Chapter 25 Dredyn
TWENTY-FIVE
DREDYN
On Thursdays, she usually heads out for an early jog at six. I’ve learned her schedule pretty quickly, and plan on asking her to breakfast once she’s finished. I thought the easiest way would be to text her.
So I asked her to come by after her run, under the guise that Ghost wanted to see her. But she didn’t answer me.
She does that.
Ignore me.
Me:
Ghost has been a pouting menace all night. Come keep the feral dictator company? I’ll personally vouch for the cat’s approval.
Mara:
Maybe.
Me:
Maybe… it’s a code for meh. You can at least tell Ghost to stop being needy.
No reply.
So I send a GIF of a black kitten giving a pouty face.
Me:
Your cat is sad.
I toss my phone in my pocket and stalk the quad.
After a few minutes, I clock her frame, covered in an oversized hoodie, her black hair spilling out of the hood that is pulled up.
Even when she isn’t all dolled up, it’s easy for me to find her.
Bad news for her, I’m like a bloodhound and she’s my favorite scent.
I push off the tree and make my way toward her. She immediately notices me past the crowd and gives me a sort-of half smile.
She barely has time to say some smart-ass remark about me stalking her before a black SUV pulls up to the curb beside us. The doors open and two men in dark suits step out onto the sidewalk.
“Ms. Black,” one of the suits says. He’s blond and tall. The other one is a bulkier guy, built like a tank. They’re not just campus police. The earpieces tell me that they’re more than likely her father’s men.
I put myself between Mara and security. “What is this?”
“Dredyn—” Mara protests under her breath.
The blond guard gives me a once-over and a curt nod. “Mr. Steele, this doesn’t concern you. We were told to retrieve Ms. Black to take her home.”
Mara shakes her head. “I didn’t receive a text from my father…”
“We’ll explain in the car, Miss,” the big guy rumbles. He reaches out, lightly grasping her elbow as if to guide her to the sedan.
Mara flinches from his touch and instinctively steps closer, into my shadow. That’s right, Hellcat, come to me. I feel her slender fingers curl into the back of my jacket, holding on. My jaw locks. She doesn’t want to go with them; every tense line of her body says as much.
“She’s not going anywhere,” I growl, planting myself firmly. My voice drops to a dangerous register. “Mara’s with me tonight. So unless you have a damn good reason—”
The guards exchange looks, patience clearly waning. “Sir, step aside,” Blondie says, one hand hovering near his jacket, like he might be carrying. My muscles bunch, ready to throw down. If he so much as flashes a gun, all bets are off.
The big guard tries to move past me. I shove him back instantly. “Keep your hands off her,” I snap.
He grabs my shoulder, and all hell breaks loose.
I swing without hesitation, putting every ounce of fury behind my fist. It connects with the big guy’s jaw. He stumbles, caught off guard by the hit. Blondie lunges at me next. I duck his jab and slam a left hook into his gut, knocking the wind out of him.
Mara yelps, pressing against my back. “Dredyn, stop!” she cries. But I’m past stopping.
The big guy recovers with a roar and charges. He crashes into me, slamming me against the side of the sedan. Pain rockets down my spine, but I grit through it, grappling with the brute. He’s damn strong, trying to pin my arms down.
Blondie grabs at me too, and suddenly it’s two on one. They wrestle me back, one locking an arm around my throat. I snarl and drive my elbow into somebody’s ribs, earning a pained grunt. Mara is screaming something, but I can’t make any of it out.
One of the men shoves Mara away when she grabs at his arm. She hits the pavement with a cry. Seeing that—seeing him toss her like nothing—snaps the last thread of my restraint.
A wild, wordless roar tears out of me. I surge forward, breaking the chokehold with sheer adrenaline.
The guard who pushed Mara barely has time to turn before I tackle him onto the hood of the car.
I rain a barrage of furious punches at his face.
Bone crunches under my knuckles; blood spurts from his nose. I don’t even feel the pain in my hand.
“Get away from her!” I’m not even sure what I’m shouting. All I know is I have to hurt them, stop them, make sure Mara’s safe.
Blondie recovers and grabs me from behind in a bear hug, trying to haul me off his partner.
I elbow back, hard, catching him in the cheek.
He curses, but another figure appears—the driver.
Now it’s three on one. They yank me off and slam me down onto my knees on the concrete.
I taste blood and realize someone’s split my lip.
Two of them restrain my arms in an iron grip.
I thrash madly, still burning with rage. “Mara!” I shout. I see her scrambling back to her feet, eyes wide in horror at the sight of me pinned.
“Dredyn!” she sobs, stepping toward us. The driver blocks her path and forces her toward the open back door of the sedan. “I’ll go, just don’t hurt him!”
The two guards finally let me go, and I rework my jaw until it cracks. Blondie grabs her by the arm and ushers her into the car.
Mara looks at me through the open door. “Go, Dre, I’m fine.”
And with that, the SUV door slams closed, the tint not even allowing me to see her silhouette.
I’m left standing in the street, chest heaving, blood dripping down my face, watching the red taillights of the car disappear into the night. She’s gone. They took her from me.
“Goddammit!” I roar. I slam my fist onto a nearby campus map sign, making it rattle on its hinges.
“Dredyn!”
I turn to see Talon walking down the sidewalk with Jasper alongside him.
“Holy hell, man. Are you all right? What happened?”
“They took her,” I say, wiping the back of my hand across my bleeding mouth. My knuckles come away smeared red. “Her father—They just… took Mara.”
“Look, there’s more bad news, bro. Something’s going down at Cromwell Hall.”
“What is it?”
“It’s all over the chats. Someone was murdered in her building a little while ago.”
The words hit me like a bucket of ice. “Murdered?”
This day just keeps getting better. My pulse kicks up even higher, if that’s possible.
Mara was in danger?
“Who?” I snap.
“Asher Blackwood,” Jasper signs.
Asher. One of ours? I’m OCK president and I just lost one of my own under my watch, in our fucking dorm.
“Talon, round everyone up. Emergency meeting in the house. Now. Nobody does anything stupid. Nobody opens their mouths to cops or reporters.”
He nods and bolts along with Jasper.
I drag a hand down my face, fury eating me alive. Tonight, I lost Mara to her father’s leash, and now I’ve lost a brother to a blade.
Death at AGU is never random. If Asher Blackwood was taken out, someone orchestrated it. If it’s the Syndicate, fine, I’ll burn them for it. If it’s a wild card, that’s worse, because that means there’s a killer loose in our backyard.