He grunts but doesn't go down. He punches me in the solar plexus, and air rushes from my lungs. He lifts me, then slams me onto the ground. I kick my foot out, catching his shin, and he drops to the floor.
We both get back on our feet, trading blow after blow. We crash into a desk. Pencils scatter. A laptop hits the floor.
Zach gets me in a headlock. I drive my elbow back into his ribs once, twice. He loosens just enough for me to twist, slamming him into the TV stand. Something glass breaks.
He recovers fast—too fast. His fist catches my temple, and the room tilts. I swing blind, connecting with something solid. He grunts. We grapple, both trying to get leverage. My shirt tears. His knuckles are bloody.
“Stop!” Eli jumps between us.
Shit.
Zach's already swinging and Eli's directly in the path. I grab Eli's waist and yank him down, covering his body with mine. We hit the floor hard, and I shield him completely just as Zach's foot connects with my ribs. Another lands on my shoulder. I curl tighter around Eli, taking each blow as he squeaks in my arms.
“Zach, stop! Stop!” Merci screeches, his voice cracking. “You're going to kill him! Stop!”
The blows finally stop. I lift my head, everything blurred at the edges, every breath like swallowing glass. Merci's got all four limbs wrapped around Zach—legs around his waist, arms locked around his neck. Zach's chest heaves, blood covering half his face.
I roll off Eli, gritting my teeth against the pain. After getting to my feet, I help Eli up, checking him over. “You okay?”
He nods but looks shaken, eyes wide. And there's blood on his shirt. My blood.
I turn to Zach. “What the fuck is wrong with you!”
“You're dead.” Zach's voice is flat, cold. “I will kill you for touching what's mine.”
“You almost hit Eli,” I yell, every muscle in my body shaking with anger. “He was under me. Defenseless. And you kept fucking going.”
He doesn't say anything. Just stands there, chest heaving like a caged animal, nostrils flaring.
I spit blood onto their floor, my eyes never leaving Zach’s. “Petrov's going to kill you when he sees the footage.”
Merci goes pale, untangling himself from Zach. He looks at Eli, then whirls on me. “This is YOUR fucking fault! All of it. Ryan’s scholarship too.”
No.
No. No. No.
The price.
Merci lunges forward, but Zach catches him. “He did everything you wanted. Married your pathetic ass after you held a gun to his head. Put up with your psycho parents. Even defended you!”
The room spins. My hands rake through my hair, pulling at the strands hard enough to hurt.
She went after him. My mother went after Ryan.
“It wasn't me. My parents . . . they . . .”
The scholarship was everything to Ryan.
Fuck!
FUCK!
“Where is he!” My voice cracks. “WHERE IS HE!”
“We don't know.” Eli's hand gently touches my forearm. “Connor, breathe. We'll find him.”
I yank my hair harder. “Fuck!”
