Page 75 of Tainted Deception

“Do you want him?” Gage questioned, his usual arrogance absent as he stared at me. “More than you want me?”

“No,” I answered quickly. “Gage, I care for you. And knowing you protected Jace—for me—it means so much. But…”

I trailed off, not sure how to explain. How did I tell a guy that I wanted himandtwo others? Especially Gage, who’d made it perfectly clear that he wanted me to be only his.

“I see how you look at them when you think no one else is around,” he muttered, running a hand through his long hair. “It’s going to get you hurt.”

I eyed him, debating what to say. “You think they’d hurt me?”

“Honestly?” He paused, looking torn. “I don’t think they purposely would. But I still think their loyalty will keep them with their gangs. I think once the year is over and all of us are off this campus, they’ll be back in Pacific Point, doing what they were raised to.”

“Yeah. That’s probably what’s going to happen.”

“They’re still going to hurt you,” he murmured. “Maybe not physically. But when they leave? I can see it, Rynn. They’re going to leave scars that I’m not sure I can fix.”

My lips parted, his honest words making my heart thrash. He’d made it clear that he wanted me. He cared about me so much that he’d gone against Ellie to save Jace. Because of me.

Before I could say anything, a phone went off, and he scowled, bending down and digging through his bag. He pulled out a phone, his body tense as he stared at the screen.

“That’s not your phone,” I said with a frown.

“It’s a burner.”

“Your regular phone is a burner,” I pointed out. “Why do you have another one?”

“I’ll explain later,” he said, putting the phone to his ear while striding out of my room. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He disappeared, and a couple moments later, my main door slammed shut. He left my room to make a phone call? He’d never done that before. I raced after him, ripping my door open and stepping out into the hall. He was already out of sight, which meant he was either down the stairs or in his room. Tiptoeing across the hall, I pressed my ear to his door, not hearing a sound.

Blowing out a breath, I went back into my room and dug around for some food as I waited for Gage to come back. Grabbing a bag of chips, I moved to the living room and got comfortable on the couch. Not even ten minutes later, the door opened.

“Where’d you go—”

My question died in my throat when Kian walked in. I straightened up, knowing for a fact that I’d locked the door behind me. Kian grinned sheepishly, holding up a key.

“Gage gave me a spare.”

I nearly choked on my chip. “He did what?”

“He had to go somewhere and didn’t want you to be here alone.”

I gaped at him as he strolled across the room and fell onto the couch next to me.What in the fuck was going on?

“We had a talk this morning when you and Jace were still sleeping,” he explained with a shrug. “I told him I wasn’t going anywhere when it came to you. He wasn’t happy but decided it was better to have more eyes to watch over you.”

“Watch over me,” I echoed, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Your gang is part of the reason I need security.”

“You think I’d turn you over to my dad?”

“Not at the moment, no,” I muttered.

“Why’d you leave me last night when I kissed you?” he asked in a low voice.

My pulse sped up as I kept his stare. I couldn’t tell him the truth. Jace knowing my secret was more than enough to deal with in one week.

“I don’t think Jace and Gage fighting is the truth,” he continued when I didn’t answer. “Something went down that you won’t tell me. Or can’t.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t.”

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