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Nice try, making me feel guilty about this morning to throw me off the scent. No way that’s gonna work. I already had a jittery feeling in my chest before she stepped into the classroom looking like she’d been mauled by a wild animal.
Nervous tension thrums through me, memories of Cristian shooting through my skull. I’ll get to the bottom of it, if it’s the last thing I do.
She stands up and I check out her skirt, which also looks like it’s been through the wringer. I jump to my feet and grab her elbow before she can escape.
“Owww,” she complains, but I’m not having any of it.
Pressing her close, I hustle her out the door and swing into the empty science lab. Slamming the door shut, I dump my backpack, lean against the door, and cross my arms over my chest to show her that I mean business.
“What the hell, Marku? Stop manhandling me. I’m not a doll you can move any place you want. I’ve already missed one class.”
She drops her backpack to the floor, juts out her hip and crosses her arms over her chest, mimicking me. Her sassy attitude relieves some of my stress. Crina’s as bold as they come, but even she would be shaken if she’d been the victim of an attack.
“Get out of my way.”
I let out a laugh. “You’re not leaving until I find out what’s going on.” I inspect her carefully, taking in every little detail. “So what will it be?”
She arches an eyebrow at me. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Crina. Don’t blame this on me. You got dressed after I made you come. And there’s no way you would leave for school like this. Not in a million years. Your mother wouldn’t let you out the door. Which means something happened on the way to school.”
The emotions crossing her face are hard to read. Something rageful, something irritable, something fearful.
That last one makes me stand up straight. “What. Happened.”
“You’re such a bully, you know that? You’re annoying and way too nosy. Did it ever occur to you that it’s none of your business?”
Irritation bubbles up inside me at her dismissal. “Of course not. Anything having to do with you is my business.”
“Because we’re married? You’re such a hypocrite, you know that? The day before yesterday, we weren’t married and you couldn’t care less what happened to me. Now you think you own me. Nice, Marku, real nice.”
I huff out a breath of disgust through my nose. “You think I started caring for you yesterday? Come on, you’re smarter than that. I may have maintained distance between us, but I’ve always kept tabs on you.”
She adjusts her stance, and obstinately pushes out her bottom lip. She doesn’t believe me.
I slap a bland look on my face. “You questioning me? You think marriage has changed me?”It abso-fucking-lutely has.“No way. I’ve always watched out for you, but if they were worried enough to marry you off without waiting for you to graduate high school, then you better believe that your safety is now my number one priority.”
And speaking of safety, I’m cycling through the possible Bratva figures involved? Her parents must know. I’m going to have to do some digging… Start by talking to her mother. She’s always had a soft spot for me. While I stand there, contemplating my options, the sound of the students outside has fallen away, followed by the sound of the bell.
She swats my arm. “Let me out. I need to get to my next class. It’s bad enough that I was late to History.”
I look her over critically, noting every element that’s out of place. “Why were you late? Still haven’t answered that.”
“And I won’t.”
“Guess you’re not in a hurry to get to class then.”
She pushes at my side, trying to get me to scoot over and let her pass. “This is false imprisonment, dammit.”
Yeah, she can call it whatever she wants, I’m not moving until I get answers.
“I want to know what happened.”
She gets that stubborn look on her face that I know all too well. “I told you, I’m not going to tell you. You’re nosy, and marriage or no marriage, it’s none of your business.”
There’s no getting through to her unless I either seduce her or straight-talk her. Seduction is out of the question in the middle of school on a Monday morning. That leaves me with option two. Wouldn’t be my first choice, ’cause it’s going to hurt. She’s as stubborn as they get, but she seems to have conveniently forgotten that I can be just as stubborn as her when I put my mind to it. She rarely sees this side of me, but things have changed in a big way.
She’s mine now.
