“We’re on the North Campus, on Orange Street, at the X-Ray fraternity house.”
“Do me a favor. Don’t leave her side. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“A friend of mine is here too. He’s a second-year med student and said she’s okay, just semi-conscious.”
“Don’t leave her alone, Josephine. Give me your word.”
“You have it, sir.”
I text the head of my security team, telling him where I’m going. I’d dismissed them earlier, since I was planning to fly to Kindubh tomorrow morning, but now I have no idea how long I’ll have to stay in London.
As I drive like a madman through empty streets, I wonder how the hell Jazmina is at a party without any of her bodyguards alerting me.
She must have snuck out. One way or another, they failed.
When I park in front of the fraternity house, my nerves are firing so violently it feels like electric shocks running through my veins.
Only then do I really let myself think about what the girl on the phone said.
Someone may have drugged her.
Fuck.
I grab my phone. “Josephine, where are you? I’m at the main entrance.”
“Mr. Rodrick, the friend I told you about is coming to you. He’s wearing a red T-shirt.”
Less than two minutes later, a long-haired kid approaches, and not wanting to waste time, I rush toward him. “You’re Josephine’s friend?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take me to them. How is Jazmina?”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Please don’t kill me for saying this. I’m not part of any fraternity, but I’ve seen plenty of cases like hers at the campus hospital. I think someone gave her a ‘roofie,’ if you want my honest opinion.”
“Fuck!”
“I know, it’s messed up . . .and unfortunately way more common than people think.”
I want to kill someone, and the urge only grows when I spot the girl, presumably Josephine, with Jazmina’s head resting on her lap.
My heart slams against my ribcage, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m her assigned guardian or that I’ve failed Kaled. It's knowing she’s vulnerable. Thinking that if it weren’t for this girl, someone might have taken advantage of the princess makes my blood boil.
I crouch down and brush a strand of hair away from her face. “Jazmina, it’s me. Rodrick.”
She answers with a faint groan.
“Is it safe to wait and call a doctor at home?” I ask the guy.
“Yeah. If it’s what I think it is, she ingested very little. Otherwise, she’d be totally knocked out.”
“Must’ve been in the soda. That’s the only thing we drank at the party,” Josephine says.
I’m preparing to pick her up when a mocking voice asks, “Something wrong over there? I didn’t think she wasthatdrunk.”
“Drunk my ass, you scumbag!” Josephine jumps up and marches toward two guys who look barely older than her friend.“I don’t have proof, but I knowyoudrugged her. It was the only moment I left her alone.”
I don’t wait for his reply. Before he even understands what’s happening, I slam a punch into his stomach, then another straight to his face. His buddy runs for his life, and only another groan from Jazmina pulls me back. She’s my priority.