I text her back from the messaging app for the last time, and my smile is so big it makes my face hurt.
“I looked into that stuff you asked me about.” Sam’s voice is muffled now, and his voice is low. I’m guessing he’s not talking about this in front of Parker.
“Okay, give it to me and then you can go back to your wife. You went to school here so you were the first person I thought of. All I need to know is how much and where to send the tuition and—”
“That’s just it. Her scholarships are all in order.” He cuts me off and I stand there, stunned.
“What?”
“Just what I said. I called my buddy in finance to see how much was left. He said they can’t rescind a scholarship mid-semester without cause. Lexi’s got a perfect 4.0, but there was something that came up that was odd.”
“Explain faster,” I say, already feeling heat begin to climb up my neck. Who the hell is fucking with my girl?
“Listen, Ash, I don’t want to worry Parker, but I think you should keep an eye on Lexi. It looks like someone hacked into her files and was getting personal information from it. Her file has been accessed over a hundred times in the past month. He said most students' files are hardly ever opened, let alone this many times.”
My feet are moving before my brain gives them permission, but I don’t give a shit. I need to get to Lexi, and I need to get to her now.
“Fuck, she just left.”
“Call me when you find her so I know she’s okay,” Sam says, and I say something back to him before I hang up.
I’m too distracted to know if I told him to fuck off or that I’d call him later. But if Sam loves Parker the way I love Lexi, he would have the same reaction I’m having right now. I need to find her and make sure she’s okay.
Pulling up Lexi on my phone, I’m so fucking grateful that I made her share her location. There’s a small green dot on my screen, and I run in that direction. It’s the building straight ahead, but I can’t see exactly what floor she’s on. Once I go inside, I scan the wall to see what floor she might have gone to. When I see Finance Services, I decide that’s got to be where she went, and I take off for the stairs.
I’m nearly at the top when I feel something prickle the back of my neck. I don’t know what it is, and I can’t really explain it, but it’s like I can sense that something bad is coming. Pulling on the door, I step out into the hallway of Finance Services and then I hear it. It’s not loud, and I’m not sure if I wasn’t listening for something that I would have heard it. But I would know Lexi's voice even if I was dead and gone.
“Lexi!” I roar, and suddenly office doors swing open and people pop their heads out. I run down the hall, quickly checking doors, and there’s only one that doesn’t open. Bingo.
Without thinking about the consequences of what I’m doing, I lower my shoulder and plow through the door. Someone screams, and I fall forward but catch myself before I hit the ground. I’m trying to take in what I’m seeing all at once, but it’s like I’m moving in slow motion.
“Get security!” I hear someone shout from out in the hall, but my focus is on the scene in front of me.
There’s a man on the floor with his hands against his face, and there’s blood running over his fingers and down his chin. Lexi is standing over him with her fists clenched, and when she sees me, she runs into my arms. I can’t help the relief I feel when I hold her against my body and cradle the back of her head.
“Are you okay?”
“Parker always said those self-defense classes would come in handy.” Her voice cracks at the end, and I feel her begin to cry.
“You little—” Before the man on the floor can finish that sentence, I kick out and my boot connects with the side of his face.
“What’s going on here?” someone calls from the hallway, and I turn around with Lexi in my arms to see campus security has arrived.
“He tried to sexually assault me,” Lexi sniffs, and I help her wipe away her tears.
“She’s pressing charges,” I tell them, and they nod, going over to check on the piece of shit.
“You came. I knew it in my heart.”
“I will always come for you, baby girl.” Her eyes widen a little, and I cup her cheeks. “I love you, and no matter where you are, I’ll make sure you’re safe. Forever.”