Fury twisted my insides, sharp and hot, as I watched her grip her keys tightly between her knuckles.
Smart girl.
Still cloaked in the shadows, I shifted behind a nearby car, close enough to hear — but not close enough to stop it. Not yet.
Let her handle it.
She wanted to stand on her own.
She deserved to.
But the second David got too close for comfort, my whole body coiled like a wire pulled too tight.
Sierra’s back stiffened. “If this is about your little spreadsheet problem—”
David shushed her, then cocked his head, a smirk curving one side of his mouth. One brow lifted slowly, his eyes sweeping over her before he gave a little chuckle, and nodded — once, mockingly — like she was a toddler throwing a tantrum.
“It’s about you not minding your business.”
“About you not understanding what’s at stake.” One of his little minions continued, closing in on Sierra from the left.
“About how easy it is for scholarships to disappear. For people to believe the wrong story,” Thing Three concluded.
They closed in around her, circling like sharks. It took every ounce of my restraint not to intervene, and my hands were shaking with the effort.
David’s voice dropped. “All it takes is one accusation. One little rumor. And poof — your golden girl reputation? Gone. And we both know where you’d be without that little scholarship of yours.”
Sierra stood her ground. She was shaking, but from rage more than fear. Her voice was cold as ice. “Then start talking fast because if I go down, I’m taking all of you with me.”
David’s grin stretched wider, contorting his face into an unappealing grimace. He stepped in close, too close, and caught her ponytail in one fist, yanking her head back, causing her to suck in a sharp breath.
Sierra let out a sharp gasp and immediately twisted her body, stepping into him instead of away — classic self-defense. Her hand flew up to her ponytail, gripping his wrist.
“Get your hand off me,” she snapped. “Last warning.”
Her voice didn’t waver.
“Oh, sweetheart. You think we’re afraid of you?”
She was fierce, with sharp edges and a steel spine.Mine.
As he yanked her hair again, like he owned her… that’s when I moved. All I saw was red. Not because she couldn’t fight. But because no one touched what was mine.
Fuck no.
Something inside me snapped, shattering any semblance of control I’d held on to.
“No.” My voice cut through the darkness, low and deadly, as I stepped into the light. “But you should be afraid of me.”
Surprise flickered across David’s face, but he quickly masked it as I advanced. I never took my eyes off him or his hand on my Sierra. A goddamn storm was brewing inside of me, begging to burst out.
“Take your slimy little hand off her, and I will consider not breaking every fucking bone in your entitled body.”
One of the guys made the mistake of stepping forward. I didn’t fucking hesitate.
With a burst of speed, I advanced. It was quick. Brutal.
With one shove I was on David, one hand squeezing his wrist with all my strength. He released Sierra with a yelp of pain, and my other fist connected with his jaw.
