I followed the sound and found him on the ground, blinking blearily as he pushed himself upward. His hand went to the side of his head, and he winced when his fingers came away smeared with blood.
“What the fuck,” he muttered, squinting up at me as I approached. Recognition flickered across his face. “Did you... did youhitme?”
“Yeah.”
“What the fuck, man?” He tried to stand, wobbled, and thought better of it. “Why would you—”
“For what you did to Violet.”
His expression twisted with confusion, then indignation. “I didn't do anything to her!”
Seedy, lying little fucker.
“We weren’t even on a date!” he added. “We’re just friends! So I don’t know what you think you saw, but you’re fucking wrong!”
I already knew it wasn’t a date, but the words still sent something dark and possessive twisting through me. The thought of him with Violet tonight, of him thinking he had any right to her at all, made possessiveness and jealousy rise up in my chest fast and hard.
“Where is she?” Kane added, looking around the parking lot like she might suddenly materialize there.
“She's safe. That's all you need to know.”
He groggily looked around the parking lot, then back up at me, squinting. Then his gaze dropped, and he barked out a hoarse laugh. “Dude. Are you fuckinghardright now?”
I glanced down. The bulge was obvious, even in the dim light. I'd been so focused on what I just watched that I hadn't bothered to hide it.
I didn't care. Wasn't ashamed of how turned on my girl made me.
“It's not for you. It's for her,” I said, reaching into my jacket. My fingers closed around the knife I always carried. I pulled it out slowly, letting Kane see the blade catch the moonlight. “And so is this.”
With that, I smiled and lifted the knife.
16
Violet
I woketo sunlight streaming through my window and the vague sense that something was wrong.
My phone screen told me it was 9:03 AM. I'd slept for ten hours.Ten. But weirdly, I still felt like I'd been hit by a truck.
Every muscle in my body ached as I pushed myself upright, and when I tried to roll my left shoulder, a sharp twinge of pain reminded me exactly why.
Kane. The parking lot. The brick wall.
Julian.
My stomach dropped, and suddenly I was very awake.
Oh god. Last night.
Heat flooded my face as memories crashed over me in vivid, mortifying detail. Julian's hands on my bare skin. The way I'd barely been able to breathe when he touched me. How I'd locked the door after he left and—
No. I wasn't going to think about that. Icouldn'tthink about that.
Except I already was, and my body was already responding to the memory, a telltale warmth pooling low in my belly despite the shame twisting in my chest.
"Stop it," I muttered, swinging my legs out of bed and standing too quickly. The room tilted slightly, and I had to brace myself against the nightstand.
I caught sight of myself in the mirror above my dresser and froze.
