Page 147 of His Reckless Freshman

I scream and start to shout, “Ben? Ben! Help! Help me!”

“Jolie!” My boyfriend’s voice rises with urgency, but I have no time to respond.

“Shut the fuck up.” Kieran slaps a hand over my mouth, squeezing so hard my teeth start to cut into my cheeks.

My cry of pain is muffled behind his hand before he throws me against the desk. My thigh crashes into the unforgiving edge, my hand slapping onto the stapler. Shock works through my body, and when I glance over to see him stalking toward me, the look on his face says only one thing: “I’m going to kill you for this.”

A terrified scream rises out of my throat and I scramble for the door, but he pushes me over. I tumble to the ground, landing on my knees. Fresh pain rockets through me, but I desperately try to ignore it, crawling toward the open door—a feeble attempt at escape, which fails the second he snatches my ankle, roughly dragging me back toward him.

51

BEN

Another scream reaches me, and my heart rockets into my throat.

“Jolie,” I rasp this time because fear is squeezing my vocal cords into thin, useless threads. My pulse is pounding behind my eyeballs, my breaths punchy as I race to the doors and try to wrestle them open.

Everything is locked up tight, and I’m losing my fucking mind as I worry about what that sick fuck is doing to her up there.

“Help!” I shout, rattling the doors and looking around me.

The rain is pelting down, and I’m soaked through. I ran the whole way from Offside, and it ended up taking only five minutes. I was sprinting like Jolie’s life depended on it.

And maybe it does.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

“Help me!” I rattle the doors again, blinded by fear and rage.

He’s hurting her.

I know he’s hurting her.

She screamed. I heard it.

Fuck, what’s he doing to her?

I’ve got to get in there.

“Hey, stop that!” A woman with an umbrella storms toward me. “What are you doing?”

“I’ve got to get in there,” I snap at her. “My girlfriend’s in trouble. Let me in.”

“I don’t know you. I can’t give you access to this building just because⁠—”

“Ben!” Caroline and Casey sprint toward us. “What’s going on?” She reaches me, soaking wet and also out of breath. Her boyfriend rests his hand on her back as he quickly recovers from the run.

Brushing the wet locks off his face, he scowls at me. “You scared the shit out of her, and she made me run through the rain. What the fuck, man?”

“It’s Jolie,” I pant. “She’s in there, and she’s in trouble. Now let me in!” I shout at the woman with the umbrella, who gives me a death glare before Caroline nudges her arm.

“It’s okay. He’s good. Hi, I’m Caroline. My cousin works for the Nolan U Star and she’s up there, and we need to get to her.”

The woman frowns, reluctantly pulling out her key card.

“Please,” I beg. “Hurry. I heard her screaming.”

“What?” Caroline gapes at me. “What the hell is going on?”