The Fallen Ones (Holloway University #1)

44. Jace

Chapter 44

Jace

“ G et her out of here,” I said to Caleb as he cradled Lily in his arms. She was busted to hell, her pretty face swollen and covered in bruises. “We’ll deal with Brandon.”

Caleb didn’t say a word. He simply carried Lily out to her car and put her inside. I knew Caleb would make sure she was safe.

We’d been sitting around Caleb’s place, hanging out, when he’d gotten the text from Lily about meeting Brandon. She’d sent the address to him as well. Immediately, I was calling Dylan, asking if he gave my cabin out to him. He said he hadn’t but upon checking, the key was missing.

That’s all it took for us to launch into gear and go to her.

What we found sent us into a violent spiral. I’d reached Brandon first and had punched him so hard in the back of the head I was sure I’d fractured his skull.

Then Damien grabbed him.

Caleb had gone to Lily and pulled her away. I knew she was a mess, and that only fueled my fire as we beat the shit out of Brandon.

Damien twisted his arm until it broke. That only encouraged me to break his other one while he screamed for mercy.

“There is no fucking mercy tonight,” Damien said, his voice low and filled with venom. “Not for you. Not now.”

“P-Please. It’s a misunderstanding. She’s my girlfriend?—”

I landed a punch right into his face, busting his nose and sending blood flying.

“Wrong, motherfucker. She’s mine,” I snarled, kicking him in the ribs as he laid on the floor in a bloody heap.

A baggy fell out of Brandon’s pocket, and Damien lifted it and stared at it for a moment before he let out a curse.

“What?” I demanded.

“Drugs. He fucking drugged her.” His gaze went to the single empty glass on the coffee table.

My fury only grew.

Damien and I must have been on the same wavelength. I grabbed Brandon and forced him to his knees and Damien took the tiny pills from the bag and stuffed them all into Brandon’s mouth as I gripped Brandon’s jaw tightly, making him open.

Damien helped me force his jaw closed, making him swallow the contents of his mouth before I dropped him back to the ground unceremoniously.

“He needs to die,” Damien said, his chest heaving, Brandon’s blood splattered over his mask.

I agreed. I hated this prick and he’d hurt Lily and countless others. We were doing the world a favor.

Plus, no one fucking touched our girl.

“P-Please,” Brandon begged softly from the floor, his words slurring. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Too late for apologies,” I said, staring down at him as he snotted and cried on the floor.

Damien reached down and hauled Brandon up by his arms. Brandon let out a scream from the pain of us breaking it. If Damien cared, he didn’t show it as he started to drag him outside.

“We can drown him or run his car into a tree,” Damien said, no sign of humanity left in him. I knew he cared about Lily, but this erased any tiny doubts I may have had about it. He was serious about this.

So was I.

“Car,” I said firmly. “He’s busted to shit. Drowning on my property sure looks like murder.”

“Please,” Brandon begged, drool and blood pouring from his mouth.

Damien continued to drag him through the front door before I helped put him into the front seat of his car.

“Want me to do it or you?” Damien asked.

I ground my teeth. “I’ll drive him.”

Damien nodded and walked back to his car and got in. I didn’t even bother buckling Brandon’s seatbelt. Instead, I got behind the wheel as he sat in his seat, his head lolling. He was completely out of it.

Too bad because he deserved to feel this next part.

“You fucked up,” I said to Brandon. “You’re going to die.”

“No,” he mumbled. “I don’t want to.”

He wasn’t coherent enough to even listen, so I stopped talking. He wasn’t worth the wasted breath.

I pulled his car onto the main road and drove for several miles before pulling off, Damien behind me. We both got out on the deserted road and moved Brandon to the front seat before placing his foot on the pedal.

Brandon cried out when we positioned his hands on the wheel.

Damien looked at me and I nodded.

Quickly, he put the car into gear and jumped back as it roared forward.

I was surprised it stayed on the road for as long as it did. The speed increased to the point of no return before the car disappeared over a hill. We rushed back to Damien’s car and got in, driving toward where we’d set Brandon free.

And just like that, karma took over.

His car was buried into a tree, on fire, and completely demolished.

“Had to hit that going eighty,” Damien murmured.

I nodded and got out to stare at the wreckage. Smoked filled the interior of the car. Vaguely, I heard screams.

I didn’t move though.

Damien stood beside me, both of us watching as the car burned before the screams faded away.

“Let’s go,” Damien murmured. “Leave him to roast like the fucking pig he was.”

I backed away and got into the passenger side of Damien’s car. We drove back the way we’d came and stopped at the house. We quickly cleaned the mess from Brandon’s beating, washing away all the blood and evidence in silence until we got back onto the road. Sirens wailed in the distance, black smoke billowing into the sky.

“Good riddance,” I murmured.

Damien grunted as I pulled out my phone and called Caleb.

“How is she?” I asked when he answered.

“Asleep. I don’t think anything is broken.”

“Stay with her,” I said.

“I’m going to. If she asks, I’ll just say I was contacted to watch her by the Fallen Ones.”

I nodded. “That works. If anything changes… ” my voice wobbled.

“You’ll know”, Caleb answered fiercely. He was quiet for a moment. “How did you do it?”

I knew what he was asking.

“Car accident.”

“I hope it hurt like hell.”

“He screamed until the flames ate him whole,” I replied in a soft voice.

“Good.” Caleb’s words were fierce and laced with his fury.

“Did he… did he rape her?” I asked thickly.

“No. She said no.”

I breathed out a breath of relief and nodded. “I-I wish we could see her.”

“Soon, man. We’ll talk soon.”

“Soon.” I disconnected the call and looked out at the dark passing scenery.

“The things we do for love,” Damien commented as we drove through the night.

“The things indeed,” I said back.