Page 51 of Spin the Damn Bottle

"Then, your friends. Not Mel, of course, but your nice New York crew. I'm not certain what dirt I'll find, but my PI will have a folder in my inbox within the hour."

"Do you have to be an asshole all your life?"

I like the fact that she's no longer afraid of me. Oh, she believes I'd do all that and more to get what I want, and she's right to. I would. But she's not afraid because she knows she'll give in. She wants to be forced, to pretend she can't help her situation, from time to time. I pin her with my look. "Do you want to marry me?"

"Right now, I don't even want to see you, you jerk." She crosses her arms and moves to her closet, dragging her suitcase along.

I chuckle. She ought to know I won't let the conversation end here. "I'm not talking about age or timing or whatever other irrelevant concern you might have. Do you want to become my wife, spend your life with me on your team, by your side, fighting your battles and fucking you until we both die?"

She ignores me, packing away her clothing.

"Do I have to push for an answer? I will."

"Yes, you dick. Someday, when it's appropriate, I probably wouldn't mind…"

"Fuck appropriate. You want to marry me, I want to marry you. No one is going to judge you or question you, Nadia. You're going to be an Alden. All you'll get is the respect you're due."

"They'll call me a gold digger and say I'm probably knocked up," she counters.

I grin."Not to your face."

"Not toyourface. People don't mind saying that to me. Look at Christoph."

I have to deal with Billington, and soon. I know the creep has mommy issues and doesn't respect anyone who wasn't born with a seven-figure trust fund, but if he doesn't keep his shit together in front of Nadia, we'll have problems.

"Not to mention, you still don't have any idea who wanted to hurt me last semester."

Ah, that. She hasn't mentioned it in a while, and I'd hoped the concern might have disappeared after weeks of quiet. Apparently, her fear's still there, festering in the background.

And she's very right to be afraid.

"Who said I had no idea?"

She jumps to attention. "What do you mean? You know who was after me? Who was it? Why didn't you tell me?" Her hysteria worsens with every probing question.

I consider my words carefully. "I'm ninety-nine percent certain I know who's behind the fire—and the cat, too." I pause. "And I haven't told you because it's a sensitive matter."

Hiring Lucas was smart. The guy is an annoying shithead, but he also happens to be a genius. One week scanning through the school security recordings, and he had a clear idea.

"A sensitive matter?" she repeats, yelling. "They tried to kill me!"

"And they will pay for it, when that ninety-nine goes up to a hundred." I can't afford a miss, given who my target is. "But look, you're safe. We've openly been together for weeks and nothing’s happened to you, right?"

I don't tell her the guards found a squirrel with its neck snapped in her gym locker, or that one of her uniforms had been stabbed multiple times.

The psycho can't get anywhere near her, and that's the main thing.

"Jason, you need to tell me what's going on."

The thing with Nadia is, she's not like me. She can't hide her hatred, her suspicion, her ire. Her gorgeous eyes are an open book.

So… "No."

CHAPTER THIRTY

It's been three days and I still want to strangle my boyfriend.

I'm enjoying the holiday break. It's nice to be back at the restaurant and see my friends every day. My parents are both busy, but I have lunch with Uncle Lucius and Lucas on Sunday, and I skate at the ramp with Heather and Gabriella on Monday.