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“I doubt he’ll bother me again.”
Marius Goltz spent the last four months at the periphery of my small group of friends, never really interacting with me, mostly acting like I didn’t exist, except for that Sunday at the pool. With that whole mess behind us, I bet he’ll get back to ignoring me.
“Is this seat taken?”
Oh, for the love of—
Marius Goltz, in the flesh, drags a chair along the linoleum flooring of the cafe, and sits at our small table, an iced latte in hand. He doesn’t wait for me to say that yes, it’s absolutely fucking taken.
“What the hell, Marius?” Vi swats his arm. “You should have asked me about Sarah. I would have vouched for her.”
“Vouching for people only works when we don’t have any specific reason to trust them—or mistrust them. It’s tilting the status quo toward that person. I have evidence against your friend,” he says, never sparing me a glance. “It takes more than words to fix that.”
I narrow my eyes. Have, present tense? He can’t still think I’m behind this.
“Sarah didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Except trespassing, loitering, spying—at the very least.”
Violet tosses her biscotti at him, and he doesn’t even flinch as it bounces off his annoyingly perfect face.
“I meant to call you, actually,” Marius tells her. “I don’t know what your good friend shared, but there’s a lot of surveillance equipment in her room. While we get to the bottom of this, I wonder if she could move in with you guys.”
Violet’s purple eyes widen. “Absolutely! That’s such a good idea.”
“Hello?” I call, waving my hand. “I’m right here, guys.”
Marius’s ice-cold eyes move to me, and he flashes me a smile that doesn’t thaw his iciness. “Hi. You’re moving in with Violet.”
I can’t believe he has the gall to tell me what to do. “Wait a minute, you—”
“We’d be happy to have you, sweet,” Violet intervenes pleasantly. “I’d feel terrible if something happened to you in that dorm, without much security. It’s too easy for people to go in and out. If your stalker truly put some cameras all over your room, he already knows how to get in there. You’d be much safer with us.”
I shiver. She’s right. I was so busy thinking about Marius and his fucking audacity, I didn’t even pause to think about the fact that Brandon has access to me. Again.
Rather than let my pride get in the way of what I need, I sigh and nod my head. “Yeah, if you don’t mind having me for a couple of days—just while I sort out my room, find some way to lock it—I’d be grateful.”
“Stay as long as you’d like. The house is big enough for a dozen people, and we’re just three. It’d be lovely to have you, anyway.”She smiles to ensure I understand she means it.
Rarely one to work against my own self-interest, I nod.
“Marvelous,” she says, beaming. “I’ll get Rhys to call the movers—they’ll have your stuff ready in no time.”
“No need!” I protest. “I’ll just grab a suitcase. I won’t stay that long. There’s no point in moving me in.”
She shrugs. “Whether it’s for a week or the rest of the year, might as well be comfortable, right?”
These people are unbelievable. They truly don’t understand the concept of money. Hiring movers—last second, no less—is a huge expense.
“There’s really no point. All my belongings can be stuffed into two cases.”
“Good,” Marius pipes in. “If you can get all of it packed by seven, when I finish training, I’ll drive you.”
“Pass,” I grunt without sparing him a glance.
In what universe would I make myself spend more time alone with him? I’d rather walk to Vi’s. And I won’t have to; I can order a ride.
“I can drive you,” Violet offers immediately. “But I’m not known for my upper body strength. Marius might be more helpful in that regard.”
