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Finally, I jab my finger at the machine, clearing my info off the screen. Then I turn around and start heading back across campus, hiking my messenger bag higher on one shoulder. Dozens of thoughts are flying through my head all at once, and it’s as if they’re all fighting to be heard over the pounding of my heart.
This is insane. How is this happening?
I’m barely paying attention to where I’m going. I should be heading toward the bus stop since I don’t have any more classes or meetings today, but I end up walking through a quiet part of campus where the paved pathway cuts between two buildings.
I don’t catch the flicker of movement in my periphery until it’s too late.
The man named Malice steps out of the shadows behind me, and I glance over my shoulder, freezing at the sight of him.
He meets my eyes and then starts to prowl closer.
9
WILLOW
My heart slamsagainst my ribs, my fight or flight impulse surging into gear as Malice strides toward me.
He’s just as terrifyingly beautiful as I remember him. All dark gray eyes and sharp cheekbones, like some kind of gorgeous demon. A devil walking the earth and coming right toward me.
I take a step back, wanting to put more space between us, but he doesn’t let me. He keeps coming, and I stumble backward until I smack into the back of the nearby building.
As he closes the last bit of distance between us, my hand delves into my messenger back, closing around the cool metal of the switchblade handle. Acting on instinct and pure, raw fear, I grab it out, flicking the mechanism to release the blade at the same time I bring it up.
I raise it to the level of Malice’s throat just as he takes a final step forward, and the sharp edge of the blade makes contact with his skin.
His eyes widen, and he goes still, stopping with about a foot of space left between us. It’s clear he didn’t expect someone like me to do something like this, and I wonder how long it’s been since someone fought back against this dominating, powerful man.
The surprise in his expression doesn’t last for long, though. His face twists into a grim smile, and instead of backing away, he leans in closer to me, letting the edge of the knife press a little more firmly into his skin.
I swallow hard, and his smile turns into a smirk.
“If you’re going to pull a knife on me,Solnyshka,you’d better be prepared to use it,” he purrs, his voice low and dangerous.
It sends a shiver up my spine, but I try not to show it. My mouth is dry, and my heart feels like it’s going a mile a minute in my chest, but I don’t back down. I keep the knife where it is, tightening my fingers around the handle.
“If you and your brothers want me to pretend you don’t exist, maybe you should stop showing up wherever I am,” I shoot back. “Stop. Following. Me.”
Malice’s smile turns hard and sharp around the edges—just like the rest of him.
“Sorry. That’s not how this works,” he says bluntly. “We do whatever the fuck we like, and you’ll do whatever the fuck we say.”
Something in me lurches at that, and I squeeze the handle of the knife tighter, my knuckles turning white.
“Who was that guy?” Malice asks, changing the subject so fast it leaves me reeling.
“What guy?”
His eyes narrow. “The one who talked to you earlier.”
I blink, because I genuinely don’t know what he’s talking about for a moment. Who? The admin guy?
“Oh. You mean Colin?” I say after a beat.
Malice’s lips press together. “Is that his name?”
“Why do you want to know?” I fire back.
He fixes me with a hard look. “Because I want to know every-fucking-thing.”
