Ground Rules

“Maze.”

I gasped, my stomach crashing to the floor. I peered around Ryan’s body, and my fingers flew to my mouth. “Cole!” I began to run toward him but stopped dead in my tracks as Ryan covered him again. My finger pressed the Call button, and I placed my phone in my back pocket. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

The slight visual that I saw of Cole was bad. He was soaked with blood, and his eyes were barely open. His voice didn’t sound right, either.

“What the hell did you do to him, Ryan?” I prayed like hell he couldn’t hear the operator talking on the other line, but hoped like hell they could hear us. Would they find us? Did we need an ambulance? The police?

Ryan laughed again, lazily putting his hands in his pockets. “I roofied him like I roofied you. Thought it was appropriate.”

My eyes burned. “Appropriate? What the hell is wrong with you?” I tried to see past him again. “Cole, are you okay?”

He didn’t answer me, and Ryan rolled his eyes. He turned around, putting his back to me, and slapped Cole so loud the noise echoed throughout the empty hospital. “Wake up.”

“Ryan.” I treaded slowly. “What are you doing? Why are we here?”

Cole began to stir, and as soon as Ryan stepped aside, our gazes caught. His eyes were glossy, and there was blood smeared on his face. I nearly doubled over when his face splintered through his next words. “I’m…so…rry, Maze. I ca…can’t fucking get up.”

Shit, he was tied up to a freaking wheelchair.

“Ryan, let Cole go. This is absolutely insane. Haven’t you done enough?”

Ryan sat down in one of the torn-up chairs and crossed his leg over the other, seemingly relaxed with the fact that he just drugged Cole and had brought us to a dilapidated building. There was a faint voice coming from my back pocket, so I took a step back from Ryan, hoping he didn’t hear it. They probably thought I was pranking them.

“Haven’t I done enough?” Ryan asked. “You two are the ones poking around in shit you have no business with.”

I swallowed past the dryness in my mouth. “You mean contacting all the girls you raped?”

“I didn’t rape all of them. Most were willing.”

Tears hit the backs of my eyes. I used to hate that I couldn’t remember what had happened, but standing here, hearing him talk like he was, made me thankful that I hardly had a recollection of the actual assault. I wasn’t sure I would be able to stand in front of him. “I wasn’t,” I said calmly. “I wasn’t willing, and you assaulted me. You left bruises on my body. You fucking date-raped me and then let Cole take the blame for it.”

“Mazey.” Cole’s mumble caught my ears, and I shifted my gaze to him.

Ryan snickered. “Go ahead, you won’t be able to get him untied.”

I rushed over, knowing damn well I would try. “Cole!” I yelled, bending down to get in his face.

His eyes were hardly focused as he tried to shake his head. He gulped loudly and let out a raspy noise. “I feel drunk.”

“I know,” I whispered, going behind the wheelchair to see how Ryan had tied him up. It was a big, thick rope with bands and bands of woven hemp wrapped around his sturdy wrists so tightly they were likely bleeding underneath. My shaky fingers fumbled with it as I pulled and tugged. I fell onto my butt at one point and fought the urge to pull my phone out and make sure 911 was still on the line, but I was too afraid that Ryan would see.

If he was capable of this, what else was he capable of? Would he lunge at me if he knew I was on the phone with 911? Outsmart your attacker, and be patient. I regained my ability to focus and canceled out my panic as my former self-defense instructor's voice came through. My legs were still shaky when I stood up again, and Ryan’s smile did nothing to fuel my strength.

“Cole has been beating himself up since that night. Did you know that?” Ryan leaned back farther into the torn seat, and I wished a rabid squirrel would climb out and bite his fucking head off. Ryan clicked his tongue, staring at Cole and me. “It was almost pitiful to see how fucked up he got over it. I think he actually thought he was the one that did it.”

“Cole would never,” I gritted. “He’s much more of a man.”

Ryan ignored me and continued on with his story. “Cole was a little bitch and left you in the shadows. You should be thanking me. Look at you two love birds now. Fucking in classrooms and shit.”

My stomach churned. “Have you been spying on us?”

He laughed with a haughty tone. “It’s only fair. You’ve been spying on me, too. Did you really think I didn’t see your eyes following me around? God, you’re so fucking dense.”

Cole growled, and I bent down again, trying to untie him. How the fuck was I going to get this undone?

Ryan ignored the fact that I was tugging on the rope and gritting my teeth and started up again. “Do you want to know the story about that night? I mean, Cole has been feeling guilty for it, but for all the wrong reasons.”

He was baiting me, and I took it. “What are you talking about?”