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Making sure she’s steady on her feet, I let her go and move back a few paces.

Eyeing me up with a playful smirk, she points at me with her manicured nails and calls me out. “You want me.”

“Nope.” I jump back on my bike and start the fucking engine this time. It roars to life beneath me.

“Fine, Mr. Liar, Liar Pants on Fire!” she calls above the noise.

“That’s definitely not better than ‘asshole’!” I raise my voice as well.

“Well, I’ve got six days to come up with something better.”

I’m about to take off when her comment registers and I pause, turning back to face her. “Six days? What’s happening in six days?”

“That’s when I’ll be seeing you again.” She gives me a pointed look. “Sunday afternoon. At the Lido. Don’t be late.” She winks and walks off before I can tell her that’s a really bad idea.

Instead, I just sit there on the curb until I can’t see her anymore.

Pulling my bike forward, I keep going until I can see the entrance to the dorm, and I idle there until that cute ass of hers has disappeared inside.

“Fuck, I am in so much trouble.”

I can’t go on Sunday.

It would be the biggest mistake.

But you can’t not show. She’ll be waiting for you.

If I don’t show, she’ll be pissed off and hate me. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.

By the time I get home, I’ve convinced myself to stay the fuck away from Nylah. She makes me soft and vulnerable, and that’s the last thing I need. Can’t go letting my guard down. That’s the only thing keeping me safe.

Sunday is a no-go. Not happening. She’ll just have to get over it.

But her mouth. Her tongue. Her smile. Her strength. You can’t faze that girl. She’ll probably just show up at your door and call you chicken or whatever other lame-ass insult she can come up with.

My lips are curling into a smile as I open the door, ready to sneak upstairs the way I’ve done so many times before. The house is quiet, and I’m usually the last home.

But my steps falter when I walk past the archway into the living room and spot Zander sitting on the couch, the orange glow from the lamp showing me how completely wrecked he is.

Fuck. Did Sienna change her mind?

I lean against the doorframe, trying to figure out what the fuck’s going on.

“I thought you worked things out.” I frown at him, annoyed for reasons I can’t explain. I don’t like it when Zander’s looking like this. He’s the leader of our team… our house. I need him to be strong, not pale and unsettled like this. We’ve had enough of that bullshit.

Dammit. I’m gonna have to have words with Sienna. I know it’s not my place, but?—

“We did.” Zander’s voice is deep and gravelly. “She’s upstairs. With Zoey.” His voice breaks, and I tense. Is he about to fucking cry?

I can’t do this.

My legs are begging me to run up to my room as fast as I can.

But my fucking traitorous feet are planted.

“What’s wrong?” I croak.

Zander grips his mouth, sitting forward on the couch, his leg bobbing. “Russell took her.”

“What? Who’s Russell?”

“That hockey coach. The asshole Sienna used to live with.”

My body tenses and I jerk into the room. “What do you mean, he took her?”

“I mean he took Zoey. He tried to kidnap her.” Zander runs a hand through his hair, his skin practically gray as he grips the back of his neck.

“What the actual fuck?” I plunk down on the couch beside him. “When? How? Tell me everything.”

He quickly runs through the details, his voice shaking as he lays out the facts.

“And now I can’t sleep. Because even though that fucker is locked up tight for the night, I can’t get over how easily it happened.

She’s my little girl. I’m supposed to protect her, and she got taken away like that.

” He snaps his fingers, and for some reason, I flinch.

I have no idea what to say to make him feel better. I can’t believe he didn’t call me. The whole fucking team was out looking, and I was busy hauling ass up to Fledgling so I could go on a date with someone I’m not supposed to even look at.

It wasn’t a date.

It basically was!

An argument starts to rage in my head but is cut short when Zander lets out a ragged breath.

“I can’t lose ’em.”

“You won’t,” I try to promise him, but that’s bullshit. We lose people all the fucking time. Even when you least expect it.

That low-lying pain I’ve been living with since the day Mom told me Dad had been arrested stirs and taunts me. My stomach starts to hurt, and I need to get up to my room before I lose it.

“They’re safe, man.” My voice comes out soft and husky. “You got her back. It’s not gonna happen again. We’re all here to look after them.”

He tuts and shakes his head. “You hate them.”

“No, I don’t,” I bite back. “I just don’t think they should be living with a bunch of college guys. But that doesn’t mean I want anything bad to happen to ’em. I’m serious, man. Don’t say shit like that. If you’d called me, I would have been there to help you get her back.”

“A message was sent out to the entire team.” Zander sighs.

“Fuck.” I dig my phone out, only now remembering that I turned it off. I show him the black screen as way of an explanation, but he just shakes his head.

I let him down.

Just like I always do.

It’s my thing, right?

I’m an asshole. You can’t rely on a shithead like me.

Which is why I can’t go on Sunday.