Page 35 of Chaos at Westbrook High

He curses, then shouts, “Where the fuck is James?!”

I don’t know who James is. I don’t know what Elijah’s yelling on the other end as I keep going, moving as fast and as hard as I’ve ever moved before. My heart is in my throat, the streetlights and headlights blurring together as my long hair whips around my face, but I don’t stop, pushing myself to keep sprinting until the top of Kingston Palace comes into view on my left up ahead.

“Elijah.”

“I’m almost there, Hailey. Don’t let them get you.”

I nod even though he can’t see me, not bothering to assess the fact that I haven’t told him where I am. If he says he’s coming, I believe him.

The car is on the other side of the street, still following me, and I can hear the other guy on my tail, calling me a little shit when he realizes he’s not catching up to me. He’s fast, I’ll give him that, but I’m faster. I’ve worked my ass off on the track for years. There’s not a chance I’m about to let him catch me and shove me into the back of that car.

I hear a crash of bodies behind me followed by a grunt, and make the mistake of looking over my shoulder. The guy who was chasing me has been tackled to the ground, and the tackler is headed straight for me, holding a gun at his side as he tries to grab my arm. I pull it back before he can touch me and punch him in the nose. Then I run again.

“Jesus. Hailey!” he yells just as the sound of tires screeching fills my ears, several SUVs skidding to a halt around me. Stopping before I run face first into the one parked diagonally across the sidewalk, I spin around. The guy I just hit is moving toward me again. He’s dressed in a black suit, glaring as he spits blood from his mouth and shoves his gun into the back of his waistband. “I work for Elijah Kingston.” He opens the back door of the SUV closest to us. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He shoves me inside, manhandles me across the seat, and climbs in next to me, slamming the door just as the driver up front hits the gas and drives us away.

“Elijah.”

“Go with him, Hailey. Do what he says.”

He hangs up on me, and I gape at my phone in disbelief, my chest heaving as I try to suck air into my lungs. I wasn’t running for that long, a minute, maybe two, but it felt like hours.

I look at the man sitting beside me. He side-eyes me, his lips turned down as he touches his bleeding nose with his fingertips. “That hurt.”

“It was supposed to,” I rasp, struggling to catch my breath.

He has the audacity to chuckle. “I’m James.”

I nod.

It’s not long before we screech to a stop outside Kingston Palace. Someone opens the back door, and James pulls me out, shuffling me into the hotel through the revolving doors.

“Wait. I can’t be here?—”

“Keep moving,” he grumbles, and I plant my feet, finding myself surrounded by more guards. “Girl, don’t make me carry you.” He grabs my arm again and drags me through the lobby, lifting a phone up to his ear.

“Where’s Elijah?”

He ignores me and talks quietly into his phone. I’m trying to listen to what he’s saying, but there are too many voices, too many bodies around me?—

One of them grabs me, his hands on my waist, his baby blue eyes wide with shock as he takes in all the chaos surrounding me.

“Kai.”

“Hailey, what happened?”

“I…” I try to pull my arm from James’ grip, but he won’t let me go, still speaking into his phone. “I…”

“Get your hands off her,” Kai growls, shoving his chest and pulling me into his.

His palm cradles the back of my head, and I fist his shirt with both hands, still trying to catch my breath while I peek at the other four Kingstons standing beside him.

“One of the twins has her,” I hear James saying behind me. “Kai. Yeah.” He pauses. “Yes, sir. Take them up to the penthouse,” he orders the man standing behind Damon and Callie.

Kai pulls his head back to look at James. “Wait, what? Dude, what the fuck is going on?”

He’s ignored as well.

We’re all ushered into the elevator, the protest dying on my lips as the doors slide closed. There’s no point fighting them. These guards aren’t letting me out of here until Elijah makes the order.

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