Page 48 of Die for You

The bait falls between us, and a few silent seconds tick by in which I brace for Monica to slap me or yell or yank my hair. But she keeps her hands to herself, pulls up her texts with someone saved in her phone as Baby with two heart emojis, and tells him she’s on her way.

“Well.” She stands, smiling down at me. “I’m glad I was there to help. I hope everything works out for you.”

I actually feel guilty for not thanking her as she strides out of the building. Plenty of people who are abusive to their partners are nice to everyone else, but even if she’s being genuinely kind to me, that still doesn’t make her a good person.

When Knox calls again, I finally swipe my thumb across the screen to answer.

“Rory!” He practically shouts my name, breathless. “Where are you? Are you okay? We’ve been calling; no one could get through to you.”

A wave of guilt washes over me even though it’s not my fault I was cornered by my ex and then essentially rescued by the last person on Earth I’d ever expect to give enough of a shit about me to help. “Sorry, my phone was on silent. Do you think you could come get me? I’m at the Night Owl.”

The Devils arrive less than ten minutes later, all of them red-faced like they ran on foot the whole way here. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

Silent as a shadow, Finn glides between the tables until he’s in front of me. Gently, he tilts my chin up, the silent question written all over his face. Unexpected tears blur his features.

I nod and squeak out a watery, “I’m okay.”

Damien is on me next, grabbing my elbow surprisingly gently for someone who fucked me with his fingers hard enough to leave me raw and aching. “Something’s wrong.”

They can read me so easily. See the distress written all over my face.

I take a deep, steadying breath and tell them about Jeremiah showing up. Knox’s face gets cloudier and cloudier as I share all the details.

He cups my face in both hands. His brows are furrowed but eyes gentle. Though I love the softer, golden retriever side of Knox, this furious, protective side of him gets my heart racing faster. “Are you all right?”

I sniffle and manage a nod, turning to all three of them. “I’m a lot better now.”

Lately, everything seems better when the Devils are around.

Damien steps forward, hand landing on my elbow, like he’s afraid to touch me anywhere else. Afraid of scaring me the way Jeremiah did. “I’m sorry. For letting him touch you.”

I shake my head quickly. He can’t seriously be apologizing. He didn’t do anything wrong—none of them did. “It’s not your fault.”

Damien grimaces, a deep-seated regret obvious in his dark eyes. “That’s what we’re here for, though, isn’t it? How did you get away from him?”

“Um.” I glance at Knox. He’s really not going to like this next part. “Monica showed up, actually. She basically told him to get lost.”

“Monica?” Knox’s brows furrow. “Why the hell was she there?”

I shrug. “Apparently, she’s dating someone on campus. She showed me photos.”

This doesn’t seem to bring him any comfort. “Yeah, I met him at the Sigma Chi party. Poor guy.”

“Don’t worry. Saving my ass once doesn’t make someone my new best friend.”

“At least somebody was there when you needed them,” Damien says. “I’m just pissed it wasn’t us.”

“Don’t be. You can’t be with me at all times. You’ve already gone above and beyond for me.” They’ve all sacrificed their time and sanity for me. There are only three possible outcomes now: Jeremiah actually obeys the restraining order, or he gets imprisoned for violating it.

I don’t want to think about the third possible outcome.

Knox squeezes my hand. “We won’t let anything like that happen again.”

Finn crosses a finger over his heart in anX, his gaze on me intense.

The Devils can’t possibly be with me at all hours of the day. But I believe they’ll do everything in their power to keep me safe.

They all stare at me, concern etched between their brows. Would they be doing all of this to protect me if I hadn’t saved their lives? Maybe everything they’ve done for me has been because they feel indebted to me and nothing more.