My ex and cousin should’ve taken priority in my mind, but to be honest, I was having a hard time remembering what Eli said to do as I watched Luke. A group had congregated around him. Some were sitting in their own chairs. Others were standing and drinking, but most of them were watching him, just like I was. Candy Lake was hovering over him. Her very skimpy, very see-through shirt stuck to her skin, displaying a perfect view of her waistline.

She was bending over and whispering into his ear. Her hand grazed over his chest, testing him, and when he didn’t brush it away, her hand grew bolder. It trailed down to the waistband of his jeans and rested on his stomach. Her lips formed a seductive smile. I could imagine her soothing sounds, crooning to him, and then she shifted on her feet. Her hand was still touching his shoulder.

My hands were clenched to the sides of my pants, as if to hold myself back from walking over there and slapping her. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.

She straddled him.

My eyes were going to pop out. A burning sensation tunneled inside my chest.

He didn’t touch her, but he didn’t ask her to move either. She leaned forward and pressed her chest against his. Her head tilted, and she nuzzled him under his chin and then trailed her lips to his ear. I couldn’t handle it. He’s mine. I started forward—she leaned back, arching so her breasts were right in front of his face. The bitch wasn’t wearing a bra. I was going to lose it. Luke was staring right at me when my foot came down hard.

Our eyes caught and held, and a smirk appeared on his face. I flushed. He’d known the whole time I was watching. Fucker.

I started for them—BANG! BANG! I froze, staring at Luke, who froze, too.

Eli.

Then everything connected in my head. It was a gun inside his jacket. That’s why he wanted me to go.

There was silence for one second before chaos ensued. Some people screamed in terror. Some sprinted to their cars or the house, trying to get somewhere safe. When a guy knocked into me, Luke shoved Candy off him and started for me. I couldn’t move as I watched him push through the crowd, his eyes fierce and his jaw set. When he got to me, I said, “That’s Eli. He brought a gun here.”

He grabbed my hand. It was like someone had hit my Pause button. His contact hit the Play button, and I was ready to go. We turned and ran together. When a group of girls ran the other way between us, Luke let go of me. I swerved to one side, and he went the other. More people streamed past us, but we kept going. Everyone was running away from the gunshots. We were running toward them. Luke kept glancing at me, making sure I was still with him. I did the same. We were moving as one unit again. The feeling of being in tune with him sent a new wave of adrenaline through me. It pushed me faster, and when the crowd began to thin, I started looking around.

Braden. Emerson. Elijah. I needed to find any or all of them. But Braden was my priority.

“Bri!” Luke shouted and pointed to the side. I caught a glimpse of Emerson disappearing around a corner and veered that way. Luke said, “Stay here. I’ll get him.”

“I’ll look for Braden,” I said, but he was already gone.

As I moved in the opposite direction, I saw a clump of trees. Braden might’ve gone back there. Maybe with a girl? I rounded the opening by the trees. No Braden. He wasn’t anywhere. No one else was around. They’d all disappeared. I could hear car doors in the distance and saw the flash of headlights as people drove away.

My heart was pounding in my chest from the frenzy. I needed to listen for Braden, if I could hear his voice somewhere, but I couldn’t make out anything, so I started forward through the trees. They led away from the beach. The light from Candy’s guesthouse was in the west, and I headed that way. As I continued through the woods, I saw the van parked in a clearing and walked toward it. I was about to step into the clearing when a hand wrapped around my elbow and pulled me back. I was pressed against a chest and reared back to scream.

A hand clamped over me, and Elijah said into my ear, “Shut up.”

My knees sagged in relief, but I tried to hit his chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”

He rolled his eyes. “You were about to get shot.”

My eyes widened.

“And before you even start, that gunshot wasn’t me.”

“Then who was it?”

His hood was pulled over his baseball cap. He’d been standing in the shadows, hidden by his black clothing and a tree. At my question, he pulled me further into the shadows with him and shook his head.

“Elijah.”

His mouth went into a flat line.

“Elijah!”

He hissed, “I can’t tell you shit, okay? You can’t know about this stuff.” He cursed, regret flashing in his eyes for a moment. “You shouldn’t even be here with me. What are you doing? You and pretty boy should be long gone by now. I told you to go.”

“We’re looking for Braden and Emerson.”

Elijah narrowed his eyes. “They’re gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“They took off. I saw them running for the cars a minute ago.”

“They’re safe?”

“Yeah. Emerson texted; he said he’d wait at Rowdy’s with the band.”

Sudden tears threatened to spill. They came hard and fast. My brother was safe. Emerson was safe. I closed my eyes. Luke. Where had Luke gone?

Elijah watched me. “What’s wrong?”

“Luke went looking for them.”

His eyes darkened in anger. “Why aren’t you people normal? Run for safety next time instead of running toward the danger.”