The black lights came on, and your hair was up. They saw it all. Jace spotting your tattoo and then confronting you about it.”
Her chest heaved as she took that in. “Where is he?”
“Where do you think?”
They snatched Jace the second he stepped out of the club, not even waiting to get permission from Rynn or me first. They had their orders from Ellie. Whoever posed a threat to Rynn was a problem, and with Jace seeing her tattoo, that was about as bad as it could get.
“Ellie can’t kill him,” she rushed out. “Chris would—”
“She already has a plan for that.” It was the perfect plan too. She’d called me earlier when she couldn’t get a hold of Rynn. “There’s nothing you can do.”
She stared at me, her features void of any emotion. “What’s she going to do?”
I played with my tongue ring for a moment, not knowing how she was going to take this news. “She’s going to pin it on Grimrose. On Kian. It’s a flawless plan. Get rid of both of the gangs on campus while pitting them against each other again. They’ll be so busy fighting that Little Haven won’t even be on their mind anymore.”
She was silent for a long second. “If it’s so flawless, then why hasn’t she done this already?”
“Because she was holding it for when she needed it.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She tried earlier. You wouldn’t answer your phone.” I paused. “I’m guessing you were waiting to talk to Jace?”
“I was going to handle it,” she hissed. “He wasn’t going to tell Chris.”
I scoffed in disbelief. “Did Jace tell you that?”
“I would have fixed it.” Her voice rose with every word, and my chest tightened at the panic in it. “I was going to fix it.”
“It’s done, Rynn. There’s nothing you can do.”
She turned away from me, resting her palms on the counter, and I stayed quiet, giving her a chance to process. There was no going to talk to Ellie about it, and Rynn knew it. This was larger than her. Jace knew she was part of the Underground now, and Ellie couldn’t have that. It was a threat to everything she’d been working for. And if Rynn went to Ellie, arguing for Jace’s life, that would only make everything worse. Ellie’s trust in Rynn would be gone. She loved Rynn like a daughter, but she was a boss too, and she’d do what was needed to protect her family and her business. Rynn knew that, which was why she wasn’t arguing right now.
“We have to go,” I said quietly. “Ellie wants to see us.”
She didn’t answer, and I stalked across the room, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. My heart stuttered when I caught sight of her face. Or rather the one tear rolling down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, averting her eyes. She attempted to turn again, but I caught her other arm, keeping her in place as I tried to make sense of the mess in my fucking head.
This entire plan would get Kian and Jace out of Ellie’s way. But it was more than that. It would give me what I wanted too. I’d have Rynn without having to worry about them getting in the way. She’d be only mine. I should have been fucking ecstatic. But I wasn’t. Because the girl I cared about was hurting, and it was shattering my damn heart. Even though I knew that tear wasn’t for me, but for the two other guys she wanted.
Oh my fuck. She was turning me soft. Yet all I wanted was to fix it so that I didn’t have to see the pain in her eyes again.
She took a deep breath, pulling herself together, her stare becoming hard as she twisted out of my hold. She swiped her folded knife off the counter and stuck it inside her boot.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my guard rising.
“I can’t just sit here,” she said stiffly. “He might be the enemy, but I don’t want him dead.”
