Mad Boys (Blue Ivy Prep, #2)(62)

More than once I’d seen the worry on her face as she got off a call. A couple of times, watching her when she didn’t know I was there, I recognized the exhaustion that would creep into her expression.

The unnerving part? How swiftly she erased it when others were around. It was like she had to pretend nothing touched her. Her smile was easy and generous. Her attention focused.

But she wasn’t sharing her authentic self with any of these people…

The concept baffled me until I came to one truly uncomfortable realization. Why the fuck should she share who she was with any of us? Not when some asshole was just right there waiting to monetize that vulnerability.

Or tear her down when she opened up.

That last one was on me. Because I had done that. Fuck my life.

Lachlan didn’t know about the probation, but Jonas figured it out. He’d been watching me with eyes that basically said I deserved this.

Maybe baby brother was right.

Maybe.

I could handle it. I did… right up until the administration and the school attorney pulled her from my class to “talk to her.” I was stuck in class with my brother staring me down while she was out there being interrogated.

About me.

This particular invasion of her privacy was on me.

It was my fault.

When she was in my later classes, she didn’t say a word to me about her meeting. While I couldn’t approach her, I did want to check on her, particularly with how uncomfortable she appeared. More than once, I caught her shifting in her seat and glaring down at whatever we were working on.

What the fuck happened in that meeting?

A message dinged my phone at the end of classes. The dean expected me in his office first thing the next day. There was nothing about arranging to have anyone cover my classes, so—maybe I wasn’t fired?

The sinking feeling didn’t abate. I hated being in limbo about anything. Despised not being able to control what came next. I liked having a plan, and I liked looking ahead to anticipate potential challenges. Her arrival had always been a rock in the serene pond of my forward planning.

I just hadn’t been prepared for ripples to trigger tsunamis. We were coming up on the holiday; if they decided to get rid of me…this would be the time to do it.

Blue Ivy Prep had been my home for almost sixteen years. What the hell did I do if they showed me the door?

The biting cold in the air slapped me in the face as I left the library and headed toward the dorms. I needed to get changed and go to the gym. Maybe an hour on the rowing machine would help.

If nothing else, it could exhaust my brain. My phone vibrated and Mom’s face popped up. Fuck… Tomorrow, I promised her mentally. I’ll call you back tomorrow. I needed answers before I dealt with the fury she was likely going to rain down on me.

None of us had returned her calls. I was guessing about Jonas, but he never did anything he didn’t want to do. Lachlan, I knew for a fact, wasn’t calling her unless someone made him. And I just couldn’t deal with her…

KC stood out in front of the dorm, hugging—was that the porn star? Was he really here? Seeing her? Her dark, tight expression brightened so swiftly it was like a sucker punch to the nuts.

Irritation flamed through me. The guy smiled at her like he had the right to be here on campus and at her dorm, touching her. He was twenty-five? Thirty? Who the hell did he think he was taking advantage of her youth like that?

The only thing keeping me locked into place was the fact if I walked over there it would probably escalate. As long as I had orders to stay away from her…

Fuck.

Still, I kept my gaze on them. He caught me staring and I didn’t flinch when he stared right back at me. I wasn’t close enough to read his expression, nor did I know him well enough to interpret. But I took a couple of steps forward because I did want him aware that I saw him.

If he did a damn thing to her…

Then he was leaving and she headed for the dorm with the bag he’d handed her. The smile on her face arrested me. All at once, I wanted to be the one who made her smile like that.

I gave it five minutes for her to get clear of the lobby before I continued inside. Lachlan stood there, gazing up the staircase like a madman with a manic grin on his face. It wasn’t until he cut a look at me that I caught the fresh redness around his almost healed black eye.

“You should get a tattoo,” I suggested, with a nod to his face. “Save you the trouble of getting punched so regularly.”

“You’re funny,” Lachlan said, but his smirk said he wasn’t dissuaded. “Getting punched is half the fun.” He slapped my shoulder as he turned to head out the door.

Maybe someone had hit him a little too hard, but right now… yeah, Lachlan needed to deal with his own shit. I cast a glance up and then back to my floor. Right.

Tomorrow.

I would find out what I needed to do tomorrow.

And hopefully, I still had a job and a place here.





I kept myself busy for the rest of the evening. Lachlan was conspicuous in his absence, and I was fine with it. The last couple of years of not sharing a room or a suite with one of my brothers had been lovely. I wasn’t really a fan of having him as a roommate again.

With most of my homework finished, my grading done, and a half dozen suite inspections completed, I slipped off the tie and the dress clothes to shower. The rest of the night was mine.