Page 47 of Out of the Shadows
“What the fuck? Where’s he going now?”
Jax snickered. “He’s not here for us. Like he said, where she goes, he goes. That’s him following through.”
Knox made a whipping sound behind me, and I raised my middle finger over my shoulder. Laughter followed, then I was out of earshot.
I quickly discovered an advantage to my stature that I had never known before — at packed parties, I could see over the crowd.
It should have been easy to keep an eye on her, but there were just too many fucking people here. I spotted Ella in the kitchen near a patio door talking to someone, but Hailey wasn’t anywhere near her.
I briefly considered pushing through to Ella and asking where Hailey had disappeared to, but my instincts told me she was outside. Hailey didn’t drink often, and I was almost certain she’d needed some fresh air.
The moment I ducked through the open sliding door, I knew I’d made the right decision. She was sitting on a large swing at the far end of the porch — and she had company. A distinctly male figure stood in front of her, almost blocking her from view.
I preferred not to announce my presence right away and stayed in the shadows.
“So, your first semester here?” The voice didn’t sound familiar.
“Yup. You’re one of the Betas?”
“You bet I am. We have the best parties, good thing you came here.”
“I wouldn’t know, this is my first party. But I’ll take your word for it.”
“Oh, really? I’d be happy to give you a tour.” The guy sounded like he had just hit the jackpot.
“That’s nice of you, but I’d rather stay out here.”
He changed tactics. “You’re right. I could use a little peace and quiet myself.”
Hailey stiffened as he leaned over her. “You don’t mind alittle company, do you?” That dude was a major red flag.
“Honestly, I’d rather be alone for a while.”
“Oh, come on. What kind of host would I be if I left you out here all alone?”
She gave a forced laugh. I’d heard Hailey laugh enough to know the difference. This laugh had nothing in common with the bright, tinkling, real laugh. I would have liked to intervene, but I wanted to give her the chance to handle it herself.
“Actually, I’m here with my friend, she should be back any minute.”
“A friend?” He was still hovering over her. “Yeah, I’ve never heard that before.”
His hand moved to her thigh, and red seeped into my vision, fury engulfing me and gripping me in its unyielding claws.
“Look, dude. I don’t know you, and this is way too close. I need you to back off. I’m definitely not available, and if you don’t take a few steps back, we’re going to have an issue.” She slapped his hand away.Good girl.
He scoffed. “Not available? I don’t see a boyfriend. Who would let a hot little piece of ass like you go anywhere alone?”
My heavy footsteps vibrated through the wooden boards as I stalked across the porch. A few long strides and I was there, just as dickface turned around. I towered over him by a good five inches, and as I leveled him with a glare, the color drained from his face.
“That would be me. And if you put your filthy hand anywhere near my girlfriend again, you’ll find out why they call me the beast.”
I grabbed him by the back of the neck, harder than necessary, and flung him toward the door. Dickface stumbled,barely catching himself, then scurried inside like the little rat he was.
“Colt!” Hailey jumped up, apparently shocked, either because of my presence or because of what I’d done. My chest heaved, and I felt like a bull ready to charge, except I no longer had prey. So I went for the next best thing.
Nineteen
Hailey
