Page 102 of Defiant Beta

“You talk to the teachers here, right?” she asks.

I brace myself for a question I don’t know how to answer. “A little. Why?”

“Do you know what happened to Delilah? The girls were saying something about someone being grabbed outside the gates, and no one has seen Delilah since. I asked Ms. Arkwright, but she just told me to get to class.”

I shouldn’t tell her about Della or about half the shit I shouldn’t know as a lowly gardener.

“Please,” she pleads. “I just want to know she’s okay. That’s all.”

Already regretting what I’m about to do, I drop into a crouch and lower my voice. “You can’t tell anyone this, okay?”

“Cross my heart,” she says in a rush.

“Someone hurt her.” I lift my palm when River starts to speak. “But she’s doing better. I don’t think she’s coming back here.” Mainly because she shouldn’t have been here in the first place.

“If you see her, can you tell her I miss her and that I hope we get to see each other again soon?”

I smile. “I’ll do that.”

She throws herself at me, embracing me tightly. “And that. Give her a hug from me.”

I cast an anxious glance at the buildings behind us. I’m not attracted to River, but if anyone saw me hugging a student, I’d be in a world of trouble.

She pulls away and gets to her feet, smiling at me. “Thanks. She was right. So are you. I know what I need to do.”

I stand up, alarmed by the determination glinting in her eyes. “And that thing is?”

“I’m running away,” she declares, backing away.

“Wait!”

She halts.

I grab a scrap of paper and a barely working pen from my pocket. “Hold off on running until you know where you want to run to. This is my number. Call if you need anything. Okay?”

She grins, takes the paper, and whirls around as a bell rings. “Thanks, Xavier. Bye!”

“A five-minute conversation and I convince a girl to run away from everything she knows.” I shake my head as I watch her leave. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

My cell phone vibrates, prompting me into action.

As I jog toward the teachers' parking lot, I glance around. No one is around. I get into my car and buckle up. Leaving school in the middle of the day like this is risky, but Levi and Della need me.

I start my engine and drive toward the gates, using my staff fob to open them. There aren’t any cops out front, but I heard they park outside in the evening to prevent more abductions. There’s still no sign they’re closer to finding the alphas whograbbed Della, and Lucas Security hasn’t stopped searching either.

As the gates shut behind me, I spot a dark red Honda in the farthest corner of the visitor’s parking lot. A man in navy janitor’s overalls is standing near the trunk of his car when he catches me staring at him.

Thomas Benson.

Levi caught him hanging around outside the girls’ dorms.

What the fuck is he doing here?

He sprints toward the driver’s side as I accelerate, slamming on the brakes with a deafening screech to cut him off, blocking his escape.

“I’d wondered what happened to you,” I say, throwing my door open and getting out of the car.

He backs up, eyes frantic as they bounce between me, the school gates, and his vehicle. “I have to go.”

---