28 MADDY
MADDY
This has gone too far
“If it isn’t Baylin’s little sweetheart.”
Jacob looks different tonight. Sharper somehow. His suit sits tightly on his shoulders. His eyes lock onto mine in a way that makes my skin prickle. It’s the same look he had at the shop. Only worse.
“You were really trying to get my attention back there, huh?” he says.
I almost laugh. Not because it’s funny—but because, for the first time, it actually isn’t true.
“Not really,” I say easily. “I was just dancing with my boyfriend.”
The word boyfriend hangs between us.
Jacob lets out a short laugh. “Right,” he says flatly. “Sure.”
I shift my weight, already done with this conversation. “Speaking of which, I’m gonna go back to—”
His hand slams against the wall beside my head. Hard and fast. A small sound escapes me before I can stop it. I freeze. The hallway suddenly feels smaller, the muffled music from the training hall sounding miles away.
“Jacob,” I say, forcing my voice to stay steady even though my heart has started racing, “move. I’m not in the mood for this.”
He leans in slightly instead, crowding my space.
“Why?” he asks quietly. “We both know we’re not over. You don’t just stop wanting someone like that.”
“I don’t want you,” I say, keeping my voice firm. “You need to accept that I moved on.”
And for the first time, I actually mean it.
Something in his expression shifts, and I try to duck past him, but his other hand shoots out, grabbing my arm.
“Jacob,” I say sharply. “Let go.”
Instead, he steps closer. My back presses against the wall, his presence suddenly everywhere. I start to panic. This was supposed to be harmless. A little jealousy. A little karma. But this has gone too far.
“Jacob,” I say again, quieter now despite myself, “you’re scaring me.”
“Don’t act like I’m the bad guy,” he mutters, his fingers tightening around my arm. “You always liked pushing buttons.”
My pulse pounds loudly in my ears. I try to pull away again, but he doesn’t loosen his grip. My mind goes completely blank.
“Please,” I say, my voice barely steady. “Just let me go.”
Jacob leans in closer. Too close. His breath is warm against my cheek. “You really think he’s better than me?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. His grip shifts slightly, his thumb digging into my arm just enough to hurt.
“You know,” he whispers, his voice low and mean now, “there’s no one else I’d rather be with, Mads.”
My stomach drops. Before I can react—a hand clamps down on Jacob’s shoulder and yanks him backward. Hard. The movement is so fast it barely registers. One second Jacob is blocking me. The next he’s slammed into the opposite wall, the air knocked clean out of him.
Ryan.
Oh shit.
Ryan’s arm is braced across Jacob’s chest, pinning him there with effortless strength. His other hand fists the collar of Jacob’s shirt, holding him in place like it’s nothing.
“You heard her,” Ryan says, his voice calm in a way that somehow makes it more terrifying. “Let her go.”
Jacob lets out a strained laugh. “Didn’t know she needed a bodyguard.”
Ryan doesn’t even blink. “If you ever put your hands on her again,” he says quietly, “you will regret it.”
I step forward instinctively. “Ryan—”
Jacob sneers. “Relax. I think she liked it.”
Ryan’s hand shoots out, grabbing the front of Jacob’s shirt and shoving him harder against the wall. The impact knocks the air from his lungs.
Jacob flinches. For the first time, the smug look drains completely from his face.
A sudden rush of footsteps and heels echoes down the hallway. I turn to see Kiara, Mel, Liam, and Noah rushing toward us, their expressions shifting instantly from confusion to alarm.
“What the hell is going on?” Kiara demands, her voice cutting through the chaos.
Ryan doesn’t look away from Jacob. “He was hurting Maddy.”
Noah’s body goes rigid. “You son of a—”
I land my palm flat against his chest before he can move. “Noah, no.”
My attention snaps back to Ryan.
“Ryan,” I say firmly, stepping closer. “Please. This is not a good idea.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
His chest is rising quickly, his jaw clenched so tightly it looks painful. Carefully, I reach out and place my hand on his arm.
“Let’s just go,” I whisper.
For a moment I’m not sure he even hears me. Then his eyes flick toward mine and something in them shifts. Slowly, he releases Jacob.
Jacob stumbles forward, breathing hard, straightening his blazer, panic written clearly across his face. And Ryan takes a couple steps back.
Kiara steps past me. “You ever go near her again—”
Her knee comes up fast and sharp. Jacob crumples with a strangled grunt. Mel and Liam dump their drinks over him without missing a beat, soda splashing down the back of his shirt.
“Oops,” Mel says flatly. “Slipped.”
“Let’s go,” Liam says immediately, already ushering us down the hallway. We move together toward the exit, adrenaline still buzzing in the air. Behind us, Jacob is curled on the floor, groaning.
What the actual fuck just happened?