Page 46 of Tell No Lies

“Only a little, but you’d be a coward with a tan.”

My lips twitched as I willed myself not to smile. Dang her. “I have to face this. Otherwise, the psycho wins.”

She nodded in response and opened her door. “Let’s gather the troops, then. You’re not allowed to be alone for even a second today.”

I followed her lead, slowly getting out of the car, and met her in front before we made our way across the lawn to our table. “Brandon’s orders?”

“His, and Mike called me. Also, my mom and dad told me. Oh, Carter threatened me via text too.”

I cringed at Carter’s name. What right did he have to get involved?

“Fine. I’m sure they have a drone following me too.”

The mystery of Mike’s absence was answered as soon as we got to the quad. He was standing in front of what looked like the entire football team and a handful of other large guys.

“Does everyone understand?”

The group was listening to him intently and nodded like trained dogs.

“Good. If anything happens on your watch, I’m taking it out on you at practice.”

There was a collective groan as Mike turned around and saw us walking up.

“Hey, beautiful.”

I almost laughed at how his voice had changed. One second ago, he’d sounded like a seasoned drill sergeant; now his voice was soft and light.

I walked into his open arms and relaxed into his hug. Resting my head against his built chest made me feel safe for the first time since seeing my car the day before. He seemed to sense something was wrong, since he’d allowed me to snuggle against him while running his hand over my hair rather than pushing me to talk.

I felt his breath on my neck when he moved his head down. “It’s going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

I nodded once against his chest.

“I’ve talked to the guys, and we set up a plan so a few of them are always around if you ever need help.”

I stepped back and looked up at his eyes. The concern was obvious, and worry streaked his face. Guilt flitted through me. It wasn’t his responsibility to protect me—not to this point, at least. “Thank you. Do you have a magic solution to make people stop staring?”

He rolled his eyes. “They always stare at you. You’re beautiful and popular. It’s just a part of the job description.”

“This is different. Everyone is looking at me like I’m a freak. The whole school knows I have a stalker now.”

“That’s not true. Some of them saw the pictures, but only a few of us actually know what it was about. Everybody else probably thinks it was some weird prank.”

“I wish it was.”

“I know, baby. Let’s get to class. Just ignore the stares.”

He put his arm tight around my shoulders and led me through the throngs of students trying to get to their classes.

Mr. Cox was missing when we took our seats, giving Sydney the opportunity I was sure she’d been waiting for. Decked out in a low-cut, pink top and tiny shorts, she looked like she was applying to work at Hooters. She sauntered over to my desk as if practicing her model walk and stood with her hands on her hips.

“Could you be more of an attention whore?”

I nearly choked on the water I had just sipped. Me? I looked her up and down with one brow raised. Seriously? She was doing this now? “Excuse me?” I could not fathom why she was picking a fight with me in front of the entire class, again.

“You heard me. How much did you pay someone to put those pictures on your car?”

My body shook from rage.