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"Yeah, if I were you I’d keep oes across," Ruben chi" Marcus taps rates and et to kill one of us,haul" His eyes fix oncarriers Not all of theer to inflict pain

"Understand?" He steps closer and lifts his ar into my windpipe I sputter, pretty certain he doesn’t expect me to answer him Speech is ione A body rushes past asp, suck precious air intotheether in the hall, all writhing li and makes a er,He places a hand flat on Ruben’s chest, holding hiht"

And it is Even if Marcus took exception toti for breath,rows ht Apparently the s bone travels

Caden overpowers Marcus, straddling hi hi A few voices call out encouragement, but for the most part everyone holds silent as Caden delivers a final crack to Marcus’s rabs Marcus’s shirt by both fists and pulls hiain and I’ll kill you"

A shiver runs through ht have passed for sole shake and drops hi, he sweeps everyone a heated look, his gaze lingering on Marcus’s friends "Understand? She’s under my protection"

A cold chill skates downinsidefor myself, rebels at the idea that I need his protection But that other part of me, the part that feels fluttery and breathless in his presence? It revels in the idea that he cares about what happens to ers forward in an unsteady line, his boots echoing in the narrow, overcrowded hall Suddenly I feel claustrophobic Too h air At least I tellthat just happened Caden stops before h he just completed a marathon Ruben helps Marcus to his feet, but the action aze froain When he sees a wide-eyed Junie, he orders, "Pack up her stuff for her" He looks back tointo my room"

He did not just say that Staone too far My face heats, burning all the way to the tips of ed rabs my hand and leads me down the hall Bodies part for us and still I can’t speak Ee Ito coolehtens me a little Usually I’h my barriers, knocked them to rubble, and now I feel exposed Naked and vulnerable

I da up inside and try to patch up the walls asto his rooh for me to unleash on him--

Alone in his rooood idea, either Not when I feel this raw and battered Not when he’s acting like a cave point Maybe he’s reached his

I yank back, but his grip only tightens We’re almost to his door Once inside, it will be harder to break away

I shakeout This is Caden of the eternal opti of him as a predator The same way you’ve learned to think of all carriers

But he is a carrier Soood, so blessedly nor my other hand down on his and claw hirip loosens for a split second Enough time for me to slip free I spin and head back the e ca is Where can I go? Who can help iant toht I understood that, but then I started to think of hiory from everyone else I even lied--put myself at risk--to protect him Stupid, stupid, stupid He’s not the exception to the carrier rule

A hard arm wraps around h nothing and carriesdistance to his door He turns the latch and thrusts me inside