Breaking Down Sydney (Sydney West #2) (17 page)

His scent alone made me wet. The feeling of his hands on my waist and his mouth on my breasts, trailing down my stomach, only fed the desire in me. In what seemed like seconds, I was about to explode with delight. We had mind-blowing sex until dawn.

A couple hours later, I woke up and had to pee. When I came back to bed, I stopped for a moment to admire the man in my bed. The sun poured into the room, highlighting his delightful body. It was as if his skin had a godly glow.

I laid next to my sleeping Jason and curled into his chest. Lightly, I traced his eagle wings tattoo, remembering the tragic tale behind it. It was a symbol of his friend and how he felt broken after his unfortunate death. It reminded me of how Jason was my rock during my father’s death.

All this time, Jason had been saving me from myself and teaching me how to love. In return, he only asked that I show the same to him and let him in. Jason said I didn’t have to be romantic, but I needed to do something to prove my love. The short break we were on almost killed me. I couldn’t deal with being without him again. Soon I’d show him and we’d take the next step. What that step was, I had no clue, but together we’d find a way. Never thought I’d admit something like that to myself. The idea of growing old alone with a bunch of cats was bullshit and pathetic. Jason was my lover, my friend, and I needed to pull more weight romantically to keep him at my side.

Chapter Twenty-Five

I turned in my test on human behavior feeling like it deserved an A. My next
big
project wasn’t due for two weeks. It was time to take a break.

Jason was still in class for another hour, so I couldn’t hang with him. Amelia wasn’t in class, but I had no idea where she was on campus. Since I wasn’t sure what she was up to, I texted her but never received a reply.

My mood was positive, but not to the point where I wanted to chat with people who weren’t close friends of mine. To pass the time, I went to the nearest coffeehouse. It was packed with everyone getting their energy fix for the late morning. I didn’t mind the wait, didn’t have any better place to be.

While sitting at a table, I surfed the web on my cell phone. The light breeze blew on my coffee, cooling it down. Herds of families, couples, and individuals came in and out of the door. People laughed and talked all around me. For a moment a little boy drew my attention as he raced his little blue toy car on all the empty chairs. His mom ignored him as she ordered her coffee.

I smiled at the boy. “What kind of car is that?” I asked when he moved to play on the table next to me.

The grin on his face was from ear to ear. He was excited someone cared about his car. “It’s a Dodge Charger,” he replied proudly.

“Oh? That’s a nice car. Have the real one myself.”

“Really?” His eyes grew big.

“Yup. It’s in the parking garage over there.” I nodded out the window to the tall gray building across the street.

“That’s awesome!”

“Jacob?” His mother called out, holding her prize in her hand.

“Gotta go, bye.” He waved at me and went to his mother.

She gave me a look before going out the door. Maybe she was jealous I could cheer her son up in a minute and it took her hours. That, or she was suspicious of who talked with her son.

I took a sip of my coffee and went back to my phone. Facespace was littered with the same old crap. People were posting pictures of their babies, complaining about how much school sucked, or on a random “like” spree. I rolled my eyes. Leave it to a social networking site to make me loathe the people I knew. TweetBeat was different. I was happy to see what strangers were sharing. I read my feed and then checked on some of my favorite celebrities. Some hadn’t updated in a while; others were active daily.

On In This Moment’s page, I noticed they announced a new tour. They were my second favorite after Emilie Autumn and I never got to see them live. Maybe Jason and I could go to their concert. We had an amazing time at EA’s show. I prayed Phoenix was on the list as I scanned the string of city names. In the middle in fat black font was Phoenix, Arizona. In a heartbeat, I checked the date. They’d be in my state within three weeks. How come I didn’t see this sooner? There was no possible way I would get tickets this close to the concert.

Depressed, I exited out of TweetBeat. After downing the last of my coffee, I left the shop, texting Jason to see if we could get lunch and maybe have some sex to get my mind off of the concert I’d be missing.

Me: Where r u?

Jason: At the library getting a book. Why?

Me: Stay there. I’m coming 2 c u.

Jason: Okay. U all right?

Me: Yeah. Just want 2 see ur face.

Jason:
I’ll wait 4 u, beautiful.

A warm sensation surged through my body when he called me “beautiful.” I’ve been called that many times over the years, but no one seemed to mean it as much as Jason did.

When I reached the library, Jason was sitting at a table by the window. He gave me a kiss, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth for a beat before releasing me. God, I loved the way he said hello.

“How’s your day going?” he asked, pulling a chair out for me to sit on.

I smiled my thanks, planting my ass on the chair. “Better now that you’re here.”

He sat across from me, organizing the scattered books on the table into a pile. “How romantic of you.”

“You makin’ fun of me?” I challenged vivaciously, swatting his arm.

He captured my hand, running his fingers over the veins in my inner wrist. A surge of passion coiled in my belly, making me wet. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Syd,” he said.

A laugh bubbled out of me. It was new to feel this alive with someone, to know I could do and say anything and he’d always be with me. “You’re one of a kind.”

His silver eyes darkened with desire. “That’s right. You should feel honored in my presence.”

I pretended to curtsy, which was hard to do in a chair. “Will you court me, your royal highness?”

A wicked smile spread across his face. “My, I never thought you’d ask.” He took my arm and led me toward the exit.

A man in a navy blue suit ran inside, pushing us back.

“What’s the big idea?” I placed my hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes at him.

His face was littered in fear, the kind you saw in the faces of soldiers at war in the movies. “Stay back. You need to stay here, all of you.”

There was a loud popping noise outside. It sounded a lot like gunshots.

“Was that a gun?” I muttered, feeling myself go numb. I’d heard about college shootings before, but I never thought it could happen in Arizona, not at my school.

“No, just something like it. Some dumb kids with firecrackers. Right?” Jason looked at the man in uniform. Under closer inspection, I noticed his uniform. He was campus police.

“I shouldn’t say or it could cause a panic,” he replied to us. He ordered everyone to get down and hide.

The officer locked the library’s doors and slid behind a trash can, gun in hand.

“Shit, this is really happening,” I said more to myself than any certain person.

“Sydney, I need you to get down on the ground for me. Okay, get down nice and slow.”

I followed Jason’s instructions. “What are we going to do?” I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking.

“Listen to me.”

“Have you been in this kind of situation before?” I gave him a long look, trying to see if he was secretly in the military.

“No, but I’ve watched a lot of shows about this kind of shit. I know what to do.”

I nodded. He was the best I had. If it was up to me, I’d hide under the closest table, hold my knees to my chest, and cry until it was over or I died.

“Do exactly as I say.”

“I will.”

Jason took my hands and gave them a squeeze. “I need you to crawl for me, Syd. Crawl under those tables.” He pointed to our left.

There was more gunfire outside. It was getting closer.

My body wanted to freeze up, to lockdown. Jason gave my ass a push, making me go in the direction he pointed. As I crawled, I prayed to God that we’d live through this.

Jason kept pressing me forward. We hid ourselves in the furthest corner in the library. There were countless tables and chairs separating us from the door. I opened my mouth to say something when the sound of glass breaking took my breath away. Glass rained down on the bookshelves and tables. All the windows exploded as bullets lodged themselves into various walls. Someone screamed in pain. The cop barked orders and then there was a heavy silence. My heart thudded in my ears. Jason gripped my upper arm like a vice, probably bruising me. I dug my fingernails into his thigh and focused on breathing.

Someone tried to open the front doors. I heard the doors give and the gunman’s footsteps as he entered. My teeth chattered. Fear spiked through my core, hoping he couldn’t hear me, but I couldn’t stop. Jason brought me in close, holding my face to his chest, which suppressed the noise. His hands were on my back. They were shaking.

My cell phone vibrated in my back pocket. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? I could call for help!

I grabbed the phone and found a new text message. It was from the college warning service informing me the school was in lockdown due to a shooter on campus and the police were closing in.

Jason took my phone and slid it into my purse, hiding its light. The man shot at the bookcases. Papers flew all over as if a bomb had gone off. Something popped, and the lights went out a second later, leaving us hiding in the dark. Jason forced me deeper into the corner. The point where the walls met pressed into me, making my back wish to cramp. Jason clung to my torso, shielding me from a hail of bullets. I buried my face in him as hot tears escaped from my closed eyes.

The footsteps came closer, crunching on glass. Jason held me tighter. It was as if I was his Achilles’ heel. If I died, so would he. To keep quiet, I bit down on my tongue. Tears stung my eyes. I felt something wet on the top of my head. Jason must’ve been crying too.

People say when you’re about to die that your life flashes before your eyes. That wasn’t true. I didn’t think of my future, of everything I would miss out on in life, of how brokenhearted my mom would be. Instead I thought of Jason, of how much I loved him. I was happy to die if it was in his arms. Having his arms around me made me feel safe.

A beat of silence passed.

All the things I regretted ran through my mind. I hadn’t called my mom to say I loved her in a while. I couldn’t hug Amelia one last time. My biggest regret was I couldn’t thank Jason for saving me from myself. Jason was the first man I fell in love with, and I wanted him to know that he was the only one for me.

My heart wasn’t complete until I met him. He patched the holes and hugged me tight enough that all the pieces melted together again. I pictured being somewhere romantic, under the stars, making love in the backseat of my Charger, somewhere close and intimate. Not hiding in a dark corner hoping a crazed gunman wouldn’t see us and kill us.

My hearing faded away. For some reason, I couldn’t make out any sound no matter how hard I tried. On the plus side, I could still see. Well, if watching strange shapes pass by in dim light was a plus.

It felt like my soul was tearing itself from my body to prepare itself for the shock of being shot. To make sure I was still alive, I slowly moved my hand toward Jason’s neck. I wanted to feel his pulse. I needed to feel life.

Jason’s hand stopped mine and gave it a firm squeeze. It was a warning within a caring gesture. We were both still alive. It became harder to breathe, like all the air was being sucked out of the room by a huge vacuum. It was the longest wait of my life, the wait of knowing if we’d die or not.

In the distance, I heard a gunshot and shouting. Someone said something like, “We got him!” I wasn’t sure, so I wasn’t moving.

There was a voice. It sounded like a woman’s. “Anyone in here?”

We froze, unsure if it was safe to respond. For all we knew, she was a trap.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I thought I’d have a heart attack before it was all over. A silhouette of the woman appeared by the table we were hiding under. Jason jumped, making me jump.

“It’s okay, he’s down. You’re safe now,” the woman said.

I looked up from Jason. She was older than I thought with long gray hair. There was a badge on her chest. She was a cop. Her smile was contagious, making me give her one back.

“He’s gone?” I asked, double checking.

“Yes. He drew on the police and lost.”

“Thank God,” I mumbled.

“You okay?” Jason whispered, looking straight into my eyes.

I nodded. He got up and helped me to my feet. The sun was blinding as we stepped outside. A few yards away, there was a white sheet over what I thought was the gunman.

The female officer pointed to the ambulance. “Please check in over there for safety,” she said, walking away to a group of cops standing near the body covered by a sheet.

I clung to Jason as we walked to the medic. A man asked us how we were and checked us for injuries. We passed with flying colors, mainly because we weren’t bleeding or babbling strange phrases.

“Hello again. I forgot to tell you my name. I’m Officer Jenkins. I need to ask you a few routine questions before you can leave,” the female officer said.

“Okay,” Jason replied, wrapping his arm around my waist.

“Follow me so we can be out of the way.” She nodded us along. We walked a few feet away, standing next to a palm tree.

“What are your names?” Officer Jenkins asked, holding a small notebook before her. Due to the shows I watched, I knew she needed our report because we were witnesses.

Jason rubbed his jaw and said, “I’m Jason King and this is my girlfriend, Sydney West.”

“Okay,” she said. Her pen scratched the paper as she wrote our names down. “What were you doing before it started?”

He shrugged. “I was in the library checking out a book and Sydney came to meet me.”

“Why? For a project?” she asked, not looking up from her notebook.