Setting my empty cup on the bench, I follow him up the stairs. Knowing I might not get another chance, I use it to hit the record button on my phone before tucking it back in the pocket of my skirt. The bathrooms have queues, so I think nothing of it when I’m led to the third floor. He opens the door and I step inside, halting when I realize it’s a study and not a bathroom.

I spin around as Kyle shuts the door behind us. His smile is slow and lazy. It sets my heart thumping with rapid beats of apprehension. “What are you playing at, Jordan?”

God I must suck at this. Show no fear, I command myself.

“Playing at?” I cock a brow coolly, folding my arms. “What are you playing at, Kyle?”

“It’s not what I’m playing at, but who. And it’s Brody, babe. Who else?”

Annoyance rips through me and I shake my head. “Why?”

Kyle takes a step toward me, eyes glinting. I stand my ground, forcing myself not to take a step back. “Did you know Brody and I go way back? We went to primary school together. We even ended up in the same peewee league. And even then he was always so damn entitled. In that big fancy house with his mom and dad, his nice clothes, always wearing the best of everything. Nothing secondhand for him, only high-end brand-named football equipment would ever do.” He takes another step. “As if that wasn’t enough, his coach, and all his teachers, gave him a free ride through school while I had to work my ass off. Bumping up grades faster then a fat kid eats candy. No doubt getting paid off. You know what that made me?”

Kyle is right in my face now, a smile on his lips. Hate and bitterness ooze from it like black tar, raising the hair on the back of my neck.

I glare, my voice a scathing attack. “A resentful, jealous little dick?”

He chuckles. “Pretty much, but who cares?” Kyle’s expression is modest when he shrugs. “I’m just the guy making sure Brody gets what he deserves, or in this case, doesn’t deserve.”

“And he didn’t deserve to pass the midterm?”

“Are you fucking kidding me? What a coup, earning that teacher’s aide position for the same course Brody’s taking. I couldn’t let an opportunity slip by to fuck with his grade.”

My heart pounds so hard I fear I can hear it. “You fudged his answers?”

He shrugs. “Honestly? I would have. Sadly, I didn’t need to do a single thing. Brody failed all by himself.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Kyle laughs. “Come on, Jordan. I wouldn’t lie to you.” He leans down, putting his face right near mine. “I like you.”

“Well I don’t like you.”

This whole idea of mine is a complete bust. My bicep is grabbed when I brush past.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His fingers dig into the soft flesh of my upper arm and I cry out, trying to yank free. Kyle twists the arm around behind my back. White spots dance behind my eyelids, the pain so excruciating my voice fails. I’m spun around, my feet tripping over each other as he shoves me face first into the couch.

“I think hanging around dumb assholes has rubbed off on you.” He grabs my other arm, clamping them both together behind my back, leaving me incapacitated. His hands begin roving over my skirt. Patting at my pockets, he reaches inside and grabs my phone. He checks the screen, hitting the stop button before tossing it away. It hits the floor and skates across the sleek timber, out of reach. “I’m a bit smarter than the average guy, in case you haven’t noticed. And yes, I did fuck with his grade.” He smirks. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Fuck you!” I shriek, panting and trying to kick out with my legs.

Kyle grunts when I catch his shin, but the effect is that of a pesky mosquito and does nothing. His hand slides up my leg and underneath my skirt, grabbing at my panties. “Get off me you sick fuck!”

Brody

Damien shrugs at me. “Maybe they went upstairs.”

His offhand comment has my hands curling into fists.

Jax elbows him sharp in his side. “Ow!”

“You’re an asshole,” my cousin adds.

“What? Why?” Damien shrugs again and downs the remains of his beer. Tossing the empty cup in the direction of a big open bin nearby, he smirks. “Maybe they did.”

Jax and I share a mutual glance. Judging by his unhappy expression, he suspects Damien could be right. Not saying a word, I turn and make for the stairs at the back of the house, taking them two at a time. They’re both behind me when I reach the second level, stalking down hallways and shoving open doors. I’m panicked by the time I reach the third and top level of the house without finding either of them. I’m reaching for the handle of the second door when I hear a loud sob and Jordan shout, “Get off me you sick fuck!”

Heart in my throat, I shove the door open. Kyle has Jordan pinned against a couch, her skirt pushed up around her hips and a hand in her panties. Her face is mashed sideways into the cushion, but she’s squirming hard and manages to get an arm loose and elbow him in the gut.

“You bitch!” he snarls and rounds a hard open palm to the side of her face, the sound a loud crack in the small room.

Burning rage blinds me. Its onset is so swift and hard it overtakes my body completely. I barely register what I’m doing when I pick Kyle up and throw him across the room. The sound of his body slamming into the wall fuels my anger. He hits the ground with a grunt and rolls on to his hands and knees.

Reaching Kyle’s side, I kick him hard in the gut. He cries out and drops instantly, rolling to his back and gasping for air. It’s not enough. I want to fucking kill him for putting his hands on Jordan. Without another thought, I’m on him. Straddling his body, I smash a fist in his face, my knuckles burning from the impact. It’s a good burn. I want more of it. I want motherfucking blood.

We lock in a furious struggle and my elbow cracks him in the eye. He falls back with a howl, disoriented and weakened. Not giving him anytime to recover, my fist smashes him in the face again. The bones in his nose crunch beneath the impact and blood spurts hot and wet, oozing down his face in a river of red and covering both of us.

Jordan says something, but I can’t hear it over Kyle’s loud groans. He locks his legs around me and twists, shoving me sideways onto the floor. My head hits the timber boards. It leaves me dizzy for a moment, and I miss seeing the roundhouse punch Kyle aims. It lands on my jaw and my gut twists with pain. Motherfucker.

“Brody!” Jordan cries out.

But I don’t hear anything. All I see is that snake in the grass with his hands on my girl. My eyes fly open, landing on Kyle. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you,” I slur.

I roll and take him back down. My fists pummel hard, hitting anywhere and everywhere I can reach. I’m in a zone of bloodlust and there’s no breaking free of it. Loud shouts come from behind me. I don’t know how many hands grab hold, dragging me off Kyle’s prone form.

“You sonofabitch!” I yell, my voice hoarse and chest heaving with rage as they hold me back. “Why? What did I ever do to you?”

Kyle groans, struggling to move. No one offers to help him.

Suddenly Jordan is right there and whoever has hold of me lets go. My jaw locks and my eyes burn as I take her in. Her makeup is smeared and her hair’s tangled. Her right cheekbone is bruised and beginning to swell, and the beautiful light in her eyes is just … gone.

“Jordan,” I croak, my heart cracking into a thousand pieces. I don’t know what to do, how to fix what Kyle did, and put everything back the way it was. The arms I wrap around her feel weak and useless. She buries her face in my neck, hot tears plopping thick and fast on my skin. “Are you okay?”

Unable to speak, Jordan simply nods as I stroke a trembling hand over the back of her head.