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“Do you know what it took to find you?” he says to Raina, ignoring me completely, as if he’s allowed to be here.
“Do you know this guy?” I ask.
Raina doesn’t look surprised to see him. She doesn’t look pissed the way she looks at me either. She looks…scared.
I’ve never seen her look anything other than fierce. She’s been the girl that won’t back down right from day one—the one that didn’t fall at my feet, the one that didn’t seem impressed when I gave her attention. She’s been a pain in my ass, cheeky and full of shit. But she’s never been scared.
“What are you doing here?” she asks. She’s fighting to keep her voice calm.
I study the jerk who stands there, breathing hard, a look of menace on his face.
“It’s time to pay up, baby girl.”
“I’m not giving you money,” I say.
He shakes his head. “I don’t think you understand how this works, Raina. You give me money, or I go straight to the dean.”
“So do it,” she spits. “I’m not playing your game. You’ve done enough. I’m done with you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“We’ll see about that,” he says and takes a threatening step toward her. She doesn’t curl away—she didn’t from me, either—but she looks like it’s a fight not to cower from this man.
“Just leave me alone!” she shouts.
“Now, now,princess,” he sneers. “Is that any way to speak to your father? Come here, let me beat some fucking respect into you.” He grabs Raina by the shoulder, and she winces. He pulls back a fist, and I have no illusion about what he’s going to do.
I grab his wrist and yank him around. When I do, I smell the waft of cheap liquor that rolls off him. He’s wasted out of his mind.
The punch he was planning to deliver to Raina turns to me. I duck away, and he misses. I punch him back. No way I’m letting a motherfucker punch me and get away with it.
When my fist connects with his jaw, the man staggers, but he doesn’t go down. Impressive. That tells me one thing: he’s used to liquor. He drinks a lot, and he uses it to fuel whatever hatred he has toward Raina. He hurts her. It doesn’t take me long to figure out what’s going on.
He wants money, or he’ll expose her. He’ll hurt her if he gets the chance. He must have done so a thousand times, judging by the fear in her eyes.
“Get the fuck out of here, or I’m calling the cops,” I say.
“And what do you think they’re going to do?” the asswipe says with a smirk.
“They’re going to be just in time to save you from a hell of a beating. I suggest you fuck off if you don’t want me to rearrange your face.”
He studies me, takes in the bruise around my eye, the look on my face, the seriousness in my voice. He realizes I’m not kidding. He’s a fighter, and he recognizes it in me.
“I’ll be back, Raina,” he says to her. “Don’t think you’ve come off the hook. This guy isn’t going to be here to look after you forever.”
He turns around and storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
When I turn to Raina, she’s sagged onto the armchair again.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “He must have followed me here across campus. I didn’t know he was here today.”
I shake my head and walk to the bar. I pour her a glass of vodka—she looks like she can use some hard tack to pull her back together. She takes it from me and takes a big gulp before pulling a face.
“Grey Goose,” I tell her. “It helps to take the edge off.”
She nods. “Thanks for running him off. He’ll be back, though.”
“He’s blackmailing you.”
“Well done, Sherlock,” she says.
