Page 19 of The Pretty Psycho

"Dude." His hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me back and angering me momentarily. My eyes scanned his fingers on my skin, my eyebrow arching at the obvious distress on his face. "We really, really need to talk." Had it been Dante who had stopped me, I would've shaken him off and left, because we all knew how dramatic Dante could be from time to time.

But Jax was the most level-headed out of all of us. He collected data, reviewed numbers, listened to all the facts before acting, and the fact that he looked as if he had just seen a ghost was not only worrying but bone-chilling.

"What happened?" I asked, straightening and truly focusing on the situation at hand, because I knew he wouldn't have stopped me if he didn't have a good reason. And I fucking knew it wasn't anything good once Dante and Dimitri came closer to us, their faces mirroring Jax's. "Vega is okay, Yolanda is okay." Jax winced at the mention of the blonde's name, but you had to be blind to miss the tension between those two. "So, what is it?"

"We have a problem," Dimitri spoke up, taking my attention away from Jax. "We actually have a massive problem, and I have a feeling they're only just starting."

"What are you talking about?"

"Dean Andries is missing," Dante murmured. "We were just notified that he isn't at the Academy anymore, and if he's missing?—"

"Then it could mean only one thing," I murmured, finishing his sentence.

"There's more," Dimitri added, coming closer to me. "I didn't, well, we didn't want to bother you with this news earlier, what with Vega waking up and everyone going into a frenzy, but," he cleared his throat, looking around us as if he wanted to make sure that we were alone, "two of our warehouses in France were attacked, along with a third one in Finland."

I shook my head. "And you already know who did it." It was no longer a question, but a statement, because I could see where this was going. I didn't need a crystal ball to see the truth in Dimitri's steel gray eyes.

"He started already, didn't he?" I asked, waiting for an answer with bated breath, because this… This fucking changed everything.

"He did." Dimitri nodded, bringing home what I already knew. My father was tired of waiting and playing around, trying to move the chess pieces on the board, wanting to force me to fall in line, when we both knew I never would.

I detested the man. I detested the things he made me do, the person I became all because of him. I detested him for turning my brother and me against each other and for brainwashing Dain into thinking what we did was anything but evil.

And now he was coming for me and mine.

He should've known this fight wouldn't be one he'd be able to win, because I was planning on taking it all.

The empire.

The war.

The girl.

And Gerard Zylla should already know that if he even dares to touch what's mine, I would rip him in half.

I looked at all three of them waiting for instructions for our next steps, and as much as I hated going back there without her, I had to. I had to make sure it was safe for her to come back. I had to make sure we were ready.

"We need to go to the Academy," I said. "Dimitri," I looked at Arseniy's shadow. "Things are about to get ugly."

"I know."

"We will need more people."

"I know that too." The bastard smirked. "We're already on it and they're on their way. I'll stay here, take care of your girl." Fuck, my entire body electrified at those two words.

My girl. Mine.

She better be ready for me, because I wasn't letting her go. Not now, not ever.

"Good." I nodded, fighting against the urge to swap places with him, to stay behind and watch out for her. But Vega wasn't some damsel who wouldn't be able to defend herself. Even with bruises and wounds, she was still more lethal than half of the Academy, and she had no idea how brightly my pride over her bloomed. She had no idea that she was the reason I got up in the morning because she was all I needed.

My salvation.

"Jax, Dante." I looked at my best friends, noting the worried looks on their faces. I understood why, because I wasn't myself these past couple of days. But I was back, and I would stop at nothing until we won this war. "Let's go and see the damages."

The first timeI drove past the gates of the Academy, I was too young to understand that every single one of my actions had consequences and I'd be paying for them for the rest of my life. But as we drove through the open gates with no guards at their stations, I understood better than ever that we were in the middle of the mess I'd created, and I had to fix it before anyone got hurt.

Truth be told, we've been working toward this for years. We've been training, observing, making sure we have all of our bases covered, but something akin to fear slithered over my skin as we drove toward the admin building, my eyes latching on to the empty streets usually filled with students heading for their classes at this time of day.

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