Chapter 2 The Midnight Ride

My breath hitched, trapped in my throat as Jaxson’s gaze locked onto the slight, sharp ridge of the flash drive pressed against the silk of my dress.

If he reached for it, I’d have to use the knife. I knew the rumors about Jaxson Wilde—he was merciless on the ice and even more ruthless off it. But I wasn't going to let him, or anyone else, take the only shot I had at saving my brother.

"Let go of me, Jaxson," I said, forcing my voice to remain icy and flat, masking the tremor in my chest.

"You were in the administrative wing," he said, his voice dropping an octave, sending a involuntary shiver down my spine. He didn't let go. Instead, his thumb brushed against the bare skin of my collarbone, a dangerously warm contrast to the freezing terror flooding my veins. "The server room light was on. And then my sister's voice starts blasting over the speakers, screaming for her life. You want to tell me that's a coincidence, Avery?"

"I don't know anything about Chloe," I lied, looking him straight in the eyes. "I was looking for a quiet place. I don't belong at this party, remember?"

"Liars usually look away when they spin a story," he whispered, leaning in so close I could feel the heat radiating off his chest. "You didn't blink once."

Before I could reply, the heavy fire doors at the end of the hallway burst open.

"Jaxson! Over here!"

It was Miller, accompanied by two campus security guards. Their flashlights cut through the dim corridor, sweeping across the walls.

"She's not in the gym, Wilde! The head of security is locking down the gates. Nobody leaves!" Miller shouted, his face pale and sweating. "Who do you have there?"

My heart stopped. If the guards searched me and found the encrypted drive, I was done.

I looked at Jaxson, desperation finally breaking through my carefully constructed mask. Please, my eyes begged him.

Jaxson’s icy gray eyes flickered, analyzing my panic in a fraction of a second. The corner of his mouth ticked upward in a dark, humorless smirk.

"She’s with me, Miller," Jaxson called back, his tone instantly shifting to a bored, arrogant drawl. He slid his arm down from my shoulder, wrapping it securely around my waist and pulling me flush against his side. "She had too much to drink. I'm taking her home."

"The gates are closed, Jax," one of the security guards warned, jogging toward us. "Orders from the board. No one goes until we find out where Chloe is."

"Watch me," Jaxson muttered under his breath.

Before the guard could reach us, Jaxson gripped my wrist, spun on his heel, and shoved open the heavy metal exit door behind us.

The cold night air hit me like a physical slap, rain stinging my face. The sky was pitch-black, illuminated only by the strobe-like flashes of lightning.

"Run," Jaxson growled, pulling me down the concrete steps toward the dark, gravel parking lot.

My heels sank into the wet mud. I stumbled, but his grip on my wrist was an anchor, dragging me forward. Behind us, the exit door flew open again, the guards shouting our names into the storm.

We reached a sleek, midnight-black Kawasaki Ninja idling in the shadows of the athletic building. Its engine let out a low, menacing growl, vibrating through the wet asphalt.

"Get on," Jaxson ordered, throwing his leg over the bike and grabbing a spare helmet from the seat. He shoved it into my hands.

"I'm not getting on a bike with you!" I yelled over the roar of the engine and the pouring rain.

Jaxson grabbed the front of my wet dress, pulling me close enough that I could see the fierce, burning intensity in his eyes.

"You have the drive, Avery. I saw it," he hissed, the rain dripping down his sharp jawline. "Either you get on this bike right now, or I let those guards find out what you just stole. Your choice. But we have about ten seconds before they round that corner."

I stared at him, the rain soaking through my hair, my mind racing. He knew. He had me cornered. But more than that, his sister was missing, and he thought I had the key to finding her.

"Fine," I spat.

I pulled the helmet over my head, strapped it tight, and climbed onto the back of the massive machine. The silk of my dress bunched up around my thighs, exposing the knife strapped to my leg. Jaxson glanced down at it, his eyebrows raising slightly, but he didn't say a word.

"Hold on," he warned.

"I'm fine—"

Before I could finish, Jaxson slammed the throttle. The bike roared to life, launching forward with a force that nearly threw me off the back. I gasped, my arms automatically wrapping around his waist, my chest pressing hard against his back. He was pure steel beneath his wet shirt, solid and unyielding.

We tore through the parking lot, heading straight for the main iron gates of Briarcliff Prep.

The heavy gates were slowly grinding shut. A security SUV was parked sideways across the exit, its red and blue lights flashing blindingly in the storm.

Jaxson didn't slow down. He accelerated.

"Jaxson, stop! We're not going to make it!" I screamed into his back, closing my eyes.

Instead of braking, Jaxson swerved, leaning the bike hard to the left. We mounted the grassy curb, bypassing the security SUV by inches, and squeezed through the closing gap of the iron gates just as they locked into place.

The guards screamed behind us, but their voices were instantly swallowed by the roar of the wind and the engine as we blasted onto the open, dark highway.

We were out. But as I held onto Jaxson for dear life, the reality of what I had just done washed over me.

I hadn't just stolen the secrets of the elite.