Page 40 of The Stolen Dagger

It was still just as dark and vacant as it had been a few minutes ago. My sinuses burned from the sharp, pungent odor of the pepper spray that lingered in the air.

Bypassing the benches on either side of the foyer, we made it to the librarian’s desk on the left. It was still empty, but the lamp in the back corner was on.

The man was nowhere in sight.

“He’s gone,” I whispered.

Drew sighed and, keeping his gun pointed down in frontof him, looked back at me over his shoulder. “I still wish you would have stayed outside.”

I glared at him. “Yeah, well, you know I don’t obeycommandsvery well.”

Drew scoffed. “It seems it’s only myinstructionsyou ignore.”

He put his gun back in the holster at his hip and turned, looking down the three hallways connected to the lobby. They were all empty. “He’s gone for now. Probably after you sprayed him.”

I hoped Drew was right and the man was gone, but I didn’t want to stay here in case he showed up again.

“Can we go?” I asked, shuffling a few steps behind Drew. My shoulder throbbed.

His brows furrowed. He cast one last glance around the entry hall before he nodded, grabbed my hand, and led us out of the library.

Streetlamps lined the sidewalk outside and illuminated our path. Only a handful of people were still on campus. The wind swirled around us and goosebumps rose on my skin. I inhaled deeply as the nerves settled inside me but winced at the movement.

“We need to get that looked at,” Drew said, nodding at my shoulder. “It could be dislocated.”

I bit my lip to stop myself from breaking down. “It’s fine. I just need some ice or something. Can you take me back to my apartment?”

Drew turned to me like I’d just slapped him. “Absolutely fucking not. It was ransacked yesterday, or did you forget?”

“Yeah, but?—”

“No, Katherine,” Drew said firmly. “Don’t argue with me about this. We’re going to the hospital and then back to my place. End of story.”

“But—"

“No, that man who attacked you tonight was most likely the one at the bar and the one who broke into your apartment. There is no way I’m letting you out of my sight with him still out there.”

I shook my head. “He couldn’t have been the one who broke into my apartment.”

Drew’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“He doesn’t work for Adrian. He might’ve been at Jerry’s last night, but he couldn’t have delivered the first note and the message I got at my apartment. It was from a different number. And he said something about his boss and making Adrian pay.”

“Great, so there are two guys after you now.” Drew sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Let’s focus on one thing at a time. First, the hospital to look at your shoulder, then home.”

I rolled my eyes as he put his arm around me again to guide us away from the library.

Despite everything, I relaxed into his hold. His arms around me felt nice—safe—like nothing bad could reach me. I shivered against his hard body, but it wasn’t from the cold.

“Do you have to be so bossy all the time?”

Drew gave me a pointed stare. “Do you have to argue with me all the time?”

“Yes,” I chuckled from sheer exhaustion, “I guess I do.”

Drew carefully squeezed my uninjured shoulder. “We’re going to get you taken care of and then go back to my apartment where we can talk, okay?”

I should have pushed him away, denied his help, and kept him out of my problems with Adrian, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t think I could if I tried.