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His eyes darken, and he continues his path, leaving me alone in the bathroom. I close the door behind me, feeling my heart beating furiously. John read the message and recognized me. Fear crawls into my system, closing my throat for a few seconds. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this information. I’m conscious that it’s a small thing that shouldn’t bother me, but what if he makes the connection and figures out that Ryder lied to him about the phone?
Even when we try to ignore it, we did something illegal.
What kind of hellraising will John Carter do when he finds out?
I do my best to forget about it for now and concentrate on changing my clothes. I look myself at the mirror, noticing the massive bruise on my cheekbone. I take a hand to my face, wincing when I touch the area. This will take its sweet time to heal.
I use the mouthwash to get rid of the morning breath, and brush my hair with my fingers, although it’s a lost cause. There’s no way that I’ll dome the beast any time soon.
Two minutes later, I come out of the bathroom, looking slightly decent. At least better than the way I looked before I came in. I go back to the room and notice that Stanley changed too. He’s now wearing a shirt and worn-out jeans.
“I don’t even remember where my shoes are,” I say sheepishly.
“They’re right there.” Stan points at the corner of the bed where my boots are. “Let me see that bruise,” he asks, stepping towards me, cupping my face between his hands.
“It’s not that bad,” I lie, trying to make me feel better about it.
Stanley makes a face, disagreeing with me. He lets it pass, and I’m grateful that he does because I don’t want to get into that. It was an awful and unfortunate thing that happened to me. There’s no reason to keep digging into that. I prefer to focus my mind on what happened after.
“Put your shoes on.”
“Bossy,” I whisper.
“I heard that.”
I bite back a snicker and put on my boots as fast as I possibly can. I don’t want to leave my father waiting longer than necessary. That will only make him angrier. I approach Stanley after I’m done and put my hands on his shoulders, standing on the tip of my toes to reach his mouth. The kiss is barely a gentle pressure.
“I don’t think I’ve said this enough but thank you.”
Stan gives me one of his brightest smiles, putting his hands on my waist.
“Do I get a kiss too?”
I jump at the interruption, and Stanley lets out a groan. Turning around, I see Ryder standing in the door frame with a mischievous grin. His dimples salute me, and his blue eyes spark with amusement.
“Sorry, buddy. I don’t kiss arrogant boys.”
Ryder opens his mouth, offended by my words.
“And you kiss him?” He scoffs, pointing at Stanley with his hand.
Stanley rolls his eyes.
“C’mon, Bree. I’ll walk you out,” Stan announces, wanting to get out of that conversation.
Is he slightly jealous?Because Ryder is messing with him on purpose. He’s pushing his buttons to see if he can get a reaction out of it, just like Ash does when she brings up Stanley in our conversations.
I kiss Ryder on his cheek, smiling.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” he shrugs it off and hugs me briefly. “Now, go before your father murders us.”
A knot forms in my throat. Stan puts a hand on my lower back, pushing me gently to walk with him out of the building. My father is already here when we get to the parking lot.
Austin Pierce is an intimidating man when he’s mad. I think it’s because he had to develop an absolute firmness with his profession. My dad’s a defense lawyer, and also one of my guardian dogs. But it’s all fake, even when he seems like he’s about to kill Stanley with his glare. My dad is tall as a pole—something that I didn’t get from him—and his skin is darker than mine. There’s a shade of stubble covering his jaw, showing that he hasn’t shaved in a couple of days. Today he’s not wearing his usual black suit, but dark jeans and a white shirt.
I can feel the intensity of his gaze, and I shrink a little. I’m not afraid of him. He’s an excellent man and a caring father, but he doesn’t appreciate that his younger daughter spent the night with a boy after she got mugged.
