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In my peripheral view, I catch Celeste snatching her hand from Alik like she’s just been electrocuted. I subtly move my head a little farther and catch Alik kissing Celeste on the cheek. He turns to Taylor and raises an eyebrow as he assesses him up and down. Taylor moves to the kitchen to place the coffees on the counter and straightens his spine.
“Again, who the fuck are you?”
Alik looks at me with a mischievous grin, and I shake my head. “Don’t,” I mouth to him.
“No fun,” he mouths back, and I roll my eyes.
I turn to Taylor. “He was just leaving.”
“Who are you?” Alik asks Taylor, making me want to use the Glock that I’m holding.
Taylor raises his shoulders and expands his chest. “A Knight, asshole.”
Alik chuckles. “Ah, so you’re a Knight asshole. Guess that’s better than being an NHU dick.”
“Oh, for the fucking love of all things holy. Come on,” I grumble and drag Alik towards the door. I push him out into the hallway before he can start any trouble with Taylor. “Please don’t mess this up for me.”
“I won’t, Styx—I mean, Evelyn. Believe it or not, I do care. I just think you’re making a mistake,” he says with a smirk.
“I know you do, and it’s my mistake to make. I’ll see what I can find out and let you know, but you can’t come back here.”
Alik nods and starts whistling as he strides towards the elevator like he owns the goddamn building. I watch him get in before I turn my back and go inside, where I’m officially greeted by the master inquisitor and her apprentice.
Oh, the fucking joys.I should have stayed in bed.
* * *
The tension is thick in the air as I cross the threshold and close the front door. I cross the space to the kitchen counter, grab the extra-large latte with my name sprawled across the side, and take a large gulp. My veins rejoice in welcome of the caffeine that’s been missing.
“Someone wanna tell me who the hell that was?” Taylor snaps, his arms folding across his chest. He’s clearly upset by the perceived intruder.
“Can you at least let me enjoy the coffee that should have been consumed hours ago?”
He narrows his eyes and shakes his head.
Sigh.There’s no getting out of this one without lying, so I might as well rip the Band-Aid off.
“Fine. That was Alik Bianchi,” I say defiantly and go back to drinking my coffee.
“Jesus Christ. Are you fucking kidding me!” he shouts, making Celeste jump.
“I don’t get it,” she says, looking between Taylor and me in confusion. “Should I know who that is? He seemed nice enough.”
My words to answer Celeste are cut off by Taylor. “Why was he HERE, Evie?”
I shrug my shoulders, wishing the ground would swallow me whole. But it doesn’t.
“Short story is I owe a debt. No big deal.”
“No big deal!” he yells, astonished at my words. “He was in your dorm!”
“I’ll take care of it, Taylor.”
He glowers at me. “What debt do you owe him? Better yet, why do you even know him?”
My annoyance of the day crawls up my neck, morphing into anger. I’m really fucking tired of being pushed today. “I don’t want to get into this with you, Bryant. I’ll take care of it.”
“Get into it with me!” His anger is reaching new heights. “Jesus H. Fucking Christ, Evelyn. I put my neck on the line, swearing that you had nothing to do with Micah getting shot, that you would never—Fuck!”
