I paused. Out of all the things he could ask, that wasn’t the one I was expecting. “What? Why?”
“You don’t need to worry your pretty head about it. You just do this for me, and I won’t expose you to the school board, who will probably revoke your degree.”
“You can’t just threaten me. You don’t have any proof. And besides, that would mean you had to admit you didn’t take you’re own test. You’d be fucked too.”
He shrugged. “You can choose to believe that. But I can assure you, I always save these things. And you think I’m worried about that? My family is paying for the new wing of their law building, I assure you, I’m safe. A nobody like you though…” he shrugged.
I could feel my eye twitch. I couldn’t tell if he was lying, but could I truly risk it? If I lost my degree, I would lose my job and probably wouldn’t be able to get back into any other university. All of my dreams, my goals, would shatter.
“I’ll think about it.”
“I trust you’ll do more than think about it.” His grin made my skin crawl.
“What are we thinking about?” A soothing voice said from behind him.
I looked up and realized Brooks was standing there. And his face was far from the pleasant, carefree one I’d seen earlier. It was… intense.
“Nothing for you to worry about, Mr. Hoffman. Thought any more about my offer?”
Brooks’s nostrils flared in irritation. “Nope, and I can promise you, the answer will always be no.”
Preston picked a piece of lint that didn’t exist from his cuff and, seeming unbothered, turned back to me. “I’ll see you later, Sydney.”
With that, he got up from the table, abandoning his empty coffee cup.
“Was he botherin’ you?” Brooks asked, his voice still taking on that heavy tone. And while I was still out of sorts from that interaction, it was weirdly comforting.
Like he was standing up for me. Wanting to defend me. And I felt okay with that.
“N-no,” I replied hesitantly. “He just recognized me from school.”
He nodded, but his shoulders still sat tight.
Something about it told me he wasn’t buying it, but he luckily let it go.
Well fuck.
Chapter seven
Brooks
After dropping the womenoff at the inn, I stopped by Rick’s to pick up a few odds and ends. It felt like every time I went into town, I needed something from there.
The bell above the door tinged as I entered. This place had always been the classic repair store—no frills, just shelves for everything to have a place and a counter to check people out.
Rick was behind it, fiddling with something I couldn’t see.
“Hey, Rick,” I said as I approached. “What are you workin’ on?”
He looked up from behind the counter. He was tall, even for a monster, with brown fur and tall horns sprouting from the top of his head.
“Fixing Mr. Karmin’s radio. I told him to get a new one, but he insists on using this one, even though it’s mostly static.”
I laughed. “That sounds like him. He can barely hear anyhow.”
“That’s true. I—”
Suddenly, the sound of a drill going into the wall next door sounded loudly, cutting him off. Rick sighed loudly.
