Page 7 of Die for You (Diamond Devils #4)

Finn

We could’ve died.

We could’ve died, we could’ve died, we could’ve died .

We. Could. Have. Died.

But we didn’t.

We’re still here.

A second chance. Aurora gave us that.

“Be honest with me, gentlemen. Were you drinking?” In his office, Coach paces in front of us with his hands tucked together behind his back.

Damien and I shake our heads. I didn’t have a drop that night, and Damien never drinks when he’s the designated driver.

“I had a beer,” Knox admits. “But that’s it.”

“Were you high?” Coach’s gaze snaps between the three of us.

“No, sir.” Damien glares at the floor, pissed with himself for the accident more than Coach grilling us over it two days later. “We were all sober.”

Coach exhales a heavy sigh. “I’m happy to hear that, at least. You know you three could’ve died.”

We nod. What the hell are we supposed to say? We’ve spent every hour since thinking about how close we came to death. How much worse that night could’ve gone if Aurora hadn’t been there. If she hadn’t gotten us out of that car in time.

If I’d died, Quinn would’ve been left behind. I wouldn’t have gotten another second with Aurora. To touch her again. To listen to her voice. To feel the weight of her soft-brown eyes on me.

Now that I’ve had a taste of her, my appetite has grown tenfold. I need more. All of her that I can get. Every part she’s willing to give me.

“You have your whole lives ahead of you.” Coach is back to pacing in front of us. Only a few steps each way in his cramped office. “You need to be more careful.”

“We will be,” Damien vows. He’s been wearing his guilt like a second skin in the forty-eight hours since the accident, despite Knox’s reassurances that it could’ve been any of us behind that wheel.

“Good. And you better be very, very grateful that girl was there.”

That girl. That girl we haven’t been able to get out of our heads since we laid eyes on her. Since she came roaring back into our lives at the worst possible moment. And the best.

“Aurora,” Knox supplies. He glances at me and Damien with a glint in his eye. “Trust me, Coach. We are.”

“Very grateful,” Damien confirms with a nod.

We’ll show her exactly how much.

Aurora Archer. Five-foot-five. Twenty-one. Music major. Address: 3265 Maple Street, Apartment 13.

As soon as we got back from the hospital, I was on my laptop searching for her student profile.

From there, I found her full name, her major, her address.

No records at the DMV, criminal record, or social media accounts.

Only reason a college girl wouldn’t have social media is because she’s hiding from someone.

There’s so much more to learn. Damien and Knox were barely satiated by the information I fed them.

“Did you even get her class schedule?” Damien leads the way to the dining hall, all of our faces flushed after practice.

I shake my head.

“No need.” Knox beams and waves over his head. “We’ll ask her. Rory!”

She keeps striding for the exit without a moment’s hesitation, blonde hair trailing behind her and a heavy bag swung over one shoulder.

“Aurora!” Damien’s booming shout is enough to make a few girls standing in line at the dining hall jump.

She glances over her shoulder, brows drawn together. Our angel is magnetic. A single look from her roots me in place.

Knox claps me on the shoulder. “You knew she’d be here, didn’t you?”

Both of them take one look at my smirk and I don’t need to say a word. Damien gives me a single nod of approval. “Good man.”

Aurora visibly sighs and begrudgingly makes her way toward us. “Hello again.”

“Have dinner with us,” Knox says.

“I don’t think so?—”

But Damien is already whipping out his student card and swiping it twice. “Come on. Eat.”

“Is this going to be one of those saving-someone’s-life situations where you follow me around like puppies and act indebted to me forever?”

Knox flashes her a smile. “Now you’re catching on.”

She purses her lips, casting me an irritated side-eye. “You’re all insufferable.”

We get worse, angel. Just wait.

I can’t drag my eyes away from her ass hugged by those jeans as she goes through the line in front of me and picks out a whole buffet of food from the dining hall. Reluctantly, she follows Damien and Knox to the table where our friends are already eating.

Sienna brightens when she spots Aurora, and Aurora’s shoulders relax the slightest bit when she notices the girls. Whoever made her afraid of men needs to be put in the ground.

“Stalking skills are still intact, I see,” Luke tells me.

Aurora’s light brown eyes land on me, narrowing. “What’s he talking about?”

“Ignore him.” Knox pulls out a chair for her. “Take a seat.”

She purposely yanks out another chair and sits, digging into her fries. Trey smirks in approval, and Luke struggles to bite back a laugh. Juliet’s lifted brow tells us what we already know: Aurora’s going to give us a run for our money.

Damien takes the open seat across from her, and Knox and I take either side. I need to adjust myself at the thought of us surrounding her like this behind closed doors. Something tells me she’d try to stay silent as long as possible to piss us off, but eventually, we’d be rewarded with her screams.

“Tell us about you, Aurora.” Sienna drops her fork to focus all of her attention on our angel.

“What do you want to know?” she drawls, skeptical.

Sienna shrugs. “Everything. What’s your major?”

“Look, I know you guys are all trying to be...nice or whatever.” She glances around the table. “But you don’t have to. I was at the right place at the right time. I did what anyone would do in that situation. I don’t need to be your little adopted pity-friend.”

The table falls silent, even Sienna uncertain what to say.

Finally, Juliet leans back, fixing Aurora with a flat stare. “If someone called you a bitch, would you take that as an insult or a compliment?”

Aurora doesn’t hesitate for a second. “Praise.”

“I like her,” Juliet tells us.

“You’re not a pity anything.” Damien glowers in Aurora’s direction. “You’re here because we want to fuck you. Thought that was obvious.”

Sienna chokes on her water, and Luke grabs her a napkin.

“It’s very obvious,” Trey mutters, trying to lose himself in his burger.

“That’s not happening.” Aurora pulls out her phone when it pings with a notification. Her spine stiffens, and I try to glance at the text, but she locks the screen too quickly.

Knox nudges his plate away and smacks his elbows on the table. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t fuck strangers. Or hockey players.” Her phone goes off again, but she ignores it this time. I’m dying to get my hands on that thing and find out who the hell is texting her.

Juliet snorts. “Been there.”

“They all come around eventually.” Trey undresses Juliet with his eyes.

“Not me.” Aurora flashes a sickly sweet smile before she returns her attention to scarfing her food and ignoring her phone face down on her lap. Is she trying to get out of here to go meet up with whoever’s texting her?

Who the fuck is this guy?

“Who’s texting you?” Damien growls.

She shrugs, shoveling food into her mouth.

“Boyfriend?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” But she doesn’t offer more information than that.

Knox and Damien glance at me and nod.

I snatch the phone from Aurora’s lap. She tries to grab it back, mouth full as she shouts, “Hey!”

The texts are from some number she didn’t bother saving in her contacts. No name. Only a wall of texts she hasn’t responded to once.

Unknown

Stop ignoring me, Rora.

Fucking answer me.

We need to talk.

I deserve answers.

You’re a fucking bitch, you know that?

Stop fucking hiding. You need to face the consequences of your actions. Take responsibility.

You need me.

You know we’re perfect together.

My blood pressure spikes. I want to teleport through this phone and beat the shit out of the motherfucker talking to her like this.

I pass the phone to Damien, whose frown deepens with each text he reads.

“You’re all assholes!” she protests.

Juliet shrugs. “You get used to it.”

“They’re actually lovable assholes when you get to know them,” Sienna says.

“Lovable?” Luke’s gaze narrows on her with faux suspicion.

Sienna rolls her eyes. “ Platonically lovable.”

“We’re romantically lovable too,” Knox protests. “And sexually.”

Trey gags.

“Who the fuck is this?” Damien snaps, silencing the table. He slides the phone over to Knox, who snatches it before Aurora can. Knox stiffens when he sees the screen. “No secrets. We’re not dealing with that shit again.”

No one says a word until Aurora finally pushes her empty plate away and sighs. “It’s my ex. From the Sigma Chi party.”

Juliet nods. “You’re not safe, are you?”

Silence falls again, and a glance at her face tells me Aurora’s trying desperately to hold back tears. Angry that she has to deal with this motherfucker, and underneath that rage...fear.

I do the only thing I can. Take her hand. Thread her fingers through mine, rub my thumb along hers. She doesn’t pull away this time. Everyone needs comfort, even those who try their hardest to convince everybody around them that they don’t. Especially them.

“We can protect you.” Knox’s voice comes out soft, soothing.

This is way more serious than wanting to fuck her. She protected us that night—now we need to do the same for her.

She snorts, blinking away the tears. “So what? You’re going to be my bodyguards?”

“You won’t find better ones,” Damien says.

“Or for free,” Knox adds. “We owe you one.”

Aurora drops my hand, and I already miss her fingers between mine. “You are alive because of me.”

Knox grins. “Exactly.”

“Live with us,” I murmur.

Aurora’s eyes go round as saucers. “ Live with you? You’re crazy.”

“What better way could we ensure your protection?” Knox croons.

Her gaze hoods with skepticism. “And what would you want in exchange?”

“You,” Damien says simply.

For a second, I actually believe she’s going to accept our offer. Let us into her life. Let us help her. She shouldn’t have to face this asshole alone.

But she shakes her head, grabbing her empty plate as she stands. “Thanks for dinner. But no, I’m fine. I don’t need bodyguards, and I certainly don’t need roommates. Consider your debt paid.”

“Aurora—” Damien barks, but she doesn’t stop as she heads for the back of the room to discard her plate and leave the building.

“She’s stubborn.” Knox leans back with a grin. He likes a challenge.

“We’ll give her two minutes.” Damien’s dark gaze trails after her. “Then we’ll follow her.”

Even if Aurora wants to deflect and pretend like she doesn’t need help, we’ll protect her from the shadows. She’s ours now.

“ Three stalkers,” Juliet grumbles. “And I thought one stalker was a bit much.”