“Dyers’s family’s quick to litigate. I’d watch what I say about him if I were you.”
He swipes his hand through the air as if drawing a line on that conversation.Such a jerk.Makes me wish Ihadbusted his goddamn thumb.
“Look, you need to talk to your dad about this situation.”
I tap my toe. “About what?”
“Just bring up Dyers and me to him. I know you won’t let this drop, but he can explain why you need to.”
There’s an earnestness about his expression that tells me he thinks my dad will fix things.
What thosethingsmight be, I’m not sure.
Hell, Oakwood is his alma mater but?—
“What did he offer you?”
Alec frowns. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s obsessed with Zach taking it all the way to the NHL. Always has been.” He and Zach’s dad have been in cahoots over it foryears. “What did he offer you to make sure that happens? It’s why you’ve been so hard on him, right? I should have figured it out sooner but?—”
“What were you thinking, Alec?! Are you okay?”
The demand comes from out of the blue. Enough that I jump in surprise when someoneelsegrabs my arm and wrests me away from Alec.
Half-turning, I find Victoria and Shay hovering behind me. They’re both pink-cheeked and panting as if they raced over as soon as they saw Alec dragging me aside.
I study them warily because their worry for me is so strong that I take Alec in with fresh eyes. I’ve always thought he had the presence of a slice of French toast before it hit the pan, but their expressions have me burrowing beneath the surface.
Not that there’s much to see.
His expression’s placid. None of the urgency from before there.
That he switched it off so swiftly has me stepping back a pace and mumbling, “Thanks for checking in with me but I’m fine.”
“Shay, she’s scared. Do something.” To me, Victoria assures, “You’re fine now, Denver.”
I didn’t feelunfine before, so her reassurance puts me on edge.
Shay’s not as bulky as Alec, but there’s something about how hemoves, a lightness on the balls of his feet, that tells me he channels Finn Bálor in his spare time.
“Just butt out.” Alec’s temper filters through the command. “This has nothing to do with you, O’Donnelly!”
“It’s okay, Victoria, Denver. I’ll deal with this.”
Wide-eyed when Shay rolls up his sleeves, I lift my hand. “Honestly, it’s fine?—”
“It isn’t,” he disagrees, tone doused with hellfire even as the look he lands on me is kind. “If you want to go, you can.”
My focus shifts between them, but it’s Victoria’s gentle nod that encourages me to take off.
I shoot her a grateful smile and rush back onto the quad.
Any desire to study in the library has faded though. I hover. Waiting to hear what’ll happen. But if they’re fighting or arguing, I can’t make it out.
The swiftness of what just happened, combined with the morning’s events, Alec’s persistent defense of Dyers… and now him involving my dad? Then there’s the threat that Shay and Victoria perceived in Alec…
Is it any wonder that I’m shaking by the time I make it to the nearest bench?
