Page 117 of Unwritten Rules (Rules 1)

He kneels down by my side. “It’s going to hurt.”

I wince when he removes the tape from my mouth briskly. Tears come up to my eyes, but for the first time, they’re not only caused by pain. They’re happy tears. No matter what happens from this moment on, I know that it’ll be slightly less horrible. I know it’ll be okay.

Because Haze is with me.

“How did you do that?” I ask, staring at his now free hands.

“I’ve been around a long time, Kingston.”

He throws the ropes that used to hold me prisoner across the room and holds out his hand to me, which I accept. He helps me up. No matter how much I want to stand on my own two feet, my empty stomach and dehydrated body disagree. My knees give out, and I quickly feel myself falling backward. Instantly, he catches me, his strong arms circling my waist as he holds me against his chest.

“I got you,” he whispers in a raspy voice, his breath fanning my lips. “Always.”

When I manage to get a grip on my senses, my gaze connects with his and we’re back to being two kids sharing our secrets and biggest fears on a rooftop. For one fleeting second, I dare forget that we’re trapped in a basement, and the only thing I’m a prisoner of are Haze Adams’s eyes.

I shake my head. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. We need to get you out of here. Fast.” He glances around the room the same way I did earlier.

“Don’t bother. There’s only one way out.” I motion to the door. He turns his head, revealing bruises scattered under his left eye.

“You didn’t get this from the fight. What happened to you?” I exhale, my fingers brushing over the marks on his skin. He softens at the touch, his shoulders relaxing. Then, like reality just came rushing back into his mind, he stiffens up again.

“No time to explain. We need to get out of here. Long story short, we tapped the cell phone that was sending you the messages and—”

“Wait, we?”

“I’ve been working with your boys.”

“No way. You and the East Side?”

“What do you think we’ve been doing this whole time? Playing Uno? We’ve been looking for you.”

For a guy who doesn’t care… he sure went to hell and back to find me.

“Thank you,” I say, emotional. It might be the exhaustion, the hunger, or the fear of dying I went through for the past two days, but I can’t be mad at him anymore.

He went against everything he believes in and helped his enemy… for me.

“What? You didn’t think I’d let my texting buddy die, did you?” He musters a small smile.

“I’ll admit, the basement and ropes gave me doubts for a second.” I find myself smiling, truly smiling, which I didn’t think was possible in a situation like this.

“Did you find out who’s behind this?”

“Yes.” His jaw tightens. “My brother.”

“But… the text said…”

“I know. Tanner set us up. We went over to Ian’s lair, looking for you. It was always his plan to send us on the wrong track. But he still wanted us to find you. Just not too fast.”

I remember the words I heard earlier.

“Tanner wanted you here, too. I heard him say it. He said he wanted you to see everything.”

Haze clenches his fists. “I’m not even surprised. That’s some sick twisted shit, just the way he likes it.”

His eyes light up in realization.