Crack.
The sound of a gunshot is like a thunderclap in the still night, and I jump a mile, my entire body glitching out as a cry falls from my lips.
The figure lets out an even louder cry as he stumbles back, the gun falling to his side as he clutches his shoulder with his free hand.
Loud footsteps break through my stupor, and I whirl around, the scream on my lips dying when I see Xave, the twins, and Killian jogging toward us.
“Xave?” I mutter dumbly, my eyes falling to the silver gun in his hand as he hurries over to me.
“You okay?” He grabs one of my shoulders and holds it tight as he looks me up and down. “Are you hit? Did he hurt you?”
“No. I’m fine,” I say automatically.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a dark voice says. “Not unless you want to learn how long you can stay awake and breathing after being flayed alive.”
“It’s anywhere from a few hours to a few days, just in case you get any bright ideas,” another voice says, their tone light and breezy, like they’re talking about the weather and not how long someone can survive after being skinned alive. “It all depends on the skill of the person doing the flaying, and what part of you they start with. And just in case you were wondering, my brother is damn good with a knife and knows a fuck ton about human anatomy and the circulatory system.”
Someone else laughs, but my attention is brought back to Xave when he gently cups my cheek in his big hand.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks softly, his expression full of concern.
I nod, not trusting that my voice won’t crack, and lean into his touch.
Something I can’t read flares in his eyes, and my breath catches as he gently smooths his thumb over my cheekbone.
“Yo, cuz,” someone calls.
Xave glances toward the voice, but he doesn’t drop his hand or make a move to step back from me.
“Nice shot,” one of the twins says as he spins a pair of butterfly knives around in his hands like they’re fidget toys and not deadly sharp weapons.
“Thanks.” Xave drops his hand from my cheek. “But stationary targets aren’t much of a challenge. It’s more fun when they’re running and think they actually have a chance to get away.”
My skin instantly goes cold at the loss of his touch, but instead of turning away, he takes my hand in his and laces our fingers together.
I hold on tight and use him as an anchor to stay calm as he gently tugs me closer to where his cousins are surrounding my attacker.
“You good, kid?” the twin spinning the knives asks me.
“Yeah.” I look between him and Xave. “I’m older than you,” I blurt out, because that’s what’s important right now.
He grins. “I know.”
“Believe it or not, him calling you a kid is a good thing,” Xave says, giving my hand a squeeze.
I nod, not really understanding what he means, but taking his word for it.
“So what are we going to do with this asshole?” the other twin asks as he spins a knife with a long, curved blade around his hand with just as much skill as his brother has with the butterfly knives.
“Get answers,” Xave says, his voice cold and dark.
The rational part of me knows I should be terrified. I’m alone in the dark with a group of rival frat members who are all armed, and who I know are killers.
Even just being around Xave should be setting off my danger alarms because it’s not like I haven’t seen what he can do. I watched him kill three men without even blinking, and I just watched him shoot another man right in front of me like it was nothing.
But I’m not scared. In fact, this is the safest I’ve felt in what feels like forever.
If Xave wanted to hurt me, he had plenty of chances when he was stalking and chasing me around campus. He could have done anything to me when we were in the woods or any of the other isolated places we’ve fucked. And he could have taken me out at any time when he was following me if he’s even half as good a marksman as he seems to be.
