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The threat that brought me to Lindell in the first place is just as real today as it was yesterday when I dragged Alani to my truck. I know Nash hasn’t forgotten it, but Alani is still alone inside, left with no protection. Cerberus is probably still slinking around campus, but they can’t be everywhere at once. Their obligation, if I know anything about the club, is to everyone, not just one person in particular. Alani will get no more attention from them than any other person on campus even with an active threat against her.
My blood boils at the prospect of someone else thinking they have any right to the woman inside the dorm building.
I know Ayla warned her sister, told her to be vigilant, but after just watching the younger woman, I know she wants danger. There aren’t many people who can imagine what trafficked women go through even when told by someone with firsthand experience. I also don’t doubt Ayla watered down what really happened to her to protect her sister, considering what she was willing to endure in Mexico to keep her safe.
I war with myself literally all day, but it seems like in the blink of an eye rather than hours, the sun sets behind her building, casting the front in an ominous glow. The light on the front only reaches a few feet into the darkness.
I’m out of my truck the second I see her walk outside, looking in my direction.
An unexplained thrill hits me in the gut that her first instinct is to check and see if I’m still here, but then I freeze, my hand lifting to the gun tucked in my belt when someone else steps out of the shadows.
It proves how fucking sloppy this girl is making me, and that alone should make me bolt and put all of Lindell behind me.
When I realize it’s that female Cerberus bitch, my steps falter. There’s still a part of me that wants to put a bullet in her fucking head. I don’t, simply because of the shitstorm it would bring down on me.
I’m reconsidering if it might be worth it when I’m forced to stand there and watch the two of them walk away.
Chapter 9
Alani
I grind my teeth together when she walks up to me. I’m mad enough to spit nails when she positions herself between Donavan and me.
I want to tell her to mind her fucking business, to leave me alone. I don’t want nor do I deserve her protection. I’m lower than the worst person in the world for not figuring out what was going on with Ayla. As her sister, I should’ve been able to read between the lines. I should’ve questioned her sudden change in out-of-character behavior. Instead, I internalized it like a spoiled fucking brat, all the while she was…
I blow out an annoyed huff of breath, the only thing I can think to do so I don’t start crying again.
“It’s probably safer if you stay in the dorm,” she says, but her steps match mine as I walk away from my building.
“Listen—”
“Slick,” she answers. “Or Brynn if you prefer.”
“Lady,” I say, rather than one of the two names she’s offered.
Where Ayla is kind and respectful to a fault, I tend to lean more toward not giving a shit.
“I don’t need you to follow me everywhere I go. Ayla warned me about the danger, and I know how to look out for myself.”
I’ve managed to get it in my head that the only reason I ended up tied to a chair is because I let it happen. If I had begged Donavan to let me go, I’m nearly certain that he would’ve. It’s the thrill of that small percentage that he’d refuse that has me feeling alive for the first time in months.
“I have no doubt you think—”
“Tag along,” I interrupt. “If you have nothing better to do, but do it without speaking.”
Instead of growing angry, I see a spark of humor in her eyes, and I stand a little taller with what I’m reading as pride in her eyes.
I’ve seen the men she works with and I know she has to be a badass as much as they are to be part of that Cerberus group. I can respect that about her, but at the same time, I’m not going to just roll over and not live my life because there might be some danger lurking in the dark.
Donavan is in the fucking dark, and I can’t imagine anyone more dangerous than him.
With everything that’s happened, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed in the bonfire size taking up space in the vacant field on the edge of campus. Since returning to campus after the Christmas break, all I’ve heard about was bonfire night, a welcome back to the second semester of sorts.
