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“Don’t fucking touch me,” I snarled, all sense of control evading me when he reached for me again.
“What the hell are you doing?” Kian snapped, darting in front of me and shoving Nick back. “Leave her alone.”
Tripp was standing in front of his bed, his eyes wide as Nick straightened up and scowled at Kian as he stayed in front of me.
“Is that her?” Nick questioned sharply, glancing at me. “Rynn?”
That was my cue. I didn’t need Nick asking anything more about me. I went for the door again, only to freeze in my tracks to see it was blocked. My breath locked in my chest when I met Hayes’s eyes. He stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him. How the hell had he gotten on campus without me knowing about it? I went for my phone, only to realize my pockets were empty. I silently cursed myself, remembering I’d left it in my room.
“What’s going on here?” Hayes asked, looking past me to Kian.
“I thought you were coming tomorrow,” Kian said tightly.
“Change of plans.” Hayes’s gaze slid back to me curiously. “You must be Rynn. I recognize you from pictures. Nice to finally meet you.”
Bile rose in my throat at the thought of them having surveillance on me. I expected it, but it still made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My breaths became shallow as Hayes stayed in front of the only exit. Being trapped in a room with Nick had me feeling more suffocated than I had in years. I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to tell Hayes to move. He might not be as ruthless as Chris, but he was still fucking dangerous. Making demands wouldn’t go down well.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll go,” I forced out, trying the polite approach first.
“Not yet,” Nick spoke up. “I want to talk to her first.”
“Rynn, go,” Kian ordered, placing his hand on my lower back. “Sorry, Dad. I had no idea you were coming, or I would have been here sooner.”
Hayes’s eyes dropped to where Kian was touching me, and I tensed under his calculating stare. He still didn’t move away from the door, and panic slithered through me when Nick walked past me, stepping back into my sights. I subtly tilted my face away from him, making it seem like I was looking at Hayes.
“I didn’t realize the two of you were so friendly,” Nick murmured. “You didn’t think to tell us, Kian?”
“You both wanted me to keep peace on campus,” Kian answered smoothly, not sounding nervous at all.
I tried again to leave, this time moving toward the door. Hayes still didn’t move an inch, and my panic was becoming full-fledged. I didn’t want to fight my way out, but I would if I had to. I wouldn’t be able to stay in their presence much longer without losing it.
“She looks familiar.”
Nick’s statement had fear slicing through me, and I could feel Kian hovering behind me as I stood frozen. Hayes raised an eyebrow at Nick before he glanced back at me. I lifted my chin, keeping my stare cold when Nick stepped right in front of me. He raised his arm, as if to touch my face, and I jerked back, running into Kian.
“Don’t touch me,” I warned Nick through clenched teeth. “I’m leaving.”
“Hold on,” Hayes said, giving me a small smile, as if to comfort me. “We just want to talk.”
“No,” I snapped. “You forget where you are. And who the fuck I am.”
Hayes’s smile dropped, his eyes glittering dangerously as he glared at me. “Watch it.”
“Youare the one who needs to watch it,” I threatened. “This isn’t Pacific Point. One word from me, and the Riot Crew will be in Little Haven. Is that what you want?”
“Rynn,” Kian breathed out quietly, worry smothering his voice. “Don’t.”
I swallowed thickly, a small weight of guilt dropping on my chest that I was putting Kian in the middle. Would he protect me or back his dad? Right now, I couldn’t think about that. I needed to get the hell out of this room by any means necessary.
Nick stepped up to me again, and this time, I had nowhere to go since Kian was already at my back. The need to fight my way out was overwhelming, but as I caught sight of Hayes pulling out a gun, I forced myself to stay still. He wasn’t fucking around, and his suspicion was raised, thanks to Nick’s interest in me.
“I’ve seen you before,” Nick said, cocking his head to the side.
“Clearly,” I gritted out. “Since you have pictures of me.”
“No, that’s not it,” he murmured. “It’s different seeing you in person.”
My heart thrashed as we stared at each other, and I could see the pieces falling into place. This was why I’d made sure to stay out of sight when I was in Pacific Point that summer. I knew that if Nick saw me, he would have easily recognized me. My anonymity was about to be torn to shreds.
