“I…I don’t know, Jack. One minute everyone’s together, and the next some guy’s hitting Cassie and breaking a bottle over Dean’s head and saying he has a gun. ” Cole’s voice shook as he summed up the events.
“He said he had a gun?” I asked, confused.
“He said he was packing. That’s when everyone ran away. ”
Jack’s chest rose and fell rapidly against my body as his jaw tightened. “What did you just say?”
Jack eased me from him and began pacing, pulling at his hair with each step. He turned to me, his eyes filled with pain. “Kitten, where were you when they ran?” My eyes darted between Cole and Jack; I wasn’t sure how to respond. “You gotta tell me, Kitten, I’m going fucking crazy right now. ”
I watched as Cole braced, clearly dreading Jack’s reaction. Jack reached for Cole’s shirt, gripping it tightly in his fist. He yanked until Cole stood an inch from his face. “Where the fuck was Cassie, Cole?”
“Jack, I’m sorry. ” Cole winced, unwilling to put up a fight.
I watched as Jack’s other hand balled into a fist. “Jack!” I longed to stop this battle before it began. Jack turned to me, my eyes locking onto his. “He took my camera. ”
I said the words out loud and allowed my tears to fall. This stranger had violated me. He ripped away a sense of security I never knew I had before suffering the loss of it. He struck my body violently and robbed parts of my innate trust in others. And he took the one material thing that I cared about the most and ripped it from my possession.
Jack’s anger dropped away for a moment, his eyebrows pinched together in pain. “I’ll get you a new one, Kitten. I promise. ”
I shook my head. “I need my camera. Why’d he take it? Why’d he hit me so hard? And why so many times?” I fell to the curb, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Do you think we should call the cops? The campus police or something?” Cole suggested with a nervous shrug.
“That’s where Dean and Brett are now,” Jack snapped.
My eyes opened at the mention of his name. “Where is Dean? Is he okay? I saw him fall. He looked unconscious. ”
Jack leaned next to me, his hand rubbing the length of my back. “Don’t worry. He’s fine. ”
“How? His head was bleeding like crazy! And he couldn’t even stand!”
“Head wounds do that, Kitten. They bleed something fierce, but it had almost stopped by the time I saw him,” Jack told me, his voice calm.
“So he’s really okay?” I released a breath.
“He’s really okay. ” His voice reassured me and he kissed the top of my head.
“Hey, Jack. ” Cole took a step toward us before Jack cut him off with an angry slash of his hand.
“Stay the fuck away from me right now, Cole, or I’ll end up doing something I might regret. ”
I looked into Cole’s worried eyes and flashed him a hollow look.
“I’m really sorry, Cassie. ” Cole’s voice echoed softly.
“Shut. Up. Cole. ” Jack’s tone was deadly, and I turned away.
Jack’s arms settled underneath my legs and around my waist as he lifted me into the air. “Let’s go home,” he whispered before kissing the side of my forehead.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and nuzzled into his chest, the sound of his heart beating against my ears giving me reassurance. He carried me in his arms the entire way to my apartment, never once stopping to catch his breath and never slowing his pace.
Once inside, he placed me gently on my bed and kneeled beside it. “We need to get you cleaned up, Kitten. Your beautiful face is a mess. ” He lightly brushed my hair back with his fingertips.
I hadn’t given any thought to how messed up my face might be. My jaw ached and my head throbbed, but other than that, nothing else really hurt. “I’m gonna get you some ice. I’ll be right back. ” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.
I heard his cell phone ring and his voice rose in anger at whoever was on the other end of that call. He reappeared at my side. “The police are coming here, Kitten. They need your statement right now so they can go look for this guy. And they need to take pictures of your injuries, so we can’t clean you up just yet. I’m sorry. ”
“It’s okay. I’d rather get it over with anyway. ” I smiled gamely and then winced. “Ouch. Shit, that hurts,” I admitted before placing my palm against my cheek.