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“You’d be surprised,” she said quietly. “He’s keeping things from Chris to help me.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What things?”
She shook her head, not answering me as we walked toward the car. I unlocked the doors, and she hesitated for a second before opening the passenger side and settling in the seat.
“If Jace comes looking, you haven’t seen me,” I muttered to Tripp.
“Got it,” he answered before shooting me a worried look. “If Hayes finds out you did this, he’s going to be pissed.”
“He won’t know.”
Rounding the hood, I got into the driver’s seat and started the engine, turning the car around and heading down the road. Rynn stared out the window, her face pinched from whatever was on her mind.
“I don’t know why Chris and Hayes want me. I don’t understand what my brother did that was so bad that they both want me because of him. And Shawn is dead.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat before continuing. “Whatever he did should be gone and buried by now.”
“My dad won’t tell me. I’ve tried talking to him.”
“If they’re really trying to take me from campus, then I’m not coming back,” she said bitterly. “So much for graduating.”
A pang hit my chest at the thought of her leaving for good. But I couldn’t deny that she was right. Little Haven wasn’t safe for her. Gage couldn’t save her from both gangs. The campus wasn’t a fortress. Anyone could come and go. She wasn’t protected like she needed to be.
“I wanted the rest of the year with you,” she murmured softly. “With all three of you.”
I glanced at her, my heart squeezing at her moment of honesty. Until a pair of headlights appeared behind me, and my eyes flicked to the mirror, watching it speed up until it was only a couple of car lengths behind me. Rynn noticed, and she straightened up in her seat, looking in the mirror.
“Tripp?” she questioned.
“No. He stayed back on campus. No one else knows I did this.”
Another car raced forward, and my pulse hammered when it passed us, and it swerved until we were behind it. I cursed under my breath, my instincts screaming that we were in trouble. Gripping the steering wheel, I pressed the pedal, veering to the right to try and pass the black SUV. But then it suddenly braked and spun around until it stopped sideways in the road. I slammed on the brakes, the car jerking forward when the other vehicle clipped our bumper.
“Fuck,” Rynn hissed, panic crossing her face when we realized we were stuck between both cars.
I reached across the center console and opened the glove box, grabbing the gun that was inside. Rynn took out her phone, sucking in a quick breath when she tapped on the screen.
“No signal,” she grated out. “They’re jamming it.”
Keeping the gun in one hand, I pulled out my phone, my heart sinking when there were no bars. I raised my head when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and saw one of the back doors of the SUV opening. My grip on the handle of the pistol tightened when someone stepped out, and Rynn gasped when she saw who it was. I stared at him in utter shock, not understanding how the fuck he knew what I was doing.
“You told him?” Rynn snarled, her eyes wild with betrayal as she glared at me.
“I didn’t,” I croaked out, the desperation for her to believe me clear in my voice. “Rynn, he had no idea I was doing this.”
A horn blared through the air, and I tore my eyes from her to look back at my father. He was standing off to the side, and Nick was now next to him. Dread slithered through my limbs when I glanced in the rearview mirror to see at least five men climbing out of the car behind us.Fuck.Rynn put her phone back in her pocket and reached for the door handle.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“I’m not scared of your dad,” she informed me. She glanced over her shoulder, her gaze cold and steely, without a speck of panic anywhere. “He thinks he can just take me and nothing will happen? I’ve been nice. Staying quiet and letting your gangs stay in Little Haven to keep peace. I could have turned this bloody months ago, but I didn’t. That’s about to fucking change.”
She hopped out, and I scrambled to follow her. By the time I got out, she was already striding around the car until she was standing about ten feet in front of my dad. I slammed the door shut, straightening up and catching his eye. A smirk tipped up his lips, knocking memories from when my mom left into me. The calculating stare made me feel like a kid again, and my stomach lurched. He’d played me. I wasn’t sure how yet, but I knew that fucking look.
“What do you want, Hayes?” Rynn drawled, speaking up before I could, as she crossed her arms and leaned against the hood of my car. “We both know you can’t do anything to me. Not unless you want war to fall on Little Haven.”
Hayes’s gaze slid to her, and I instinctively stepped to the side until my arm brushed hers. I didn’t miss how she tensed, and my heart dipped. Did she think I’d told Grimrose where we were? I couldn’t blame her. This looked fucking bad.
“You’re coming back to Pacific Point with me,” my dad said, nodding to Nick, who pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “One way or another.”
“Dad.” I moved in front of her. “What are you doing?”
