I heard two loud, consecutive bangs, and then Brian flew off me. Confused, I opened one eye. Will had plucked Brian up by the back of his shirt. I blinked hard, certain I’d only imagined what I saw. Will tossed him—gently, by reaper standards—across the room, and he slammed into the far wall. The drywall caved, and Brian’s body tore off a couple posters and knocked empty bottles off a shelf above him onto the ground. He hit the carpet and swore at the top of his lungs as he staggered to his feet.

“You son of a—” Brian swung at Will, and Will shoved a hand into the human boy’s chest, swatting him like a fly, and he crashed to the wall again. As Brian picked himself up off the floor, they stared at each other for way too long, and even though I could see only the back of Will’s head, I imagined he was trying to kill Brian with his eyes since he couldn’t do it with his hands. The anger in Brian’s face was replaced by fear, and he scuttled out of the room. No one gave a look that could kill like my centuries-old Guardian. Will definitely had the intimidation face down pat.

For a moment, I was filled with so much relief that I wanted to throw myself into Will’s arms, but then I remembered I was supposed to be mad at him and I frowned up at the ceiling. I lay on the bed, furious with Will for following me out here when I had told him not to. If things had gotten really out of hand, I could have kicked the crap out of that guy. I didn’t need or want Will to save me.

“Ellie? Are you okay?” Will whispered, leaning over me, his voice feather soft, his hands politely smoothing my clothes back into place. His presence was all over me, so incredibly close, and I inhaled his scent. I wanted to grab onto him, but I couldn’t give in.

I threw a hand over my face to block out the harsh light from above. “Go away, Will.”

“Nope” was all he said as he wrapped an arm under my back and the other under my knees. He lifted me up and carried me through the house.

“Put me down,” I growled, and tried to wriggle free.

“Nope.”

“I’m going to bite you if you don’t put me down.”

“Go ahead.”

All right then. I turned my head into his chest and chomped down on air and a little bit of cloth. “You suck.”

“I know.”

I glanced at the gaping hole where the doorknob had smashed through the wall. On the other side of the door frame, the wood had shattered where the door had been busted open.

“What are you doing?” asked a voice. “Where are you taking her?”

I peeked to see that Jay had stopped us. He looked pissed.

“Who are you? You can’t just take her out of here, man.”

Will stared him down the way he had with Brian. “She’s mine.”

I snarled and ground my knuckles into his chest, but it had no effect. “I am not yours, you caveman!”

Will ignored me. “And she’s in high school.”

Oh, great. Just tell everyone about the drunk high school skank at the college party, getting carried out.

Jay didn’t protest anymore, and Will stormed past him and outside. He opened a car door and set me down on the cloth seat. I recognized the interior of Lauren’s car.

Will touched my face gently, and his eyes found mine. His expression was a strange mixture of anger and concern. “Where’s Kate?” he asked firmly. “I’m getting her out, too.”

I waved a hand, motioning back to the house, and I pressed both my hands to my forehead. The car spun around me and I pushed my face into the seat to try and make the world stop, but it didn’t work. When I looked, Will was gone.

I heard voices outside the car, and I sat up a little to see out the window. Kate was arguing with Will, but I couldn’t understand what she said.

“But I can’t,” Will growled, just loud enough for me to hear. “It’s a lot more complicated than you could ever imagine. You have no right to judge me, Kate.”

Her face twisted in anger. She said something else and went back into the house. Will opened my door and leaned over me to buckle me in.

“What did she say to you?” I demanded.

“Nothing important.”

“Well, it was enough to make both of you angry.” I was so tired, but I struggled to stay awake. He couldn’t take me back to my own house. I was supposed to be with Kate at her house, flipping through Cosmo, not wasted and with a boy. And especially not with Will.

“Yeah,” said a third voice. “It was this random right here.” It took me a second to recognize Brian’s voice.

Will’s eyes flashed and he drew away, his face twisting into a snarl.

Not good.

“Wait, Will!” I clamored, reaching for him uselessly. “Just forget about them. They don’t matter. Please don’t do this!”

As he disappeared around the back of the car, I struggled with my seat belt until it sprang free, and I climbed out of my seat. My legs wobbled, but I pressed my body against the car and found enough balance to drag myself around.

“Ellie, get back in the car.” The anger in Will’s voice shocked me. It made me stop in my tracks and stare after him.

Brian stomped up to Will, flanked by Jay and Rob. “He sucker punched me back in the house. Kicked my door right off the damn hinges, too. You’re going to pay for that, asshole.”

“You have no idea how glad I am that you want to fight me,” Will said to the guys starting to circle him. I could see his power simmering the air around him like a hot sun on black pavement, but the humans couldn’t see anything at all. They couldn’t see what they were really trying to pick a fight with.