Page 91 of Tainted Deception

“I already told her I had to go deal with business. I’ll be back later.”

He hung up on me, and I hadn’t even put my phone away before it rang again. My stomach churned when my dad’s contact popped up, and I took a deep breath before answering it.

“What’s up?” I asked, heading toward Rynn’s dorm.

“Are you on campus?” my dad asked, sounding frantic.

I halted on the sidewalk. “Yeah. What’s going on?”

“Chris found out that Rynn is Shawn’s sister,” he said tightly. “He’s coming for her.”

My blood turned to ice, and I began jogging to her building. “When?”

“Now.”

“What does that mean?” I hissed into the phone. “You refuse to tell me why she’s important.”

“None of it matters right now,” he snapped. “What matters is that Chris does not touch her. She’s important to him, and our truce will be in jeopardy if that happens.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have time to explain,” he snapped. “Just know that it would be very fucking bad for us and Grimrose if he gets her. Jace is probably already planning something.”

My heart hammered as I flung open the door to the dorm and raced toward the stairs. Would Jace help Chris? I couldn’t act like he wouldn’t when he had in the past. I couldn’t trust him with this.

“Rynn has people watching in Little Haven,” I said gruffly. “I doubt Chris will get on campus.”

“He will. He’s a smart son of a bitch. She’s not safe there.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked tightly. “Get her out so I can bring her to you?”

“I thought you’d been trying to get her out for a week?” he asked, suspicion in his voice. “But that guy, Gage, won’t let her out of his sight.”

“I haven’t been able to get her alone,” I replied, the lie coming out steady.

“Tell him that she’s in danger,” he ordered. “I really don’t give a shit how you do it. Just make sure Chris doesn’t get to her. He’ll be there within a half hour, according to what my men found out.”

“I’ll handle it.” I hung up and texted Tripp, telling him I needed help before trying to call Gage. His phone rang and rang until it went to a generic voicemail.

“Fuck,” I cursed. The one time I wanted to talk to the asshole, and he didn’t answer. I’d just have to deal with this on my own.

* * *

“Where are we going?”Rynn asked as we continued walking on the trail.

My hand stayed clasped around hers, and I tightened my hold, making sure she couldn’t slip out of it.

“Kian,” she snapped. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what we’re doing.”

I turned my head, giving her a small grin. “It’s a surprise.”

I didn’t miss her suspicious stare, and I looked straight ahead again before my mask slipped. My heart was thundering, and I knew she was going to flip out when she realized what I was doing. Gage and Jace would probably kill me for it if they found out. But Gage wasn’t fucking here right now, and I didn’t trust Jace enough to tell him. At least this way, I knew she’d be safe.

I glanced at her, my stomach twisting when she had her phone in her other hand. Reaching over, I snatched it from her, ignoring her arguments as I slipped it into my jeans pocket. This time, she dug her feet in the dirt, tearing away from me.

“What the hell is going on?” She backed up, watching me with a piercing stare as I ran a hand through my hair.

“I’m taking you off campus. Out of Little Haven.”

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