Jordan shook his head. “That’s not what he meant. No one in the Swiss Guard knows about this part of his life. I’m guessing what he did was give them something else to focus on, and they had no time to worry about this stuff. His father allows Rafe a fair amount of power and control already.”
“Probably explains why he’s such an overbearing asshole,” I muttered before I slipped away from the guys, making my way with the crowd. Jordan’s laughter followed me.
When I got into the main hallway, I started to follow the arrows—not that I needed to. Quite a few students were making their way back. I got a lot of looks, and I almost wished for a black cloak to cover my purple ass.
Standing out was great, if it didn’t put a massive target on your back.
My weapon was still in my hand though, so I doubted anyone was going to take me on right now.
Of course, there was always an idiot in the crowd who had to show the woman who was boss.
“What makes you think you can play with the big boys?” a dude walking nearby sneered at me. I had no idea who it was; he wore a face cover like everyone else.
I slowed, twirling my blade as I smiled at him. “Hmmmm, maybe the fact that with both ‘big boys’ I fought, I kicked their asses.”
He wasn’t smiling, and I continued on my way… only to have him wrap a tight hand around my arm, yanking me toward him.
For fuck’s sake. Here we went again.
“You should learn your place, bitch. You have a cunt, you don’t fight.”
A snort of laughter left me, even though he was holding tight enough to leave massive bruises. “What about if you are a cunt? Because that would rule you out,” I said in a sing-song voice.
Never let them see you sweat.
Before he could reply, I swung the hilt of my weapon, using the hand he’d stupidly left free, and slammed it down on his wrist. I knew the best place to hit to break a bone, and sure enough, I was rewarded with a satisfying crack.
Asshole howled, dropping me on instinct as the pain overwhelmed him, but he shut the fuck up when my blade pressed against his throat.
“I should kill you right now,” I said, with no humor in my voice anymore. “Leave you in this fucking maze to bleed out. No one would find you. No one would miss you.” Everyone else had cleared out when we stopped, so it was only the two of us here now.
And that made my threat all the more terrifying.
A whimper was his only reply.
“Come on, Violence,” a low drawl said from behind me. “Leave this sorry excuse for a human to crawl his way back. You have bigger fish to fry.”
The dick on the ground looked between Rafe and me, and I was shocked I hadn’t heard him approach. I’d been sure we were alone, but that sneaky bastard was fucking Spider-Man or something, scaling walls and blending into the night.
“F—Fallen Angel,” the loser stuttered out. “Was just”—he swallowed hard—“trying to make her stop fighting. It’s not a place for bitches.”
Rafe swung his leg out and kicked him straight in the face, shutting him the fuck up.
I shrugged, sheathing my weapon for the first time. “See, I didn’t overreact. He got what he deserved.”
Rafe’s lips, visible under his mask, twitched just a little. I took that for a win.
“You are well named, Violence,” he said, sounding amused. “Murder is your first thought when someone pisses you off.”
I shrugged. “What can I say, most of the time, people respond to death threats better than a stern lecture.”
He stepped closer, towering over me, but fear was the last thing I felt racing through my body.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he murmured. “I was born in violence and there I have stayed.”
What the fuck does that mean?
I knew so little about Rafe, but I had guessed before now that there was darkness in his past. No one was the way he was without being burned in the pits of hell and surviving. I knew that for a fact.
