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“I asked first,” I said, snagging the box of tissues from her desk. I used the bottle of water sitting by the pen holder to wet a few. “Here, wipe off your face.”
“Cal…I…”
“I’m sorry, there’s a lot of things we need to talk about, but right now, this,” I waved a hand at her desk, “comes first.”
She wiped at her face with the wet tissues, her brows pinched in defiance. “Dan called you! Didn’t he?”
“He did. You’re being harassed.”
“I—it’s stupid.”
“This is not stupid, Kara. Look at this mess. That may not be a real mouse or blood…” I sniffed the concoction on her shirt sleeves. “It smells like fake blood or something made to be like fake blood.”
“This is ridiculous. I swear some men?—”
Her room door flew open. A man—tall, well-dressed—sauntered in like he owned the place. “Kara, sweetheart, are you alright?”
“Go away, Ian. And don’t call me sweetheart!” Her clenched jaw was tight enough to snap her teeth in half.
I stood, my body making a barrier between her and the intruder.
“You can go now, boy, I’ll take care of her. Come, Kara, let’s get you looked after.”
“I believe the lady said to go away. The door’s that way.” I motioned with my chin.
“I don’t believe I know you,” he replied, a bright smile on his face. He brought his hand up for a shake. “I’m Professor Ian Sterling. I’m on the board.” I wasn’t fooled by his actions; they didn’t match the anger in his eyes.
I crossed my arms over my chest. The sleeves of my shirt bulged as I did so. He stopped, his eyes narrowing when I didn’t return the favor to introduce myself.
“Ian, go away. I don’t need nor do I want you in here.”
He went to step closer. I moved into his space. “I don’t rightly care who you are; the lady asked you to leave. You can go on your own, or I will be happy to remove you.”
“She’s my?—”
“Nothing.” Her voice was laced with venom.
“Kara, really. Stop?—”
“She isn’t your anything, hoss.” My arms fell to my side as I got closer, pushing him back with my menace alone. He had zero claim on my girl. No one was having her but me. If that made me sound possessive; well, I was. My heart has always been hers. She has always been the girl who stole my heart with her big heart and sassy attitude. And this joker thought he had a claim on her?
Over my dead body.
“I don’t know who you are?—”
I cut him off mid thought. “I’m hers. She’s mine. Is that clear enough? You are not wanted here, so fuck off.”
“Cal, don’t.” Kara got between us, pushing me back, her hand on my chest. I let her. Taking a step back, I let out a long, frustrated breath. She pushed me back once again. I went, anything to get her away from him. “Please. Let’s just go.”
My gaze fell to hers. Those green eyes tugged at my heart, as they had for so many years. I watched the emotions dance in her beautiful eyes, sinking into her touch.
The asshole took advantage of my momentary pause to grab her arm. Kara spun and when she snarled out a ‘fuck off,’ it was followed by her fist slamming into his jaw. The door to her room opened, and Dan walked in just in time to see the asshole hit the floor.
“Well…that answers a few things.”
I met his gaze. There was fire burning in him, but for Kara’s sake, he stood, acting like nothing was wrong. I, on the other hand, was finding it hard to not pummel that bastard into sludge.
Kara grabbed her bags and stormed out of the room. I grabbed the box, the note that fell from it, and followed her. We would need to discuss what had just happened. Something told me that Ian and my little spitfire were not on the best of terms. Matter of fact, I was pretty sure just from her actions that he may be the one behind all of her troubles. Dan’s reaction too. That said a lot.
