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“Thank you—and don’t you dare tell me not to say it.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. I gave Sal a wave, took one last look at my girl, and headed out. She was going to be okay. I had a good feeling about it.
I put away my ladder in a maintenance closet on the floor up from Elena’s presentation and locked up. A group of three guys were headed in my direction, and something about them was familiar. As they approached, I recognized them from Elena’s class. Specifically, one from last night. He’d been in the hall when we’d left the room. He’d known it was unguarded and held a grudge a mile wide.
“Hey, asshole,” I barked.
All three of them looked my way, but my attention was focused squarely on the one. I strode up to him, getting in his space.
“You think you’re funny?”
He stepped back. “I don’t know you.”
“Oh, I think you do. I think you know my girl too.” I bumped him with my chest, backing him into a wall. “You think you’re going to get away with what you did?”
“Is this about the chair? It’s been proven I didn’t touch her chair,” he stammered.
One of his friends grabbed my arm, telling me to back off, but I shrugged him away. I’d deal with him later.
“So, you do know me.”
He glanced left and right, but he wasn’t going to get any help from his friends. “You’re Elena’s boyfriend, yeah. But I don’t know why you’re accosting me in the hall.”
“You’re pissed at her, aren’t you? You screwed up your project and have somehow made it her fault. Isn’t that right?”
He clicked his tongue. “She didn’t have to be a bitch and point it out in front of the whole class.”
I brought my arm up, pressing into his chest. “What the fuck did you just say?”
Shaking his head, he squeezed his eyes shut. “Nothing. It slipped out. I didn’t mean it. It’s just—fuck, I’m gonna fail the midterm, which means I’m gonna fail the class, and I’m pissed, but I get it’s not her fault. Oliver Bergen is the little bitch who screwed us over.”
“You know that, so why’d you go after Elena? You had to go out as a petty little boy? Destroy her work?”
His eyes met mine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t destroy anything.”
“No? Why not? Didn’t want to get your hands dirty? Did you send one of your friends in to take apart her presentation?”
“Man, he didn’t do shit,” one of the guys claimed. “No one would be dumb enough to do something in front of the cameras.”
I pressed my arm harder into his chest. “Is that right? Where were you last night?”
“Uh…fuck, I was out to dinner with my parents and grandparents—both sets. I’m sure you could call the restaurant if you’re that concerned. Then I went out to the bars and got toasted. The last thing I was thinking about was fucking with Elena. I’m telling you, dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I turned my head to his friend. “There are cameras in the classroom?”
The guy nodded vigorously. “Yeah, of course. Dylan knows that now. That’s how Tre and Andrew got caught messing with the chair. You think Dylan would be dumb enough to pull the same thing?”
With a breath of frustration, I backed off Dylan and pointed a finger at him. “If I find out you’re lying, I’m coming for you. If you so much as look in Elena’s direction, you’ll see me there. If you try to talk to her, you’ll find yourself short a tongue. She doesn’t exist to you anymore. That’s the same for all your friends who might hold a grudge. It’s over. Move on with your lives while you have them. You get me?”
“Sure.” Dylan straightened his collar. “Whatever. I get you.”
The three of them shot me looks like I was the villain, but it didn’t bother me. If it kept them away from Elena, they could believe I was the biggest villain around.
Now, I had to find out who was responsible for sabotaging Elena and Sal’s project. And I had a feeling I already knew.
