CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CLOVER
“I really don’t think you should go to class. It’s okay to take a day off.” Cash watched me hurry around the kitchen as I made coffee and dug through the pantry for a snack.
“I wish I could. I already fell behind when I had to drop out of my summer courses. No worries. I’ll be fine. Just a little tired.” I’d already popped a few Tylenol but paused to grab two more to shove into my bag just in case.
Pouring my coffee into a travel mug, I topped it up with the right amount of cream and sugar. Hopefully this would help push me through the day. Raina had been messaging me since last night demanding to know what had gone down. She was going to freak when I told her.
“Let me drive you,” Cash insisted. “My first class is in an hour. I can take you.”
Blaze had already left to go meet Daire on campus. I offered to go with him, but he told me to take more time for myself. Daire and I would have time later to talk things out. I owed Daire an apology. I felt like shit for hitting him.
By the time we got to campus, I’d already chugged back most of my coffee. Checking my phone, I was happy to see that I had enough time to swing by the cafeteria for a refill. This day was not going to happen without enough caffeine.
Cash insisted on walking me inside. “Are you sure you want to be here today? It’s not too late to say fuck it and go home. We can order pizza and watch movies.”
“Stop it.” I playfully swatted his arm. “You’re tempting me to make bad decisions. Let’s take a raincheck on the pizza and movies. Maybe tonight.”
He came with me to the cafeteria where I got another coffee and then accompanied me to my first class. More than once, I caught him looking over his shoulder, like he expected to find someone following us.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Why do you keep looking around like that?”
Cash shrugged. “Just playing it safe. Can’t be too careful after what we did last night. Don’t leave campus alone, okay?”
I swallowed hard, my gulp of coffee going down the wrong way. After I managed to finish coughing, I asked, “Do you think someone knows? Are we in danger?”
Cash lowered his voice, pulling me against the wall, out of the human traffic flowing down the hallway. “We left two bodies behind and a third in a dark alley. Whoever is in charge is going to want to know who fucked with their operation. This is no time to let your guard down, Sunshine.”
Fear rippled down my spine, leaving me cold. “I’ll be safe. Promise. I better get to class. I don’t want to be the person who does the walk of shame for coming in late.”
Cash kissed me, holding me longer than expected. When I started to pull away, he pulled me back against him, kissing me again.
“Okay, I really have to go now.” I laughed softly. “I’ll see you later.”
Reluctantly, he let me go, his eyes locked on me until I disappeared inside the classroom. I wandered to my usual seat a few rows back from the front. Stifling a yawn, I took my things out of my bag, doing my best to be prepared. I would’ve loved to stay home. Pushing through and forcing myself to be normal felt best for my mental health right now. Everything was normal. It had to be.
The professor of my criminology class was a captivating woman with intriguing stories to back up her lessons. I usually had no problem paying attention. Today felt different. It took mass amounts of effort to follow along as she spoke.
I downed my coffee in record time. My knee bounced as I struggled to sit still. More than once, I caught myself absently chewing my fingernails. The caffeine was starting to make me jittery. I also had to pee.
As soon as class finished, I shot out of my chair, quickly gathering my things. The closest restroom was at the end of the hall. That was my first priority. I was starting to reconsider attending the rest of my classes today. I wasn’t sure I could keep from falling asleep.
A few girls were at the counter, staring into the mirror while gossiping as they touched up their makeup. I hurried past them to a stall at the end of the row. Their voices faded as they left the room. As I finished up, I heard someone else enter and then the click of the door locking. What the fuck?
The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Instinct screamed at me that this wasn’t right. My bag hung on the back of the stall door. I dug through it, pulling out the pepper spray. I held it in one hand, reaching for the switchblade with the other. I’d barely closed my hand around it when the stall door was kicked open.
The sudden force threw me back against the toilet. I fell down on top of it as a masked man burst into the stall. I opened my mouth to scream, barely getting a sound out before he clamped a gloved hand over my face.
My body moved on autopilot. I raised the pepper spray and fired. The ski mask protected him from most of the shot but still nailed him right through the eye holes. Unfortunately, the close proximity meant that I sprayed myself as well.
Coughing and choking, I blinked hard as my eyes watered. He hadn’t expected me to be prepared for an attack. He stumbled back out of the stall, falling against the one opposite. I shoved off the toilet, darting from the stall. He grabbed my ankle as I ran past, dragging me hard to the floor.
I fell painfully onto my stomach. The impact knocked the switchblade from my hand, and I watched in horror as it skittered toward the sinks. I turned back, blasting him with another shot of pepper spray. With my free foot, I kicked him in the face as hard as I could.
He grunted in pain, trying to drag me closer. I reached forward, hooking my hand around the base of the stall wall next to me. I kicked him again, fighting to keep him from catching that foot as well. He coughed and gagged, his eyes bloodshot and running.
“You’re not getting away, bitch. JD wants you dead.” His guttural snarl sent shockwaves of terror through me.
Now I really wished that I had listened to Cash and stayed home. He wasn’t being paranoid at all. He’d been doing this long enough to know this would happen. His instincts had been right.
I needed to get to the switchblade. It was the only weapon I had left. I managed to boot him in the face one more time. This time I heard a crunch and he released my ankle.
Scrambling forward, I rushed for the knife. He was right behind me. As my hand closed around the switchblade, he came down on top of me. My head hit the tile, making my vision dance for several seconds. He wrapped his gloved hands around my throat and started to squeeze.
Knowing that I had to move fast before he choked me unconscious, I flicked the knife open and started swinging. The blade plunged into his side, making him shout. I didn’t stop there. Jerking the knife free, I stabbed him over and over, anywhere I could reach.
Bringing the knife up higher, I stabbed it into the side of his neck. That was the blow that stopped him. Blood spilled down on top of me, splattering my face. I shrieked.
His red, raw eyes widened, and he slumped on top of me. I struggled to roll him off, adrenaline helping me to escape the dead man’s weight. Someone banged on the locked door. I heard murmured voices beyond as they wondered why the door was locked. It wouldn’t be long before they found a custodian or someone able to open it. What the hell did I do?
Rushing to the sink, I hurriedly washed the blood from my face. Then my knife. The sky blue top I wore was stained as well. Thankfully, I had a hoodie in my bag. Returning to the stall where it still hung on the back of the door, I fetched my bag and sped through changing out of my top and sliding into the hoodie.
After cramming the bloody shirt into my bag along with my knife and pepper spray, I crept to the door and listened. I heard nothing. The person trying to get in must have gone in search of a different restroom instead.
I hadn’t done anything wrong. I knew that. This man attacked me. Yet I knew that we couldn’t get the police involved. There would be too many questions that we would not be able to answer. Somehow, I needed to get out of there without being seen. I couldn’t be linked to this situation.
Turning the lock, I inched the door open and peeked out. Relief crushed me when I saw the hall empty. Slipping from the restroom, I hurried down the hall. I didn’t know where I was going or what to do. I only knew that I needed to get a hold of my Angels immediately.
Leaving the building would be idiocy. Someone might be waiting out there for us. Instead, I went to a different restroom on the other side of campus. That’s where I locked myself in a stall and called Blaze.