“I went into Jake’s room for some space,” she said without looking up at me. “I was checking the—” Her words stopped short and I could feel her face clench where she rested it. “Checked my cell to see if you’d texted. Then got distracted with some other stuff. Didn’t hear him come in.”

She was silent for so many breaths.

“Then,” she said, shrugging, “he…it was like he wanted closure. Or to get back together. Acted like I owed him both those things. That I was the one who had ruined us. Led him on.” She rubbed her palms over her face. “And the more he blamed me, the more he spoke like what he’d done was normal, and that I was the broken one…the angrier I got. And then—” She choked on a sob, the desperate sound kicking up the adrenaline still lingering in my veins. I wanted to kill him in that moment for whatever it was he’d done to her…again.

“I threatened him,” she said, shocking the rage right out of me. “I threatened him with the worst possible things, Dean.” She hid her face. “Told him I would do all kinds of black hat stuff if he came near me again, or if I found out he’d done something to another girl.”

I smiled at her, pride storming through my chest. I pulled her hands away, shifting her in my lap so I could catch her gaze. “That’s a good thing, Amber,” I said, my tone soft. “Why are you crying?”

“Because,” she said. “I wanted him to feel weak and vulnerable and terrified. I enjoyed watching the reality sink in and know what I could do to him.”

“Good,” I said. “He deserves it. He doesn’t deserve your tears. And you sure as hell don’t need to feel guilty over it.”

“But it makes me no better than him!”

“You are better than him. You are a million times better than trash like him.” I sighed. “Amber, you needed to use whatever weapons you had to get him to back off. It was smart. I’m proud of you.”

She raked her fingers through her hair, the tears finally ebbing.

“I wish I would’ve gotten out sooner,” I said, the anger in my gut roaring at Tanner for keeping me so damn late. All in the hopes I’d find the wraith that had become the bane of his existence—and my new hero. Anyone who could scare Tanner this much had me in their corner.

“I shouldn’t have gone,” she said.

“No,” I snapped. “You can’t let him dictate when and where you have fun with your friends.”

“Damn,” she said. “I’ve never been so ready for graduation.”

“Me, too,” I agreed.