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The van roars to life and begins to pull away with the back door open. The masked guys scramble to jump into the moving vehicle. We’re too far away to stop it. If it weren’t for this fucking brace, I could catch it. Or at least grab one of those fuckers to question.

The door slams shut and the van whips around. Tanner is at the wheel, and he grins maliciously as he accelerates with the van pointed directly at me. I meet his eyes and hold them.

Fuck this asshole.

The van barrels down on me. This is my fucking chance. I slip my pocketknife out and flip it open, holding it down. I need to wait for the perfect moment.

The van closes in until I can see the blue in Tanner’s eyes. He’s not going to swerve. I smirk at him. Good.

“Dude.” Mike grabs my arm and jerks me out of the way at the last moment.

I throw my blade and watch it puncture the front tire as both Mike and I land in a heap on the ground. The van peels off into the parking lot and out onto the street.

Hopefully, I slowed the fuckers down.

Caden

A red haze fills my vision as I punch another of Zach’s fuckhead army. They’re trying to take her away from me, and I’m not having it. We need to give Jack time to get her to Nico and safety.

Someone keeps tossing flash-bang type devices to illuminate the battlefield. They aren’t nearly as bright as the first one they set off. The remaining students are smart enough to cluster as far away from the attackers as possible. Some are hiding behind the DJ stand.

When another flash goes off, I grab the guy I was wailing on and lift him before dropping him onto the ground. His head bounces, and his body goes limp. As I scan, Mr. Wick is trying to wrangle stray students into the group.

A grunt sounds behind me, and I turn to watch one of the masked assholes fall over from Coach Turner’s fist in his stomach. The light dies, and darkness cloaks us again.

Darius touches my arm to let me know he’s there. I know the guy’s a good guy, but I don’t like that if it weren’t for Harper, Jack might have still gone for him. He and Jack hooking up before finding out he was our coach was fucked up.

But I saw that text he sent Jack before Jack blocked him. He wanted more, even knowing who Jack was. Maybe the dude was just lonely, but I don’t trust adults and their motives.

Footsteps splash my way. I turn, bracing myself.

These fuckers have a way to see in the dark. I don’t have time to figure it out with them coming one after the other. I can barely make out their darker shadows in the darkness. There just isn’t enough light to see more. I have to wait until he makes his move.

His fist lands against my side. Turning into it, I grab his arm and use his momentum to pull him off balance. It doesn’t even seem like a fair fight as he stumbles forward. I mean, sure he’s able to see and any dark vision I gain is gone the second one of them lights up the room again, but what they don’t have is any brains.

Where did Zach find these assholes? I hit the guy in the gut, and he lets out a sharp exhale. I don’t have time to do more than that. They just keep coming.

Footsteps come at me from the front, and I push the asshole I hit into the new threat’s path. Darius’s arm brushes against me as he fights off some other asshole. He’s quiet but effective. Sounds like he’s pulling his punches though.

Probably would be bad for a coach to be hitting students. Or should I say DEA agent?

“It’s go time,” some guy yells loudly.

The next guy coming toward me stops and runs away. I whistle low to get Eli and Luke’s attention as splashes are heard heading away from us. Either they got made or they got what they came for. I growl and charge forward. That means Jack and Harper could be in trouble.

“What the fuck was that?” Darius keeps pace with me.

We’re running in the dark and hoping not to fall over someone prone on the ground.

“We need to find out.” Eli puffs out a breath to my right.

“Let’s go.” Luke shoots past us.

A door bursts open, and figures run out into the night. The light from outside gives us a direction. Luke gets there first before the doors close, and he shoves them open.

It’s a side door that leads out to a grassy area. The low light is easier on my eyes as Luke tackles a guy to the ground.

“Fuck!” the guy yells, but his friends don’t bother to stop. They’re already out of sight.