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“I’m sorry,” he rasped out. He looked as if he was going to be sick.

I just knew he was going to flee. That was what he always did in times like this. But if he fled while we were—

Bianaca’s hand snapped out and captured his, squeezing once. His eyes widened with shock as he stared at where they connected, almost as if he’d assumed she would now be wary of him. But I knew our girl—

Wait. Not our girl,I mentally corrected, acidic bitterness coursing through my bloodstream.A girl.

“I just don’t like the thought of you in danger.” Kace’s voice was soft, meant only for her ears. “Of you sacrificing yourself for us.”

“You would do the same for me,” she whispered back, and he smiled at her adoringly. Was that love I saw in his eyes? Nah. It couldn’t be. It was too soon to feel such an emotion. Besides, she hated us, and rightfully so. We’d been nothing but assholes to her when she first arrived at the academy. I’d thought she had something to do with Josie’s—

I shut that shit down, locking it up tight.

“Why are we here, asshole?” I asked Heath, leveling him with a sharp, narrow-eyed glare. “You probably know exactly what’s going to happen next, don’t you?”

“Do you have to be so fucking antagonistic?” Bianaca snapped.

I flashed her a saccharine sweet smile, one capable of turning most girls into puddles of mindless goo—goo I could mold and conform to fit my needs.

But not Bianaca. Never Bianaca.

“You love it, sweetheart,” I taunted, flicking my tongue out. The piercing on the tip clanked against the one on my lower lip, and I watched her eyes drop to them, becoming hooded.

“You’re ornery, stubborn, combative—”

“Quit complimenting me, baby. You’re making me blush.”

“—cantankerous—”

“That’s a big word. Did you look it up in the dictionary in preparation?”

“—infuriating, and the biggest asshole I ever met,” she finished, seemingly pleased with her string of insults.

“Don’t be rude, princess,” I chastised, loving the way red splotches erupted on her cheeks in anger. Before she could open her mouth to insult me yet again, I turned my glare to Heath, though my words were still meant for her. “You can’t tell me you trust this asshole.” I twisted to see her expression, gauging it carefully.

“I…don’t,” she managed to get out, fumbling over those two words. My gaze sharpened, honing in on her like a heat-seeking missile.

“What aren’t you telling us?”

“Nothing, asshole,” she sniped, turning her attention to the others. For some reason, that infuriated me more than anything else that had happened in the last minute. I wanted her attention on me, dammit. And when her eyes fixed on Heath, I swore I saw red. A blazing, fiery wall of it that licked at my veins. “The house is secure?” she queried.

“For now,” he said, though he sounded cautious. He scanned the horizon with shrewd, slightly narrowed eyes. I’d never admit this to anyone, but perverse pleasure filled me that the great and powerful Heath didn’t appear to be completely all-knowing. That pleasure was quickly eclipsed by terror.

What was he so afraid of? What more did we have to face?

“Then let’s stay here for a bit. Recharge and refuel,” Bianaca suggested, though her tone sounded odd, and when she glanced back at the house, her eyes were pained. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times Dylan—

How many times he—

My jaw clenched.

How could we ask her to stay in the same house her step-brother attacked her in?

“That’s probably a good idea,” Heath mused, though I didn’t give a fuck if he thought it was the best idea to ever exist. His opinion was irrelevant.

“Let me just make sure it’s secure.” I pushed past Heath on my way into the house, ignoring Bianaca’s eye roll at my antics. I checked every room on the first floor, while Tanner, Kace, and Beau checked the top one and basement.

Bianaca remained on my heels, her lips pursed into a scowl.