Liam gave me a chin-up and a “Yo.”

  Melissa’s energy was still there, but she was holding it back. Like the guys, she seemed more sedated, and almost sad.

  That struck me, too. I didn’t know how they’d react, and to an extent, I still didn’t. It wasn’t until I was debating if I should even attempt lunch with them or not when I found out. I was in the hallway, just leaving the bathroom. Melissa was quick on my heels, as if she didn’t want me to even walk out a door alone. The guys were all waiting in the hallway, which was normal.

  Hoda was absent. That wasn’t normal.

  Liam was at the door, one hand on it, and half turned to look outside.

  Erik and Fitz were accompanying everyone. Erik led the way. Fitz fell in step behind Melissa and me. The guys dropped in behind Fitz. At the door, Erik paused, but Liam only gave him a chin-up too, then pushed open the door, and Liam was the one who led the way. His hands were in his pockets. His backpack was on and he was the image of cool and calm together. I caught the amused look Erik gave him, but it was faint and brief. He was half trailing Liam, half walking to the side for a better vantage point on the entire group. Fitz was doing the same, I noticed. He was somewhat observing the guys behind us.

  If this wasn’t my life, I’d find this whole thing just a little bit ridiculous.

  But this was my life now.

  It was at the main intersection of sidewalks. They all converged into one giant cement block where the food court building was located, and they’d been waiting. I recognized the girls from earlier. The same one who handed off a flyer was standing up, her gaze set on me and her mouth tightening. She was marching over to us. Most of her friends stayed where they were already sitting at a picnic table, but four or five of them were trailing behind.

  “Hey! Bailey!” The girl raised her hand, and her voice matched. She was waving to me. “Hey! Over here!”

  Liam let out a whistle and motioned to the girl. She heard. Everyone heard, and she faltered for a second. Her eyebrows pinched together, confused, and that one second of silence was all Liam needed. He called over his shoulders, “Block her.”

  The guys in my class swarmed.

  They literally swarmed, but they just didn’t swarm her. They circled where Melissa and I were, leaving us in the middle. Most of the guys were between me and that girl and her friends, but a few were holding firm on the side where Melissa was standing.

  They were protecting me. They were shielding me.

  Melissa dipped her head and whispered, “Those pictures went out to everybody. We knew who you were and that you’re here, but the general student population hadn’t. They know now, and you being you, it’s big news. There’s going to be groups coming out of the woodwork to try to use you, at least for a while. Don’t worry. We got your back. Hoda’s been put on a list. You don’t have to worry about her.”

  I blinked a few times. “What?”

  She moved even closer, her shoulder touching mine. “She’s on their hit list. Dax. Shyam. The guys. That’s what they call their list of people they want to take down or hurt. We know it was Hoda who gave that gossip blogger the emails for the university. Dax works IT for the campus and he found the IP address for the person who forwarded the list. A file that big, it gets red tagged. That’s what he does.”

  “He red tags file sizes?”

  “He’s on the computer staff to help maintain cyber security. Last year, we had to download an emergency app because they found a huge hole in the code for the campus internet. It was a whole to-do. Dax was the one who found the hole, and don’t tell anyone, but it’s because he likes to try his hand at hacking. That’s on the DL, of course.”

  She was whispering and winking, and there was a whole “awe” element to her voice, too. Dax was a legend to Melissa.

  I squeezed her hand back. “I really appreciate it.” And I did. Some of the need to annihilate Hoda lessened. I was almost more tempted to wait and see what Dax and the guys did, see what their skills were like.

  Liam gave another short whistle and proceeded forward.

  The guys moved alongside us, not falling back and not going ahead.

  I was touched. A couple of the guys glanced over and I mouthed to them, “Thank you.” Their chests puffed up and they gave me a chin-down nod.

  Liam led the way to where our group ate. It was away from the other students.

  Thank God.

  After everyone got their food, Erik sat down in front of me.

  He glanced around our section, then leaned in. “They’re good guys. A bit weird, but good guys.” He looked over his shoulder at Melissa. “Your girl seems good, too. Solid.”

  “She told me that they’re going to handle Hoda. They know she’s the one who leaked the email list.”

  I was assuming she also had helped with the current pictures taken. They were from the hallway, when Kash was kissing me.

  “Did Kash fire her yet?” I asked Erik.

  “She has an official meeting with him at the end of the day.”

  “I want to be there.”

  He stilled, eyeing me. “Bailey…”

  “I want to see his office anyways, and I want to tell him about Matt.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What about Matt?”

  Scott would’ve known that Matt was drunk in the limo, and I had caught Scott watching Matt more than once when he’d gotten drinks from the bar at the house, too. He didn’t know what else I knew about—about the guys picking him up, taking him for breakfast, hoping to deter him from continuing to drink all day.

  I was about to say all of that, when Erik spoke up. “Your brother has guards on him at all hours, too.”

  I frowned. “I know.”

  “We still report to Mr. Colello, even though he’s only hands-on with you.”

  Oh … Oh!

  I sat up. “So Kash knows Matt was drinking all day yesterday?”

  He nodded. “Mr. Colello knows all of it. He knows stuff you don’t know.”

  That had me frowning even more. “Like what?”

  A quick clip of his head. “Mr. Colello was briefed on Matthew’s situation. I’m also supposed to relay the message he won’t be able to drop by today for lunch.”

  That was disappointing.

  Melissa was coming back. Erik stood to help her with the food, putting our orders down, and Liam was coming back. He and Dax did a fist pound before separating for their own tables. Erik returned to his position, conversing with Fitz before moving apart, and both stood as if they were Secret Service.

  When we went back for our second class that day, Hoda wasn’t there.

  She wasn’t in the hallways, the lab, even the bathrooms.

  Wherever she was, she couldn’t hide for long. I would find her.

  When we got to the doors, Erik stopped me.

  There was a crowd out there, but I expected it. Word was out about me. Now that I understood that, I was expecting things to be more crazy than normal. It would die down. Eventually.

  Erik didn’t move from the door.

  I started to go around him.

  He took my arm, holding me back. “Wait.”

  He had a finger to his ear, listening to something.

  His eyes narrowed. He was watching outside.

  I only saw the crowd. They were different students this time. I knew I had to deal with it and adjust and get on with my life, because that’s just how it was going to be. With that intent, I tried to go forward again, and because of that, I wasn’t fully paying attention to what Erik was paying attention to.

  I missed the train of SUVs pulling up.

  And what was more important, I missed how Fitz was standing outside, and how he wasn’t going toward the SUVs.

  I didn’t see how both Fitz and Erik had set expressions on their faces. Their jaws were clenched and their eyes weren’t happy.

  But what I didn’t miss was how I recognized that black sports car sliding into the very last spot in front of the building. I was happy and thinking Kash was a liar. He did have time for a drop-by. But then he was out of his car and he wasn’t coming to me. He was veering to head off whoever had gotten out of the back of the middle SUV and was heading for the building.

  Calhoun Bastian.

  My stomach fell once again, and ice pierced my chest.

  I was having a bad case of the déjà vus.

  SEVENTEEN

  This day couldn’t get worse.

  Or at least that’s what I thought, until I saw Kash’s scary grandfather exit his vehicle, making a beeline for my building. He looked so dignified, too, almost like a diplomat, and he was getting the attention to warrant that impression. Like this morning, I saw Goa and Busich, but unlike this morning, Wells wasn’t there. She was replaced by a bunch of other official-looking older people. That’s when I clued in on the students. The sorority and jock groups weren’t there. They were replaced by more serious-looking students, ones wearing pin-striped suits and dress shirts, or dress skirts and high heels in a nude coloring, so you’re still edgy but it’s not really edgy.

  Calhoun never saw Kash.

  It was one of those surreal moments, where you can’t believe you’re watching it but you are, because it’s happening in front of you. It’s one of those moments I’d always remember, and not because of my memory but just because it was that awesome.

  Maybe this déjà vu case wasn’t so bad.

  Calhoun was looking toward the Hawking staff.

  He had this pompous look on his face, straightening his suit jacket as he started for them. He got only a step, but they took the signal and approached. He stopped, his head up, his nostrils going wide as he was breathing this in, and an arrogant smirk was on his face. He was expecting them to come to him, and so he was going to wait and watch them, as if they were beneath him.

  Seriously. So narcissistic.

  He never took in the crowd. Not once. The way he was at ease with them there, this clearly was something else he was expecting.

  He thought they were there for him. To his credit, maybe they were. Maybe the staff rounded them up because the groups were different than the ones congregating earlier this morning, but Kash was cutting right through the crowd, the staff, and going straight to his grandfather.

  His face was granite. His eyes hard. His jaw clenched.

  He was seething, but he didn’t give his grandfather attention.

  I thought that’s what he was going to do. He didn’t. That made it even more awesome, because he cut in. His grandfather’s security never stopped him. I didn’t know why that was, but only one saw him coming, and his face twitched. His hand dropped to his side, but after a second’s hesitation he moved it back in front. He shifted, his face going forward so he, too, wasn’t seeing Kash coming.

  Then Kash was there, his back to his grandfather, and he was speaking in low tones to the Hawking staff.

  To their credit, they didn’t look like they wanted to be there. Their faces were reluctant, wary, but resigned at the same time. Seeing Kash suddenly in front of them, his eyes locked on them, they sucked in their breaths.

  Then they leaned in.

  They were listening to whatever Kash was saying. So was Calhoun, whose face was storming up. It was twisting, and rage was showing—steam could’ve been coming out of every hole on his face. He opened his mouth, his hand raising, but even with his back to him, Kash knew his grandfather’s move. He shifted an inch to the side, effectively cutting him out, and he was still speaking. Low. Calm. Contained.

  The staff’s heads jerked back when he was done. Their eyes cut to Calhoun, to Kash, and then back again to Calhoun.

  Kash spoke, and this time I heard, “You decide now, or I walk. Peter Francis walks. Bailey Hayes walks.”

  The threats impacted them. One swallowed tightly. Another one looked terrified, her hand shaking at her side. But the head guy, the one in the lead, he was more together, and he looked at Calhoun, extending his hand. His voice boomed out, “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Bastian, but as you can see, your business is no longer welcome at Hawking University.”

  Just like that.

  Just. Like. That!

  He was out.

  The crowd hushed, and a surge of volume ripped through everyone, even though most didn’t know what had happened. They just knew something happened, something big.

  Calhoun Bastian was rooted in place.

  His fury was clear on his face. The lines around his mouth were white, and he slapped the university staff member’s hand away. He grabbed for Kash—or he would have. His hand was going up. Kash turned, as if he was expecting it, but he wasn’t the one who stopped Calhoun. It was the security guard who had seen Kash coming. He moved in and merely stood between grandfather and grandson. He folded his hands together, the same Secret Service stance. Then he spoke, a low baritone, but one with patience. “You should remove yourself from these premises, Mr. Bastian.” He paused a beat. “For your safety, sir.”

  Kash stepped to the side, squaring against his grandfather.

  He didn’t speak. He didn’t move again. He was simply waiting for something.

  Then Calhoun exploded.

  That’s what Kash had been waiting for.

  Calhoun looked from the security guard to Kash and back, then back to Kash, and his restraint vanished.

  He didn’t say a word. That was the scary part of it. He simply lunged for his grandson, but again he was blocked—by his own guards. His own guards! Not even the one that moved in the first time to block Kash, but the other three around Calhoun. One barked a command. The door to Calhoun’s SUV opened. The three guards caught their employer and half carried, half guided him to his SUV.

  Into his SUV.

  They closed the door.

  The SUV took off; the one before it, too. The last one waited.

  The first guard looked at Kash and I heard Kash’s one word. “Stay.”

  The guard nodded, moving to the driver of that SUV. They exchanged words, and then that SUV moved on, too. The guard remained, stepping back onto the sidewalk, but waiting.

  Those guards, Calhoun’s guards, were Kash’s. Not Calhoun’s.

  They worked for Kash!

  And now Kash was coming to me.

  I realized it with a jolt. I’d been watching the guard, and then he looked at Kash and I looked at Kash, and Kash wasn’t as contained now. His face wasn’t granite. The seething I saw in his eyes was all over his face, and the crowd felt it. People moved back a step. The path was cleared right up to me, and he turned, said something to the university staff. Their gazes moved to me, back to him, and they nodded. The man shook Kash’s hand before all of them left.

  Kash was coming my way, striding over in a few steps.

  He reached forward, his hand grabbing my arm, and he led me briskly and with purpose to his car. The front passenger door was opened. He was not messing around, and he set me inside, waiting while I quickly pulled my feet in. Then he was rounding the car for the driver’s side. Calhoun’s guard shut my door. Erik and Fitz descended on Kash, listening and getting orders.

  Erik nodded, and both he and Fitz hurried away.

  Kash’s hand went to his door handle but didn’t open it. He spoke over the hood of his car to Calhoun’s now ex-guard. I couldn’t catch what he said, but the guard moved away. He disappeared into the crowd of students who were still lingering. A third of them were watching the guard that was heading into my building. The rest of our audience was gawking at us, some with phones pointed at us, others with their phones pressed to their ears.

  Kash took a pause. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but then the door was opened. He was inside, and he didn’t say a word before he pulled away.

  I knew he was furious.

  I was bracing myself, because I didn’t know if he was mad at me, mad I was there, or just mad at his grandfather. I was guessing the last two were definites, but I wasn’t sure about the first and I was holding my breath, waiting. A sick feeling was in my gut.

  He waited until he was on the freeway before starting.

  His voice was low, back to being controlled, but he didn’t look at me. “I knew he was coming to your school today. Knew he was going to make a move to approach you again. I knew all this because those guards on him work for me. He knows about the one, but I gotta make the decision to pull the rest or risk him figuring it out and executing them all.” He swore, and it was savage. He punched a button on the car’s phone.

  The dial tone filled the car, and then it was ringing.

  “Boss?”

  Kash was grimacing as he spoke. “Pull everyone. I can’t risk him doing anything to you guys. Everyone, Connor. Everyone.”

  A moment of quiet on the other end, then, “Got it. Disperse, or new job location?”

  “Disperse, except you and Monty. Both of you come in. I want you at the estate.”

  “Got it, boss.” Another beat, and then we could hear his smile when he said, “Have to say it was a pleasure holding him back from you today. I’ll send the word and we’ll dump him. He’ll get picked up within minutes, but the guys will take off and wait for your new orders.”

  “Good.”

  The call ended, and without blinking, Kash was filling me in. “I had six men guarding Calhoun. He thought they were a gift from a family friend. They weren’t. They were sent by me, and through them, I was told his plans for today. I’ve known about his plans for the last week, and even before that. His stop at the apartment was not announced to his team or I would’ve been told that ahead of time, too.”

  He flashed his turn signal, smoothing his car over two lanes of traffic and onto the exit ramp.

  I was half taking in our surroundings before he started again. “I didn’t want to lose my guards on him, but he upped his trip today. I had to move in, drop my news to your school, and he would know that the first time might’ve been a coincidence but the second time was not. He would’ve known. I had to burn six guards I had on him. The trip to Brazil was a calculated guess and a move to strike a better relationship with who I think he might pull a brand-new security detail from. It’s a guess. He won’t trust anyone else from this country, since your father and I are the two people who most want to be aligned with, not aligned against. I guessed at who he’d approach, just didn’t know it’d be so fucking soon.”