Page 18

Vincent

Outside the hospital waiting room window, the sky is dark, yet the sun is slowly rising on the distant horizon.

I don’t know how long we’ve been here, but my eyes feel gritty, my mouth tastes of bitter coffee, and my back aches from my hard plastic chair.

“She’s safe now, so there’s no need for us to stay,” I say.

Xavier and Levi look at me.

I don’t know who I’m trying to convince—them or me.

On a low, hard plastic table, paper cups half-filled with the worst coffee in the world sit neglected. None of us could finish a single cup.

The last time I stretched my legs in the hallway, Everleigh was sleeping in a chair beside Della’s bed. Pack Ashe had parked themselves beside the door and nodded at me as I passed them.

Della has her family with her. She doesn’t need us hanging around.

“Someone whipped her with a belt.” Levi has his black boots on a chair, his arms folded. His expression is blank. Under the surface, I know what’s brewing.

I share a glance with Xavier.

He looks worried. I’m a little better at hiding my concern.

Neither of us asks how he can be so sure what caused the red, painful welts crisscrossing her back. We know.

“She won’t want us anywhere near her when she wakes up,” Xavier says, looking out of the open door.

It’s the middle of the night, or early, and I can’t remember the last time I saw a nurse or a doctor go by.

“We should stay and keep watch over her.” Levi has barely looked away from the wall for the last few hours. “It’s the least we could do.”

“And Aly?” I remind him. “Do we drop everything when we’re so close?” No one responds. “We have to remember what’s important.” I get to my feet and fish my car keys from my pocket.

“They’re going to kill you,” Levi softly calls out. “You know that, right? You might be content to ignore your vibrating phone and let the city burn for Aly, but they will kill you. Maybe before we find out who killed her.”

I’ve fought, lied, cheated, and killed to become the head of the Council.

The answers weren’t where I expected. They’re at Haven Academy, and the longer I ignore my enemies, the more I risk being stabbed in the back.

I don’t care.

My eyes slide to Xavier. “We’re never going to get this opportunity again. We can’t throw it away.”

Xavier unfurls from his chair, raking his hand through his hair as he stands, and scratches irritably at his thick beard. “It’ll be easier for me to get away from the school than the rest of you, so I can stop by the hospital and check in on her.”

“You hate hospitals.” I eye him curiously. “What did she do to you?”

Levi’s boots thump to the ground, and he pushes himself to his feet with a tired sigh, a muscle in his neck clicking when he rolls it.

“She dumped him for a boring lesson. So, of course, his vain ass is determined to make her fall in love with him.” He levels me a look. “We have to talk about the Council.”

“I know.”

Xavier frowns. “Do you think they’ll try to force you out?”

I shrug. “Probably.”

“And Della?” Levi watches me closely.

He says I saved his life when we were teenagers, but that isn’t true. Aly saved him, just as she saved all of us. “She’s with her family. She won’t thank us for sticking around.”

By silent agreement, we leave the hospital waiting room. I glance toward Della’s room. The door is closed, and Pack Ashe nods and waves as we pass them. She has three alphas watching over her. She’s safe.

“Why’d you think she did it?” Xavier presses the elevator call button at the end of the hallway.

“Did what?”

“Nearly died for that omega,” Levi says.

I’d like to think she’s just a good person, but no one sacrifices that much—practically their life—for a stranger without a good reason.

The question pricks at me as I lead the way out of the hospital and down to the parking lot.

“Mr. Vincent. A word.”

Ms. Arkwright corners me before I can reach my classroom. I got a handful of hours of sleep before I got up, ready to teach. She spins on her heel, marching toward the academic building.

I trail her, sensing I know what’s coming and not as annoyed by it as I thought I would be.

She takes a seat behind an oversized walnut desk. “Close the door behind you.”

I close the door and take the seat opposite.

“Mr. Vincent, you walked out mid-class.” Ms. Arkwright gets right to the point.

“I had a personal matter to attend to,” I tell her calmly.

Della Jackson’s abduction was my fault, and I had to rectify it.

So, I did.

She’s in the hospital now with her family. Safe with Pack Ashe to watch over her. Healing. Alive.

There will no longer be a redheaded menace gluing doors shut or setting fires that could bring the buildings down on top of our heads.

She’s gone, which is what I wanted.

So why, as Ms. Arkwright drones on and on about responsibilities and expectations, do I keep thinking about Della?

“ Mr. Vincent !” Ms. Arkwright snaps.

I left Della in the hospital.

The moment someone reports that she’s turned up alive, whoever took her will be back to finish the job. She’s alive, but she isn’t safe. Not as safe as I can make her.

I get up.

Ms. Arkwright glares across her desk at me. “Mr. Vincent? Where are you going? I was about to fire you.”

“You missed your chance.” I walk away. “I quit.”

Ms. Arkwright follows me out.

I’ve tuned her out for the most part when I spot my brother raking leaves on the quad.

His eyes bounce from me to the head of the school, and he steps forward, clearing his throat. “I’ll, uh, escort him off the premises, Ms. Arkwright.”

“See that he leaves at once.” Ms. Arkwright spins around and walks back inside.

“What happened?” Xavier quietly asks as we walk toward the parking lot. Whatever clothes I left in the teachers' dorms are replaceable. Della Jackson is not.

“I stopped caring.”

“I don’t understand.”

Neither do I.

We reach my car; I open the door and hold his gaze. “Be careful. There’s a killer in here.”

“What will you be doing?”

“I’ll be at the hospital.”

His eyebrow rises. “I thought you said she didn’t need us.”

“I was wrong,” I say as I get in my car. “If you find something out, text me.”