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And, of course, he knew I’d be here. He probably followed me here or hacked into my fucking email, but none of that matters right now because heishere, stepping closer to me.

“You fucked up, Logan. I told you that you shouldn’t have touched him, but you didn’t listen. It’s your loss because he’s mine now.”

The rage I felt the other day somehow pales in comparison to this because Ryder ismine. “He doesn’t want you,” I spit. “He’ll never want you. This obsession has gone too far, you need to let him go.”

An amused look takes over his face, and I’m seconds from punching it off of him.

“Obsession?” He laughs bitterly. “No, you’ve got it wrong, Logan. You’re the one who’s obsessed—clinging to him and sticking by his side like a parasite. He doesn’t want you, and I promise you he won’t miss you. Not when he realizes how good it is with me. He’s my angel, and now I’ll finally have him.”

I can’t fucking take it anymore. I lunge at him, my fist connecting with his smug face, sending his head jerking to the side. He stumbles back a step, then brings a hand up to rub his cheek.

“Oh,” Kyle chuckles darkly. “So you do have some fight in you. This just got more interesting.”

I don’t waste a second. I swing again, landing a solid punch to his ribs. He grunts, but before I can hit him again, he retaliates. His fist slams into my gut, knocking the wind out of me. I barely register the pain before he shoves me against my car. He’s a big dude, but all I care about is Ryder, and I’ll fight until I have nothing left to give to protect him.

“Let me guess,” Kyle sneers, stepping closer. “You think you’re the hero in this story, don’t you? The one who gets to save him.” His eyes are violent and dark. “But you’re the one he needs saving from.”

I shove off the car and swing again, catching him in the jaw and raising my fist again, but freeze when I see him reach inside his jacket and pull out a knife.

“I told you what would happen if you touched him again. But you didn’t listen. Now you both get to deal with the consequences,” he snarls. “This is your fault, Logan. The only person you can blame here is yourself for making me do this.”

He lunges, and an explosion of pain tears through my lower abdomen.

I stumble back, gasping in shock as my hand flies to the wound. Blood seeps out around the knife still embedded in my gut, and I see it spread through my shirt.How could I have been so stupid?I should have been more prepared, but instead, I keep fucking up and breaking my promises to Ryder.

Kyle steps closer, until he’s practically on top of me. He leans in, so close I can feel his breath on me as he whispers, “You don’t deserve him. But it doesn’t matter now. I’ll take care of him. The way you never could.”

I want to rip his throat out. I want to grab the knife andstab him until there’s nothing left but a bloodied shell of the monster who tried to take everything from me. But my body betrays me—my knees give out, and I barely catch myself before I collapse onto the pavement.

Kyle crouches beside me, watching me struggle, like he’s committing this moment to memory.

“You’re pathetic,” he spits and then, with a brutal twist, he yanks the knife from my body, and a scream tears from my throat as blinding agony rips through me. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. Everything fucking hurts.

I watch him pick up my keys, and panic fills me for Ryder. Kyle’s going to go to the apartment and let himself in. He knows where I live.Fuck!He starts to walk away, but before he disappears to let me bleed out on the cold concrete, he turns over his shoulder with a smirk and says, “Ryder’s mine now.”

No.

Fuck no.

I can’t let this happen!

I have to warn Ryder. I have to call him—tell him to run.

My fingers fumble for my phone, struggling to pull it from my pocket. Blood makes it slick, and my grip is weak and clumsy. My vision starts to blur, black spots crowding the edges.

If I can just press the right buttons. If I can just hold on long enough to make the call…

But the world keeps slipping, and the phone falls out of my hands.

And then?—

Everything goes black.

22

RYDER

Logan was supposed to call me by now.