Page 112 of Sinful

“Come w-with. . .?” I tried to beg her. I didn’t want her alone with Adam.

Her phone buzzed, and she waved us off before closing the door.

I stared at the heavy door, my heart in my throat.

“Come on,” Bryce said, putting his hand on the small of my back and leading me to the elevator. He pushed the button, and the doors slid open. We stepped inside, and I let out a choked breath.

Bryce fixed his gaze on me. I had no idea why he’d shown up when he did, but he was a godsend. Maybe Ashes really did send for me.

“Sirena, what’s going on?”

“A-A—” I couldn’t get his name out. “C-Cady. N-not safe.”

He frowned at me for a moment before pulling his phone out and sending a text. His phone rang a moment later.

“Hey, yeah, she’s worried about you. What’s going on?” He was quiet as he listened to Cady on the phone, nodding his head.

“I don’t know. I guess that’s good. I’ll let her know. She’ll relax now. Yeah. OK. Bye.” Bryce hung up and tucked his phone away.

“She said Adam called and isn’t coming tonight, so she was going to hang out with Jasmine O’Laughlin in her dorm instead since she’d asked her to earlier. Whatever is bothering you is OK. Cady’s OK.”

I nodded, relief rushing through me.

The door dinged open at the bottom level, and we stepped out into the lobby. Bryce quickly took my hand and led me outside into the cold night air.

The tension dissolved the more distance we put between us and the dorm until I could almost function.

“You’re not OK,” Bryce said, breaking the silence. “Sirena, what’s going on?”

I shook, my arms still around myself. I’d forgotten my jacket at Cady’s.

Bryce pulled me to a stop, then took his jacket off and wrapped it around me. He was a lot bigger than me, so the coat hung loosely around my body.

“Look at me,” he murmured, concern on his pretty face. “Sirena?”

I shook my head. I didn’t even know what to say. More than anything, I wanted to save my sister.

Then, I needed to kill Adam.

It was the only way.

The darkness peeked out, reminding me it was possible if I could just let it out and learn to control the dangerous capabilities I possessed.

The darkness and bravery were the same thing in this instance.

The terror in that moment was greater.

I had no idea how Bryce knew I was at Cady’s. I wanted to ask, but the words weren’t there.

I needed to learn to defend myself. And more than that, to kill without remorse.

“I wish you could tell me what’s going on.” He sighed before reaching out to adjust the jacket on me. “I don’t ever get to see you anymore. It’s so hard. I actually have something for you in my dorm. I was going to bring it, but I heard Jasmine O’Laughlin telling Amanda Perry that Cady wouldn’t be going to watch movies in her dorm tonight because she was going to hang out with you. In my excitement, I rushed out without it. Do you want to come back to my place?” He shuffled from foot to foot, his face showing me all I needed to see.

Exhaling, I reached for his hand, noting how cold he was, before tugging him toward his building.

* * *

“Chocolate with cherry frosting,”Bryce proclaimed, handing me a pretty cupcake.

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