Scout grabbed me, pushing me into her small back seat as everyone got in their cars. Chase got into the passenger seat and reached for a radio that was bolted to the floor between them.
Apparently, they all could talk to each other because a round of yelling at Kye went over the radio before Ransom’s voice cut through.
“I think he turned it off. Just keep on top of him.”
“Faster! Go faster!” I yelled as Scout shifted again. The car jumped forward, moving faster.
“Jax is right behind us,” I said. “Where are the rest of them?”
“Ransom and Quinn took another route. He wanted to see if he could cut him off somewhere. Fox and Ash did, too. Anything to not lose him. One of us has to be able to keep up. He’s not that good of a racer,” Scout said.
“No, but he’s better at these winding roads than any of you,” Chase said.
“Can we please stop talking and go? He’s going to kill him!”
“No, we won’t let him. He’s not throwing his life away because of one idiot,” Scout said. They all seemed so unbothered, but they were racing after him.
I was already a mess. Tears threatened my eyes, and I wanted to rip my hair out, anything to feel something other than blinding fear. “He is. You didn’t see him. He’s going to do it.”
We rounded the corner as it happened. Kye’s car slammed into Dean’s, the front end clipping the back of Dean’s car enough that it spun out of control, coming to a stop next to an old, run-down gas station.
We were still too far. Kye’s car stopped, and he got out, stalking over to Dean’s as we pulled up.
“Out! Get out.” I kicked Chase’s seat.
“I’m going, come on.” He reached back, dragging me over the middle console and out of the car with him.
Ransom’s and Jax’s cars pulled up with Fox only a second behind them. My eyes were fixed on Kye as he dragged Dean out, throwing him hard against the building. He swung his elbow out, connecting with Dean’s face. I watched the blood spurt from his nose, and for one second, I thought that it might be done, but Kye swung.
His fist connected with Dean’s face, hitting him over and over as Dean yelled and tried to fight back. His yells only seemed to encourage Kye, who started saying something back, but I couldn’t make it out.
Kye’s hair fell over his forehead, the longer strands covering his face until he pushed it back with one bloodied hand. I didn’t know if it was his blood from punching or Dean’s, but the sight of so much of it still made me gasp.
Dean was falling down now, losing his balance and trying to hold himself up against the car when Kye finally stopped. It wasn’t the end, though, a knife glinting in the headlights as Kye pulled it out and held it to Dean’s throat.
“Kye, stop!” I yelled, running closer finally. “Just stop. You can’t hurt him. They will come after you for everything. You’ll go to jail.”
“I don’t care.”
“Kye, you can’t. He means everything to that school, to those people. You will never see me again.”
That caught his attention, his eyes jumping to mine for a second. Dean took the opportunity, punching Kye in the face, but it didn’t seem to faze him as Kye swung his elbow up, hitting Dean in the jaw.
Sirens wailed around us as the night was bathed in red and blue lights.
I groaned, knowing that Dean had to have called as soon as he got in the car. Now, my dad was about to be involved and this was only going to get worse.
Kye only pressed the blade harder against his neck, pushing until I thought I could see blood seeping out. I ran closer, stopping a few feet behind Kye’s back. He punched Dean again, more blood spurted from his nose before the knife went back to his neck.
“Kye, stop. Please. I don’t want to never see you again.”
“Put the knife down, Kye. Daisy, step back.” It was my dad’s voice. He was standing by his sheriff’s car. Three officers stood along with him, each one resting a hand on their guns.
“Don’t you dare!” I yelled at him. My dad nodded and moved his hand, but the other officers kept theirs on their guns.“Kye, please. I need you. Please, stop. Stop because I’m the one asking you to.”
“Fine. Because you’re asking,” he said before turning his attention back to Dean. He spun, turning to Dean until they both faced me. Dean went to move, but Kye’s boot came up, kicking Dean in the back so hard that he fell to his knees with a cry.
“I hope you understand that you are only still alive because of her. I would push this knife so hard into your fucking neck you wouldn’t even stand a chance to breathe her air again, so apologize to the woman who just saved your life.”
Dean’s eyes went wide, and I could see tears brimming. There was no wavering in Kye’s tone, and I think we both realized that he had truly meant to kill him.
The hard realization hit me that Kye didn’t care about the consequences, he cared about me.
“I’m sorry, Daisy. I’m so sorry,” Dean said, his voice cracking.
“For what?” Kye said, the deadly tone keeping me frozen. “Tell everyone why her face is red.”
“I’m sorry for hitting you. I’m sorry for hurting you.”
Kye nodded, apparently satisfied with the admission, but when he leaned down, only the three of us could hear him.
“If you ever so much as put a fucking finger on her again, I will kill you, and she won’t be able to save you twice.” His words were calm, a harsh contrast to the chaos around us, and I knew he meant every word of it.
“Fuck you,” Dean said.
Kye stepped back and Dean took his chance, running off, leaving me by Kye as chaos erupted behind me.
He was only looking at me, though. Red streaked his blonde hair and there was already a red spot on his cheek that I knew would bruise.
