Chapter Five

*Tessa*

I hear the ringing in my head, so loud that I am sure it will live with me for months. Knox acts fast, pulling me with him. I try to turn around, searching for my friends, but he doesn’t give me the liberty as he keeps moving farther away from the sound.

At the end of the hallway, he stops and pushes me behind his body. A gun appears in his hands. “The attacker is shooting from the parking lot,” he explains. “You are safe here, unless there is more than one of them.”

Fear works its way through me. "What happens if there is more than one?"

He shrugs. “You pray you don’t die yet.”

"Knox," I whisper. "My brother pays you to guard me, and that includes keeping me from death."

He gives me a look. “So, now you are willing to recognize that.”

Another bullet rings through the air, and I flinch. "My friends, Wes…"

"Your little boyfriend is going to be fine," he says a little too harshly. "I don't want you going out looking for him. Stay put until you are absolutely certain it is all right to come out. Are we clear?"

“But Knox…”

“Are we clear?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect.” He touches my chin lightly before racing towards the direction of the shooter, leaving me trembling, partially from fright and partially from the absolutely platonic touch of my chin.

But I still feel his fingers there minutes after he leaves, tingling me despite the situation.

The gunshots get louder and more insistent, and I slide to the floor, covering my ears with my hands. I hear a loud groan, and my heart squeezes. I hope it isn't someone I know. It can't be someone I know.

After what feels like an eternity, the ringing in the air stops. With a whimper escaping my lips, I pull myself to my feet and gaze around warily. Knox asked me not to come out until I am entirely certain it is safe to, so I linger a few more minutes before stepping out.

A crowd has gathered in the parking lot around something, and I find myself running in that direction, dread finding its way through me. I push my way through the crowd until I am at the front of the circle.

There, I see Knox on top of a man, pinning him to the ground. The man looks like he has a bullet wound on his calf, as he is bleeding from that point. His gun has been knocked out of his hands, and everyone is staring at Knox like a hero.

The cops arrive on the scene, and the crowd pushes back to let them through. Knox gets on his feet and leaves the man with them, taking the faces of those around him. And when our eyes meet, he heads in my direction.

“You good?”

I nod, unable to find my voice.

“The school has cancelled all classes for the day. Let’s get you home.”

“I have to find Wes and Marin first,” I whisper, still not recovered from the incident.

“The man didn’t come for your friends. He came for you.”

“What?”

"Marcus will get a lot of enemies naturally since the position he is running for is quite coveted. It is the reason you cannot run away as you please, Tessa. He only came in here because the instructions left him no choice. He was supposed to make the attack look like a random school shooting."

It is hard to wrap my head around it. Nodding slowly, I allow him to lead me to the car. The cops stop him for a few minutes to talk to him while I continue to the car. For the first time in a while, I do not feel like running away.

Seated in the back seat, Marin walks over to me. "Oh my God! Thank God!" she gushes, pulling me into her arms. "I looked everywhere for you. I just found your hot bodyguard, and he told me where you were."

“Can you stop calling him that?”

“But he is hot,” she maintains, eyeing him from the window. “I am just so glad that he was here on time to save everyone, because I don’t know what would have happened if someone had gotten hurt.”

“Me too,” I sigh. “What about Wes? I haven’t seen him anywhere.”

“Fucking coward,” Marin mutters. “He ran off the minute the shooting started. The fucker didn’t even bother checking on either of us. You see what I have been telling you for ages? Wes isn’t in love with you. He only likes the idea of you. Break up with him.”

I shake my head insistently. “Just because he ran away doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me. Maybe he just panicked.”

“What if your hot bodyguard had panicked too?”

I roll my eyes at her choice of words again, but refrain from talking about it. "That is different. It is his job to protect me, and that was what he did today."

“Whatever you say, honey,” she murmurs. “Scoot over. The handsome hunk has allowed me to hitch a ride with you guys today. My driver isn’t picking up his calls.”

“So we are dropping you off?” I ask as I move inside.

"No," she answers. "I am going home with you. My driver will come to get me later in the evening. You need someone to talk to after what happened today, and I think I need that too."

We wait a few more minutes for Knox before he appears around the corner, dark shades shielding his eyes. I find myself swallowing just as my best friend's mouth hangs open.

"He is one sexy Greek god," she whispers beside me, not bothering to hide her drool. "The things I have imagined him doing to me already."

“Ladies, are we set to go?” he asks as he gets into the car.

“We are,” Marin chirps with an unfounded excitement. Nodding, Knox pulls out of the parking lot and heads in the direction of our house.

His phone rings halfway into the journey, and he taps on the receiver attached to his ear.

“K.”

I cannot hear the person on the other side, but I am certain that his expression falters.

“Okay,” he says. “I will be right there.”