Brutal Protector: A Dark College Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Westforde College Book 2)

by Serena Lyons

  Maybe it’s not Phillip driving. Maybe I’m right with my hunch that he has someone helping him, and that’s who’s driving me. And if it is Axel or Rafe, there’s no way they’d ever let me hear their voice. Callum would kill them for harming his sister. I’m not sure he’d care about me anymore, though.

  I stop trying to talk, I doubt they’d even be able to hear me over the thundering music anyway. I might as well try to conserve some of my energy.

  Finally, the car stops, the music cuts and the engine stops quietens, then one of the front doors slams making the boot vibrate. There’s a moment’s pause and I brace myself for whatever horror is next. I wait like an animal ready for a predator to pounce, expecting cold air and a sharp yank, but nothing happens.

  A minute passes.

  Two.

  Five.

  Ten.

  The waiting is worse than anything I’d anticipated, a unique torture. I should rest, conserve my energy. I should, but there’s so much adrenaline coursing through my veins, that it’s like I’m sprinting even as I lie here. Was this all a trick? Did they just lure me somewhere quiet and they’re going to leave me here?

  My breath gets shallower. I need to get a grip. I try counting in Spanish, but I can’t remember past ‘diez’. I start again cycling through just one to ten is making me calmer.

  When it feels like I’ve been doing this for hours, a door slams close by. Seconds later cold air rushes against me as the boot opens and I’m pulled sharply out.

  It’s horrible not being able to see and having my hands tied behind my back. I have to rely on the person who drags me out for support as my feet hit a gravel floor.

  “Careful.” I hiss as I feel my balance go, my hands grasping uselessly behind me. “It’s damn hard to balance like this.”

  “Faith? Is that you?” It’s Nina. She must be blindfolded too. Or maybe I’m hard to recognise with a bag over myself. “What are you doing? I—” Her voice breaks off, morphing into a pain-filled wail.

  “Shut up!” A familiar male voice screams.

  Something about it makes me feel sick to my bones; it’s definitely him, Phillip, Millie’s brother. Who killed her and wants to do the same for me.

  “Hello P—” I stop myself from using his name just in time. If Nina knows who he is, he might not let her go.

  “Now where were we?” He says like the jovial host of a country fair. “Oh yes, Faith traded herself for you Nina. Isn’t she a sweetheart? Such a nice girl, such good genes and so well brought-up.” His voice drips with sarcasm.

  “What?” Nina’s voice is a shocked whisper. “She can’t do that. Faith, you can’t sacrifice yourself, I’m not w—.”

  “Shut up!” Phillip yells again and Nina stops talking. “You’re leaving now, but don’t even think about going to the police. If you do, I’ll find out and Faith here, won’t stand a chance.”

  I doubt he intends me to stand a chance.

  “Understood Nina?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, now get her the hell out of here.” He’s clearly talking to someone else, footsteps crunch over the gravel and the car creaks open.

  “Stay safe, Nina.” I blurt out. “Don’t do anything stupid to help me, I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m sorry,” she yells over the sound of someone picking her up.

  Panic builds inside me again. This might be my last chance to send a message to the world. “Tell Callum I—” A fist hits my jaw, sending me spinning to the ground and silencing the rest of my sentence. I’m sorry I dragged you two into this craziness. The blood rushes into my head, so loud that I can’t make out Nina’s reply, if she says anything at all.

  The van door slams again, then acrid smoke clogs my nose as the engine turns on. I must be lying right beside the exhaust. The vehicle pulls away and even though I can’t see, I know that Nina is inside. Leaving just me and Phillip. Who’s his helper?

  43: Callum

  “More whisky, Cal?” Axel lifts the bottle that’s now only a quarter full. It’s five in the afternoon and we’ve been drinking for the last two hours.

  “No.” I shouldn’t have had as much as I have. But Nina’s still missing and Faith’s still a selfish cow I never should have tried to help.

  Fucking cheerleading.

  “You’re missing out,” Axel sniffs his glass. “Your Dad sure knows how to pick the good stuff.”

  “I need to find Nina.” I push myself up and start pacing the room. “Any ideas?”

  “The police weren’t helpful?”

  “No,” I kick the chair. “Some crap about it needing to be twenty-four confirmed hours before they can do anything as she’s over eighteen. I should have lied.”

  “The time must be up soon though?”

  “Three hours left. Which is why I can’t have any more of this.” I push my crystal whisky tumbler with more force than I mean to and watch is sail off the piano, smashing into hundreds of tiny pieces on the floor. “Fucking hell.”

  “She’ll be okay, Cal, probably just met a nice guy.” Axel smiles, and I know he means well, but still.

  “Nina doesn’t do that. Something’s not right.”

  “Hey, she’s growing up. She’s quite a hottie you know, objectively -.”

  I’ve yanked Axel up from the sofa before I can think about whether it’s a good idea. “Don’ talk about my sister like that.”

  He holds his hands in the air in surrender. “Calm down, Cal. I wouldn’t do anything with her,” he flushes slightly. “I just meant objectively, she’s not bad looking.”

  “Who’s not bad looking? That Faith slapper?” Rafe saunters back into the room with ice. “You can do much better than that, Cal.”

  “I know.” I’m furious with her. She fucking walked out when Nina’s missing. Why the hell did I get mixed up in her crazy in the first place?

  “So, what now?” Rafe asks depositing ice in Axel’s glass, then pouring himself a tot.

  “We wait. There’s nothing else to do.” I kick the wall. “I’ve called everyone I can think of, but there’s no sign of her. It’s only three hours until the police will take me seriously.”

  “Fuck is that the time?” Axel jumps up to his feet. “I’m really sorry, mate, but I have to leave.”

  “Why? It’s five on a Monday.”

  Axel looks down at his feet before answering. “Oh you know, the only thing that could warrant me springing upright at any time of day.” He winks, but doesn’t quite meet my eye.

  “Who is she?”

  “Oh, no one you’d know. A townie,” he coughs. “But a damn cute one. I’ll call you afterwards, check if you need anything.” He’s moving towards the door before I can respond.

  What the hell? Why is he suddenly acting so weird?

  “Do you know who this girl is?” I ask Rafe as the front door slams shut.

  Rafe looks down at his drink. “No, I mean, I don’t… Cal, do you think there is a girl?”

  “What?”

  “He just didn’t… seem right just then.” Rafe is staring at his glass like it’s a religious treasure.

  “He was lying, right? It’s not just me?”

  “I don’t know, but he hasn’t mentioned any townie and we never even go out on non-student nights to meet anyone not from the university.”

  “You think he might be involved?”

  Rafe shrugs his shoulders, but he’s not saying no.

  The photo that set Millie off that night. In the secret room that Axel led me to.

  “Do you want me to go after him?” Rafe asks.

  “That’d be great.” Part of me wants to go too, but two of us won’t exactly be unobtrusive, and I need to be here in case Nina shows up.

  I check my phone again. No messages. Faith hasn’t even bothered replying to what I sent her before. Probably too busy smarming up to the cheerleading team.

  I open the piano lid, but just one press on a key is enough to tell me it won’t bring any respite. I stand up again and
pace around the room. I can’t stand this.

  There’s something that would definitely make me feel better; the pills up in my bedroom. I could take half a Valium, it would be enough to take the edge off things. The pill looms large in my mind. It would be so easy to climb the stairs and swallow it, I’d be feeling much calmer in less than half an hour…

  “Don’t be so fucking weak!” I scream into the empty room. I can’t be like my father, I can’t let Nina down.

  I pick up one of the pieces of glass from my smashed drink and twist it around in my fingers. It’s so tempting to press it into my skin, see if I can make myself hurt as much as I feel inside.

  A clattering at the front door, shocks me into piercing my skin. I stare at the bright blood oozing over my skin for a second, but then the sweetest sound ever brings me to my feet: my sister’s voice yelling, “Callum!”

  Nina’s safe. My heart explodes and I run into the hallway, trying not to think about how much her voice sounded like a dying animal.

  “Nina, you’re alive. I was so worried, what happened? Are you okay?”

  She’s standing on the entrance rug, not moving, just staring at me like she’s a soldier returning home after witnessing the horrors of war. She doesn’t answer, just stares at me, her blue eyes glowing with tears.

  I wrap my arms around her and pull her tight against me. “You’re safe now, everything’s going to be okay.” I hope my voice sounds more confident than I feel; she looks broken.

  “He took me.” Her voice shakes.

  “Who did?”

  “I don’t know, the guy who hurt Millie I think. They blindfolded me the whole time.” Her voice is shaking and I belatedly realise she doesn’t need an inquisition right now.

  “Come on, shhh, let’s get you warm the details don’t matter now.” I guide her to the main room, at least the fire is on. “You’re safe now, nothing else matters.” I settle her on to the sofa and grab a blanket.

  She looks up at me, terror shining out of her wide eyes. “It does matter, Faith—”

  “Forget about Faith. She’s a selfish cow, and if I never see her again in my life, it’ll be too soon.” Just thinking about her makes my blood boil. “I’m going to get you a drink.” I turn towards the kitchen.

  Nina stiffens. “No, Cal, you don’t understand, she—”

  I interrupt her, Nina shouldn’t be stressing herself about Faith. “You weren’t here Nina, she’s selfish, she—”

  “She swapped herself for me. He has her, Callum. The guy who took me has Faith.”

  “What?” I spin around to face Nina again.

  “I don’t know the details, the guy who had me said the less I knew the more likely it was he could let me go,” Nina curls in on herself. “I never even saw him, he said I was just collateral to get Faith.”

  “It might not have worked, maybe he just got cold feet and let you go.”

  “No, he has her, Callum, I heard her arrive. He let me go when she came. He said she exchanged herself for me.”

  A coldness seeps through my body despite the roaring fire. Faith did that, for Nina? And she didn’t say anything? The cruel messages I sent her last night jump into my mind. “Oh God.”

  “We have to save her, Cal, he didn’t sound sane.” Nina looks up at me, pleading. Not that I need any convincing.

  “We’ll find her.” I promise. “I won’t stop at anything.”

  And it’s true, I’ll move heaven and earth to find Faith. I owe her the biggest apology of my life.

  44: Faith

  A clock ticks in the room I’m in, invading my brain. I’ve sat crouched on the floor since the van drove off—hopefully to safely deposit Nina back in Oxford.

  I can’t relax in the knowledge she’s safe. They could be playing us, pretending to have let her go, when really they’re planning to get rid of us both. There’d be no loose ends that way. My heart seems to skip a beat.

  It must be a ‘they’. Someone else drove the van away while Phillip hit me. They must be a team, you can’t exactly hire a taxi driver to take a bound and blindfolded girl.

  Phillip pushed me into what I assume is a house then locked me into this room. I think it’s a dining room. I’ve half-crawled half-shuffled around the space as best as my bound limbs allow and knocked into what seems like a large table and chairs. Or maybe I’m in an office and it’s a boardroom. It’s hard to tell when I’m still blindfolded, arms locked behind my back. Even if they untied them now, I’m not sure they’d work, they ache like they’re about to fall off. If only I could untie them. I tried rubbing against the table leg for what felt like twenty minutes, but I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, so I decided to conserve my energy instead. If only I had something sharp.

  My pen knife, I’m such an idiot. Hope springs inside me for the first time since I’ve been in this room.

  My hidden pocket is on the waistband at the small of my back. Please let me be able to reach it. I wiggle my fingers, but they don’t work like usual after having being tightly bound behind my back for a couple of hours, and I can only tickle the top of the pocket. I can feel that the keys are there, but I can’t touch them.

  I want to cry and scream, but every movie I’ve seen suggests noisy hostages don’t come to good ends. Instead I lie down on the floor in the foetal position and try to think of ways out of this nightmare.

  It’s damn difficult not to panic, when I can’t see, can’t move properly and don’t really know where I am. Maybe just trying to think of nothing is my best bet.

  Nothing is equally hard. My mind skips to Callum. Much as I hate to admit it to myself I’m sure I can lose myself in thoughts of him. God, this weekend was a revelation. How fun and witty he was when we were alone together, treating me like an equal rather than someone beneath him. They crazy things his touch did to me. The way he looked at me, really saw everything deep inside of me as we explored every inch of each other.

  I’m so lost in thoughts of him that I don’t hear Phillip approaching until the door to the room I’m in opens with a creak. I stiffen instantly and that pit of gnawing terror returns to my belly.

  “Making yourself at home, I see.” His voices sounds condescending. “I guess a floor with no blanket isn’t that different to what you’re used to with Gormless Gwen.”

  I force myself not to scream at him not to speak about Gran like that. I’ve no idea what the right response is but I’m not in the best position to win any argument.

  “Cat got your tongue has it? That makes a nice change, you and Millie were the same, you could never shut up. Thought the whole world had to hear your stupid teenage girl ideas.” He spits out Millie’s name like it’s a swear word and I shiver at the hate contained in his voice.

  I always thought Phillip was a bit weird, but essentially harmless. I can’t believe how badly I underestimated him.

  I risk saying something. “Can you untie my wrists please? I’ll stay as silent as you want, but my arms are killing me.”

  “I’m not going to untie you just so you run away, I’m not that stupid. Your little makeover doesn’t mean you can manipulate me the way you have Callum, flicking your new hair and getting him to do all your bidding.”

  I stiffen he knows more than I expected, his helped must be someone in Callum’s circle, and Rafe or Axel would be my best bet. That’s not important right this second though, I need to give my screaming arms some respite. “You can tie my legs to a chair or something first. Please Phillip, my arms are killing me.”

  There’s a long pause. I’m tempted to beg, but then think better of it.

  “Fine, I do need you at the table anyway.”

  There’s a loud scraping near my head and I assume he’s pulling one of the chairs out. Then he grabs my shoulders, pulls me upright and shoves me down on a wooden chair.

  “Fuck!” My arms hit the back of the chair and a dagger of pain ricochets out from them.

  Phillip doesn’t say anything, instead he grabs my left leg and ties it
to the chair leg, then does the same with my right.

  Fear clutches at my heart, have I just convinced him to make me even more helpless? But then his hands work behind my back and he finally frees my arms.

  The most horrific wave of pain makes me scream out even louder as my arms get some respite from the awkward angle he bound them in. My shoulders feel like they’ve become disjointed and it takes all my willpower to move first my right arm then my left on to my lap. Instantly pins and needles ravage my arms, it’s like I’ve plunged them into burning water and there’s no way to get them out.

  “Are you finished being a whining baby?” Phillip drawls.

  “Yes,” I hiss wishing I could make him feel this bad.

  “Good, then we might as well take off that hood too.” There’s a sudden rustling and light assaults my eyes. I blink once, twice as I get used to being able to see again.

  We are at a mahogany dining table, in a slightly downtrodden room that looks like it was last decorated in the 1970s. I force myself to look at Phillip, he’s smiling at me like we’re sitting down for a nice dinner or something, his eyes shining manically.

  He’s mad I realise, and somehow it gives me comfort. If he was acting rationally, I’d already be silenced, but maybe I can use his irrationality against him.

  “Where are we?” I decide to start with something fairly neutral.

  A darkness drops over his face. “Why would I tell you that?”

  “It’s fine, I don’t need to know.” I pause, wondering what to say. Perhaps nothing’s right, maybe all I can get now is answers. “Why did you bring me here?”

  “Because you wouldn’t stop sticking your nose in where it didn’t belong.” He snaps, a ball of spit forming on his bottom lip. “Everyone was getting over poor Millie’s tragic suicide until you had to stir things up.”

  “Well not everyone…” I let my words hang in the air. From what I remember growing up, Phillip hates to be out of the loop. If I xxx I might be able to tease more information than he wants to give.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well some other people know it wasn’t suicide… Some important people.”