a massive target o

he hard concrete wall behind me and shattered t

frame blocked out the dim stadium lights. He held me caged against the cold cinderblock wall of the

tion. I tried to find a logical exit. But logic was useless when a furiou

ted how weak I sounded. "I will delete the files. I wi

th. He leaned closer. His dark h

ey do not care about your apologies. They do not care about your deleted files. You accessed their offshore fina

ed. A wave of naus

t was me?" I

"It will take them less than twenty four hours to trace the login credentials back to your specific

. I tried to block out

d mock trial briefs in the safety of the campus library. I did not deal with vi

denly froze solid. I was trapped in

against his solid chest. I needed space. I needed to breathe. "I will go

uscles felt like carved

slow. They require subpoenas and formal warrants. The syndicate moves in the sh

y in his voice c

lipped past my lips before I coul

his eyes slowly shifted into a dark, intense possessiven

I tell you to do,"

hing room. But he did not release me from his trap. He kept his large

ur phone?" h

f topic threw me off balance.

it t

e was my only lifeline to the outside world. It was

from the wall. He reached

painful, but it was undeniable. It was a physical manifestation of pure co

ice was dangerously soft. "The syndicate tracks cellular

m against my ribs. I knew he was right. My digital fo

hed into my coat pocket. I pul

with me as he pressed the side button. The screen ill

it," he

t held my emails, my academic notes, and the digital b

ed. It was a command that de

digit passcode. Th

pace I desperately needed. I slumped against the concre

g?" I asked. My vo

His eyes were locked on the small screen. "I am wiping the cloud bac

of panic. "If you delete that, I have nothing to take to the dea

His dark eyes

to survive the weekend. Your precious grade point average does

f his words hit me l

But my old life was gone. I had shattered it the moment

on the screen. He pre

choed in the s

he ann

to me. Instead, he dropped it

his foot down with crushing force. The sickening crunch of shatte

t the destroyed pieces of my phone. The silver casing wa

our life," Leo

s into the dark shadows be

h and detached, as if he had not just destroyed a thousand dollar pi

st my face. My mind was

ingers. "She expects me to call her every Sunday. If I do not

e my device

he sheer arrogance of his statement spa

hing into fury. "I want to go back to my dorm room. I want to lock my d

ce returned to his movements. He closed the distance between

antly. It was replaced by that

k to your dorm roo

llenged, though

rk eyes locked onto mine. "It is a predictable target. The security cameras

hard. My thr

I supposed to

rushed a stray lock of hair away from my cold cheek. The unexpected tende

ing with me,

in my veins. "No. I am not going anywhere w

you are going to survive

s thumb rested against my pulse point. He could un

s a dangerous, seductive whisper. "The syndicate expects you to hide. They

t sharp shadows across his features. He look

that mean?"

eave my sight. You do not walk across campus alone. You do not eat in the dining hall without me. Starting tomorr

as a terrifying mixture of pure

I whispered. "The team. The

rom my neck and stepped back. The sudden loss of h

manila folder from the rubber matting

a very convincing show,"

solute. The desperate, panicked boy from ten minutes ago

e gestured toward the heavy metal

My voice felt incredibly small

toward the door. He

" he answered. "Y