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“Some homeless guy sleeping it off.”
My eyes narrow when I spot the duffel bag and immediately recognize it. A growl reverberates in my throat before I can stop myself.
“That’s no guy,” I mutter, jogging away from my friends and coming to stop by Shorty, huddled up in an uncomfortable-looking ball on the concrete.
What the fuck?
I walked her to her dorm. I made sure she was safe… and she spent the night out in the open?
She lied to me, the little shit.
Why’d she do that?
And what is she doing here?
Crouching down, I gently shake her shoulder. “Hey, wake up.”
She groans, her face scrunching as she curls up like an armadillo.
“Hey.” I shake her a little harder. “Come on, Shorty.”
“What?” she whines, flicking my arm away. “Leave me alone. What are you doing?”
“What areyoudoing?” I bite back.
“Trying to sleep!” she snaps at me, her eyes still closed.
Casey starts snickering, and the sound jerks her awake. Her eyes pop open, her blue gaze hitting me hard before I’m distracted by the smattering of freckles across her nose. She’s got a cute nose, refined and little, matching the rest of her.
She scrambles up into a sitting position, a clump of hair sticking out the side of her head as the messy ponytail from last night has gone askew after what must have been a restless sleep.
Shit. Does she have any idea what could have happened to her if some perv had found her here?
Another growl shoots out of me, and I stand up, bringing her with me. “I did not walk you safely back to your dorm last night so I could find you here. Do you have any idea the kind of assholes who might be lurking around?”
“Oh, you mean assholes who yell in your face at stupid o’clock in the morning?” She squints her eyes against the sun, her scowl downright adorable as she checks her watch, then gapes at me. “It’s not even seven o’clock, you animal!”
“Who is this?” Casey asks.
She throws him a dark look and mutters, “That would be?—”
“None of your business,” I finish for her, pointing from Casey to her. “That’s what she’s gonna tell you, because Shorty here’s allergic to sharing information. Like how she doesn’t actually have a dorm room but is, in fact, homeless.”
“I am not homeless.”
“Then go home and rest someplace safe!” Snatching her bag off the ground, I grab her arm and start leading her to my truck. “I’ll drive you.”
“No you won’t.” She wrenches her arm out of my grasp. “I am perfectly capable of getting home by myself.”
“Obviously.” I point to the spot where she was just lying, then have a mini wrestling match as she tries to take her bag back.
After half a minute of watching her struggle, I let the bag go and then catch her arm before she lands on her butt.
She grunts, shrugging me off and heaving the bag over her shoulder.
“Where do you live?” I bark. Yes, I’m being kind of forceful right now, but she just scared the shit out of me. Those guys in the van were lurking around for who knows how long, and she was just sleeping out in the open, like some invitation for them to snatch her into the back of their sicko van.
She lifts her chin, an obstinate set to her jaw.
