The campus comes into view and my heart does something complicated—relief mixed with dread mixed with disappointment. The familiar brick buildings, the students walking with coffee cups and backpacks, the normalcy of it all feels surreal after everything that’s happened. It’s not that it’s even been long, but it’s felt like a fucking lifetime, and the sight of this is everything I’ve been wanting since I made the decision to steal Koa’s car and call Jasper. A huge mistake I wish I could take back because I’m caught up in whatever this is.
Revan pulls into a parking spot near the liberal arts building, killing the engine. The silence that follows is heavy, awkward. My skin prickles. Revan and Atticus are still brooding, dark and dangerous even in the mundane setting of a college campus. No smiles, no reassurances that they’re doing this out of the goodness of their heart.
Revan reaches into the center console and pulls out my phone. He hands it back without a word, and I take it, feeling so fucking relieved. Yes. The screen is cracked but it’s mine. My connection to the world, to my life, to everything that makes sense.
“Thanks,” I say quietly, clutching it.
Atticus turns in his seat, and those green eyes pin me in place. There’s something predatory in his gaze, something that makes me remember exactly what his mouth felt like on my hip, his hands gripping my thighs, the sounds I made when he—
“Your number,” he says, his British accent wrapping around the words. “Give it to me.”
It’s not a question. It’s a command, casual and certain, like he knows I won’t refuse.
And I don’t.
I rattle off my number and watch as he inputs them into his phone, his fingers moving quickly. When he’s done, he looks up at me through those lashes and something passes between us—an acknowledgment of what happened in that cabin, of how he let me grab his throat and let him fuck me senseless. I think I may have taught him a few tricks as well.
Heat crawls up my neck, flooding my cheeks. I’m blushing like crazy, and I hate it. Hate that he has such an effect on, and he knows it. The corner of his mouth twitches. Not quite a smile, but close enough that it makes my stomach flip.
“Enjoy your classes, Lexi,” he says.
I push the car door open, stepping out into the crisp autumn air. It smells like freedom—like coffee and fallen leaves and the perfume of the girl walking past. Normal things. Safe things.
I’m three steps away when I hear the car door slam behind me.
“Lexi.”
Revan’s voice stops me cold. I turn to find him striding toward me. He doesn’t stop until he’s right in front of me, close enough that I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.
Then he kisses me.
It’s not like Atticus’s kiss, or like Koa’s. He’s…yearning. His hand cups the back of my neck, holding me in place, and I melt into it even though I shouldn’t. Even though every rational part of my brain is screaming that this is wrong, that these men are dangerous, that I should run.
But I don’t run.
I kiss him back.
When he pulls away, his eyes are molten. “Don’t forget who’s in charge,” he murmurs against my lips.
Over his shoulder, I catch Atticus glaring from the passenger seat, his jaw tight. There’s jealousy in that look, possessiveness, and it sends a thrill down my spine.
“Give me your number,” Revan says, pulling his phone out.
I give it to him on autopilot, still dizzy from the kiss. He inputs it, then grabs my chin, forcing me to focus on him.
“Don’t trust Koa,” he says, and the warning in his voice is unmistakable. “I’ll call soon.”
Then he’s walking back to the car, leaving me standing there trying to process what the hell just happened.
Don’t trust Koa?
What does that even mean? Koa, who fought two guys for me? Koa, who jumped on the hood of the car for me? Koa, who cut off my junkie brother and put him in rehab for me?
Unless... unless there’s something I don’t know. Something about drugs, maybe he’s tangled with my dad. I watch them drive off. Or maybe… it’s jealousy, knowing that I’m on this side of town with the biggest drug dealer on my arm. The truth is that I know nothing about those two Reapers, and at the very least, my brother knows Koa and has his respect.
My phone feels heavy in my hand. I stare at the cracked screen, then scroll to Thea’s contact as I walk towards my dorm.My thumb hovers over the call button for a long moment before I press it.
It rings twice before she answers.
