“It doesn’t count if the boyfriends are in different zip codes, right Lilac?” Madi calls out, winking at me to play along. I give her a horrified look because, I mean…does she know who her boyfriend is?
I realize that this is a game they play when Hayden announces to Callum, "We’re going home to make some babies. Don’t knock on my door or I’ll kick you in the face."
"Will you be naked?" Callum calls after him.
Hayden glares but keeps walking with Madi cheerfully waving goodbye to me over his shoulder.
I wave back at her and turn to Callum. "Despite someone trying to kill us every day, I really like being here. I love our friends."
Callum tilts his head at me like he’s waiting for me to explain further.
I clarify, "Okay, so I love Madi and Winter. Hayden and Tristan are…"
"Protective."
"I was going to say unhinged psychopaths, but sure that works too."
Callum reaches for my hand and spins me toward him so I’m right up against his chest.
"It happens to the best of us," he says, leaning down and brushing his lips against mine.
But even as I’m kissing him back, my grip tightens around his shoulder.
Because I haven’t told him yet. About the hand that grabbed mine. About how I thought it was my brother. About how I’m still not sure it wasn’t. I haven’t said anything because I know Callum, and I know he’s not going to take it well. I know what he’s capable of when it comes to protecting me, and I wanted to tell him in private instead of riling Hayden and Tristan up too.
I’m dreading telling him, because the second I do, something in him is going to snap.
CALLUM
Lilac stops me when I go to close the passenger door of my truck.
"I have to tell you something,” she says, and I can hear the worry in her voice.
I brush the back of my hand down her cheek, watching the way she instinctively leans into my touch. "Tell me, baby."
She hesitates. Her fingers fidget with the hem of her sleeve. "When the lights went out... I think my brother grabbed my hand. Someone was trying to pull me with them."
Rage snaps through me so fast it makes my vision blur. I grip the top of the doorframe to ground myself. Lilac leans forward, pressing her palms to my chest, trying to settle me. "The person who’s been targeting us, whoever it is, they sneak in, do what they came to do, and leave. They’re calculated. I don’t think they’d try to grab you with that many people around. I’m betting you’re right that it’s your brother.”
Her voice trembles. "I’m afraid to be away from you now. Because if he had gotten a better hold on me... you would’ve never known what happened to me."
I nod, my jaw tight, chest heaving. She doesn’t know just how much I watch her. There’s a coldness creeping through me that Ihaven’t felt since I was a kid. I know I need to come clean about some things. I can’t protect her fully if she doesn’t know what I’ve done for her.
"Put your feet in, baby," I murmur. "I’m going to tell you some things you need to know. You might be mad at me, but I did it for your safety."
She gives me that confused look, the one where her brows pinch and her lips part slightly. But she listens. She always listens to me, and I know that’s because she’s put her full trust in me. She tucks her legs inside and I shut the door.
I walk around the back of the truck, running a hand through my hair to stall. Not because I’m nervous, but because once I say what I need to say, there’s no going back.
I get in behind the wheel, reach over, and lay my hand on her thigh. The contact steadies me. It always does.
"Where are we going?" she asks, sliding closer to me just the way I like.
"Somewhere we can be alone," I answer, squeezing her leg as I pull out of the parking lot.
I drive us across campus, taking the long way to avoid the crowds still scattering from the arena and whatever is going on over by the main quad. It looks busy as hell, and I just want to be alone with my girl. I could take her home, and we could snuggle up under the covers and watch movies or whatever she wanted to do. I love that, I really do. But there’s something about being in this old truck with her in a secluded place that is unmatched. It feels like we’re the only two people left in the world, and sometimes that’s a fun fantasy to have. Lilac doesn’t say anything, but I feel her eyes on me. Like she knows whatever’s coming next is big.
I pull into the old cemetery behind the east wing of Castlebrook. It’s a place most students avoid, which is exactly why I’m here. The gates creak as I roll past them, and the truckrumbles under us. Statues of angels cry marble tears. Moss-covered tombs scatter the property in the most strategic, yet chaotic fashion. It’s gothic, eerie, and perfect.
