Tristan
THE MEETING WAS going too long. I was fidgety, and my phone kept buzzing. Finally I held up my hand. “One minute.”
The dean looked ready to swallow his tongue.
“Gabe, sorry I’m in—”
“It’s Jack, one of your students!” Gabe’s yell split my eardrum, and I winced away from the phone. “He owns the damn website!”
“Shit!”
“Where’s Lisa?”
“Starbucks. I left her there, since there’s a crowd.”
Gabe swore. “Wes was closer to campus. He’s about a minute away. I’m on my way too.”
I hung up and started walking out of the room.
“We aren’t finished,” the Dean barked after me.
“I quit. My family still donates money. We’re finished.” Leaving him with his jaw dragging on the floor, I sprinted from the room and raced down the hallway. In the parking lot, I jumped into my car and prayed that Jack hadn’t figured out where Lisa was hiding in plain sight. Hopefully, he’d go back to the apartment.
Hopefully, I wasn’t too late.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Sometimes you spend your whole life being a victim — until you decide you want to be a survivor. — Lisa
Lisa
“JACK!” I PUSHED against him. He was too strong to move very far, but I knew if I got in that car, I was dead. He’d kill me. He was crazy, not thinking straight. And something else was very, very wrong.
I squinted. His eyes were wild like pinpoints, like he was high on something.
“Jack…” Tears clogged in my throat. “…did you take something?”
“To make me feel better after you chose him over me? Hell, yeah, I did!”
The knife dug deeper, raising a stinging sensation. I wasn’t sure, but that wet sensation trickling down my neck might have been blood.
“And I feel great. Now I know what I have to do. I’m sorry. If you had just listened to me, let me save you… I could have saved you!”
“So save me now,” I said, trying to fight crazy with crazy. “Don’t hurt me. Save me now.”
“I can’t have you,” he whimpered. “He promised I could. He promised me!”
“Who? Who promised!”
“He did!” Jack yelled. “You promised! You promised!” The knife moved away from my neck as Jack stepped back, tears streaming down his face. “All I ever wanted was you.” He looked at me, his face twisted in rage. “And now you’re going to—”
In a blur, Jack was on the ground. Wes was on top of him, beating the crap out of his face. I didn’t pull Wes away, just watched as blood splattered everywhere. Another car pulled up. Gabe jumped out and pulled Wes off Jack, just in time for arms to brace me came from behind.
I screamed and jerked against the arms.
They tightened. “Shh… sweetheart, it’s me, it’s me. You’re going to be okay. It’s just me.”
I turned into Tristan’s embrace and sobbed.