Page 83 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)
Ah.
Well, if he lured her outside, she sure isn’t with him now.
“Can I help you?” I ask, trying not to grimace. I mean, I’ve been a jerk, as he’s already pointed out, but that doesn’t mean… No, fuck that. I just need to know if he saw Sky.
“You’re acting like a fucking caveman,” he seethes.
I shrug. “Not sure what you’re talking about.”
He steps into my space. He’s an inch or two shorter, and a whole lot muscled. I pushed him around last time, but I should know better than most that appearances can be deceiving.
“You’re Skylar’s new roommate, right? I was going over it in my head, but there’s no way someone else would have her. She’s been an outcast since freshman year—”
I fist the front of his shirt, and he snaps his mouth shut.
“We’ve had this song and dance before, Norton,” I say softly. “When will you get the hint and leave her alone?”
He sneers. “Because she’ll realize what a psycho you are—”
“I’m assuming she’s already written you off, if you’re here berating me.”
“I made a mistake and told her I’d searched her name on the internet. She seemed confused about the weird shit that popped up—”
I jerk him toward me, until our faces are too close for comfort. His, anyway. I’m ready to bite his nose off. The unexpected anger is hard to swallow down. It burns through me, lightning quick. Daring me to do something to this little prick.
The truth of the matter is that Sky’s past was heavily covered by the media.
Her parents blocked any search results for her name in case she got curious, but that probably only applied to Sky’s computers. And this bastard is about to ruin everything.
“I have something important to say, Norton. Are you listening?”
He eyes me, blanching. Frantically, he nods.
“If you breathe a word of what you’ve found to anyone, I will find you. I’ll hunt you down. I’ll cut off every one of your fingers and force-feed them to you, then carve you up like a pig. And when I’m done, not even your precious mommy will recognize you.”
I uncurl my fingers and make a show of patting smooth his shirt.
“Now,” I say. “Where the fuck did you leave Sky?”
When he doesn’t answer, I slip my hand into his coat and retrieve his phone. On the inside, he’s a coward. He doesn’t do anything to stop me but watches blankly as I unlock it and pull up his conversation with Sky.
He doesn’t have any idea about her, but what the fuck was she thinking?
A costume party?
“I met her a block from here,” he says suddenly. “And then she freaked out and ran away.”
“When?”
“A-a half hour ago. Maybe more.”
I narrow my eyes at him, and he automatically takes a step back. Then two. Before he bolts completely, I toss his phone back to him and walk away. It’d be that or deck him, and I’m not sure I could survive that publicity.
She’d go somewhere safe… which means the school. Normally I’d assume her apartment, but I think her mother took the keys. There’s nothing left there, anyway.
I ignore the way my heart is pounding. I don’t freak out—ever. Okay, once or twice I’ve panicked, but it generally isn’t in my wheelhouse of emotions. I don’t even know if this is panic, but an elephant is sitting on my chest.
I get to campus in record time and stop at the edge of the quad. It’s framed in by the four main buildings, with residence halls on one side. There are a lot of students out, heading for the exits. Every single one of them has something ridiculous on.