by Rayne, Sara
She lifted her chin. “Are you forcing me to leave? Am I expelled?”
“Of course not. The decision is entirely up to you. I’m simply advising the best course of action. That’s my job.” Dr. Collier stood. “Give it some thought. You have one week to take advantage of the incompletes.”
“This isn’t right. I shouldn’t have to leave. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Lex rose, knees shaking. She hefted her bag onto her shoulder.
“So you’ve said, but a young man is dead, Ms. Cooper. You have to accept this tragedy changed your life.”
“I see. Are Grant’s parents still on your list of top donors?” Lex raised a brow. “I’m not stupid. I know exactly who this makes things easier for—and it’s not me.”
Dr. Collier’s mouth drew into a tight line.
“Maybe you can save some of the patronizing ‘life isn’t fair’ bullshit for them. I don’t need a week to decide. I’m done. You’ll have my withdrawal paperwork by morning.”
Lex turned on her heel and strode from the room. But her moment of righteous indignation faded as she stomped down the stairs to the first floor. Glancing in the windows of classroom doors, she walked slowly towards the exit. These buildings had felt like palaces of knowledge to her once; in the past few months, they’d become a prison. Lex wanted to cry with relief because she wouldn’t have to face this another day.
At the same time, she wanted to curl up and die from shame and failure.
The cold air chilled her as she headed back to her dorm. She needed to start packing so she could check out of her room. She also needed to call her mom, and break the bad news, before asking for a place to stay.
Being hit and dragged by a campus bus would be more enjoyable than making that call.
Fuck this day.
Lex wished she could hop in her car and head for Hell. Screw proper procedures and check-out paperwork. She could be having milkshakes in Hades by sundown, staring into Voo’s silvery eyes and spilling her troubles.
The thought quickened her pace, and she ran to the parking lot behind her dorm, determined not to turn around for so much as her toothbrush.
Then she saw her car.
The phrase “Lex the BuzzKILLER” splattered across the hood in red spray paint, and the words “slut” and “whore” glared at her from the driver’s side door, the sloppy lettering scratched into the steel. The car sat on its rims, all four tires slashed.
Face burning, Lex sank to the ground. She sat on the pavement, staring at her vandalized car. Hot tears streaked down her cheeks.
How much more can I take?
She could call Dani and get the car towed to Seventh Circle Motors, Hell’s mechanic shop. Axel would give her the “family discount”, considering her dad was marrying his mom. Lex’s stomach heaved at the humiliation of showing her friends how far she’d fallen, what the people on campus thought of her.
She didn’t have a choice.
Shaking so hard her teeth clattered, Lex forced her head between her knees. She dragged in a labored breath and searched her bag for her phone. She’d missed a text from Voo.
How’d you sleep, ma petite?
Swallowing hard, she snapped a picture of her vehicle and sent it in reply.
OMW. Go back inside and lock the door.
She started to text him he would need a student escort through her building but shrugged it off. Hard to get particular about following the rules when she was packing heat to go to class.
Besides, what were they going to do?
Kick her out?
Chapter Three
A few hours later, Lex sat in the passenger seat of Voo’s pickup, watching Justice pull out of the parking lot in a Seventh Circle Motors tow truck with her poor, maligned vehicle loaded behind it. Voo parked the truck under some trees within full view of the campus security station—a glass room containing a desk surrounded by television screens and bored student-workers in black uniforms.
Unease curdled her stomach as Bryan walked into the office, passing out grease-stained paper bags of fast food. Good thing she hadn’t wasted her time filing a report with security.
“Thanks for coming.” Lex hugged her bag against her chest.
“Anytime you need me, I’m here for you. I can put your bag in the back if you like.” He reached for it.
She dodged him. “No, I’m good.”
“Are you alright, ma petite?” Voo’s husky tenor curled soothingly around her.
“I will be.” Lex watched Voo flip open the ashtray and remove a thin, white joint. “What is that?”
“This is why I had Justice bring the tow truck.” She’d been so grateful not to face Dani or Axel, she hadn’t even questioned it. “Pretty Boy grows this special for him. It’s called ‘Mercy’, and you need some right now.”
“I can’t.” She glanced back at the glass enclosure. “We’re right in front of the security station.”
“So we know exactly where they are. The windows are tinted. They’ll think it’s a cigarette.” His large hand spread across her collarbones, thumb nestling in the hollow of her throat against her racing pulse. “You need to calm down, Lex.”
“I don’t know….” She nibbled her bottom lip.
A lighter flickered. Voo held the joint against his full lips, inhaling as he held her gaze. Something fluttered deep inside her. He dropped the joint in the ashtray and cupped her chin, tilting her face.
His mouth sealed over hers and Lex gasped, lips parting. Goosebumps raised along her skin, shivers skittering down her spine. He blew a hot stream of smoke into her lungs, keeping his delectable mouth against hers for a few beats before releasing her.
She choked on the exhale. Turning away, she coughed into her fist, and Voo seized the opportunity to snatch the bag from her lap. Nerves lighting up with fear, she lunged for the bag, but he easily held her at bay with one hand.
“Fuckin’ cheater,” she whispered.
“What’s in the bag, Lex?”
She folded herself into the corner of the seat as she watched Bryan joke and laugh with the security officers. The zipper sounded obscenely loud as Voo opened the bag and rifled through the contents.
“Bon Dieu. Where did you get this?”
She sighed.
“I’m gonna beat the ever-lovin’ shit out of Steele.”
“He sold it to Rose, and she gave it to me.” Lex folded her hands to keep from reaching for the gun. “And don’t be a bitch about it to her. She was tryin’ to help me out.”
“Why do you need this?”
Lex snatched the joint out of the ashtray and inhaled. Her lungs burned, chest jerking as she coughed out a bitter laugh. Her watering eyes remained fixed on Bryan at the guard station. “What? You afraid I’m gonna kill someone?”
He gripped her hand. “The bullets in this gun are intended for someone else, oui?”
“You know me better than that.”
“A lot’s changed recently.” He curled a blonde tress around his long index finger. His breath hitched as he held the strands to the light of the window. When he had first arrived on campus, he’d stared at her as if he’d seen a ghost. “When did you do this?”
“A few days ago.” She pulled away from his touch. The marijuana crept through her brain, giving her a drifting sensation. Her voice sounded distant in her ears. “You don’t have to worry about me committing suicide. Statistically speaking, women use less forceful means.”
“I’m not fuckin’ around, Lex,” Voo growled.
Lex rubbed her temples as a dull throb began behind her eyes. “Can I have my bag back?”
He tucked the gun into his waistband then tossed the bag in her lap. “I want a real answer.”
Her shoulders jerked in a defensive shrug. “I couldn’t take my own life—just not built that way. Seems I’m more dangerous to other people than myself. Ask the football team.”
“If it’s gotten so bad here you feel you need a gun, why didn’t you tell me?” His brows drew together
.
Her lips twisted. “What was I supposed to say? Not like I wanted you to see all this.”
“And yet you texted me this afternoon.”
She chewed on her lip. “Because I’m a fuckin’ coward.”
Voo tipped her chin up, his thumb smoothing her jawline. “I think you’ve been very brave.”
“When I was about ten, Dad came back from some ride. He had a black eye and a huge grin on his face.” She ducked away from his touch and grabbed the half-melted strawberry milkshake Voo had brought her. Sucking some down to ease the dryness in her throat, she continued, “I asked him how he could be so brave, laughing while he was in pain. And he told me, ‘when you’re scared, you get other people hurt. I gotta be brave.’”
“There are many kinds of bravery, ma petite,” he whispered.
“All I know is, I was scared shitless, a guy died, and I’ve been in hell ever since.”
“Sometimes the ground opens up beneath you and sucks you under. Doesn’t mean it’s your fault.” He gripped her knee. “At the risk of incurrin’ your temper, I think your advisor was right about you takin’ some time off.”
The idea of facing even one more day on campus nauseated her. Voo knew she wasn’t strong enough to tough it out. The thought pierced something bruised and humiliated inside of her. A tear slid down her cheek.
“Choice is made now. I check out of my dorm room in the morning.” Lex pulled a set of keys from her pocket. “This was my first real house key.”
“Oui?”
“Dad didn’t think I needed one since Mom had custody.” She twirled the keyring around her middle finger. “They’ve got this fancy-schmancy security system at Brad’s house, so Mom gave me a guest PIN for the doors. The dorm felt like my own place.”
And now it was gone.
She’d confided some of the challenges growing up with her mom and stepdad had presented. Like making sure she never reminded either of them of Captain. Downplaying her own birthday for the sake of keeping the peace. And following all the rules, from no gluten to no backtalk. She’d lived for every other weekend with her dad, but could never tell him. He’d feel too guilty if he found out how unhappy she’d been, and then her time with him would be awful, too.
When she moved back in with her mom, this would become her life again. Bile turned her stomach, threatening to rise to her throat.
“You will have your own place again. This is all temporary.” Voo held her hand. “And you’re not alone. I got your back, ma petite.”
She shut her eyes, squeezing his hand in a tight grip. “Thank you.”
“Now, I’m gonna grab a visitor parking permit from our friends in uniform over there. Then we’ll get you some supper and hopefully some sleep.” Something hard glinted in his eyes.
“Voo, don’t stir up any more trouble—”
“Who, me?”
“Voo….” She shifted in her seat, glancing back at Bryan.
He followed the movement. “Is he the guy from the bathroom?”
“You can’t start trouble with security.”
“You don’t even go here anymore. Repeat after me, ma petite: I don’t give a fuck. Make it your new attitude toward these bastards.” He glared over her shoulder.
“Please, I can’t handle anything else today. I mean it.” She grabbed his forearm, fingers closing over the face of Baron Samedi tattooed on his skin.
His stance relaxed. “Don’t worry. I’ll play nice with your college boys.”
Voo climbed out of the truck and crossed the lot to the station. Bryan stiffened, but the biker slouched slightly, nodding his head in a genial manner and calling out some sort of greeting. He stopped to chat.
Lex rolled the window down but couldn’t hear what they were saying. Voo tapped Bryan on the chest as he talked and even bumped into him once, but his face remained jovial. Bryan showed him inside, and they emerged together a few minutes later. Bryan pointed to the truck, and Lex slunk down in her seat, rolling the tinted windows back up quickly.
Voo jogged back to the truck and climbed in, slamming the door behind him. He hooked the parking tag over the rearview mirror without saying a word. He probably wanted to strangle Bryan with his bare hands, but he’d carried on a civil conversation without the football player ever guessing his murderous inclinations. Voo was a helluvan actor.
“See? No problems, as promised.”
“Can I have my gun back?”
“Non.” He shot her a warning look. “You no longer have need of a weapon. I’ll never leave you alone here again.”
***
Voo smoothed a tendril of blonde hair off Lex’s peaceful face. Eyes closed and hair haloed on the pillow in the moonlight streaming through the dorm room window, she reminded him so much of Artie, his chest ached.
He pressed a dry kiss to her forehead, and she nestled deeper into the pillow, her body giving in to sleep. He snagged his cut off her dresser, glimpsing Baron Samedi grinning from his forearm as he pulled it on. He slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him.
“What’s up?” Angel leaned against the wall across the hallway.
“Thanks for gettin’ here so quick. Stay outside the door until I get back. No one gets in, and she doesn’t go anywhere alone. Got it?”
“Yeah, of course.” Angel shouldered off the wall. “Where you goin’?”
“Out.”
Voo stepped into the cool night air. He rolled his shoulders, then stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the wallet he’d snatched earlier. Unlocking his phone, he removed the ID behind the wallet’s plastic flap and dialed Coyote’s number. “Yo? I need a favor.”
“Always happy to lend what’s left of a hand.” The quip dripped with irony.
“I need you to find someone for me.”
“This is why we all need tracking chips—”
“Settle down. It’s not one of our guys.” Since his kidnapping, Coyote had reversed his “no big brother” vote on Duke’s tracking chips.
“Oh. You gonna beat someone’s ass? I’m guessin’ it’s the dick who messed up Lex’s ride.”
“How do you…” Voo closed his eyes. “Dani.”
“What’s his name?”
“Bryan Dawson.”
Twenty minutes later, Voodoo cruised into the lot behind Under the Bleachers, the local campus bar. The neon signs flashed two beer glasses clinking under digital grandstands. His long strides carried him through the closed patio with its tightly lashed umbrellas. The tables inside were mashed up against the wall-to-wall windows on the brick building. He saw Bryan Dawson posted up at one of them, hitting on a redhead he had no chance with.
He banged his fist on the window, right beside Bryan’s head.
“What the fuck?” The college boy’s shout was muffled by the thick glass as he jumped back, staring out at the leather-clad biker.
Voo slammed Bryan’s stolen wallet on the glass then crooked his finger. The dickhead ditched the ginger and bulldozed his way out of the bar, chest puffed out and fists clenched.
“You stole from me? I’m gonna kick your ass!”
Voo slowly peeled away from the wall, straightening to his full height to look down at the football player. He widened his stance, and the Technicolor neon lights danced across his skeletal white tattoos. Bryan’s eyes flickered with fear.
“C’mon, college boy, follow the money. Here, boy….” Voo back-stepped into the alley, waving the wallet in the air and whistling as if for a dog. He dropped the wallet in a puddle of liquid that smelled like urine.
“Look, man.” Bryan wet his lips, looking a lot less brave than he had inside. “I don’t know what your beef with me is—”
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know, Bryan. Me, on the other hand? I know where you live. What you drive. Your mother’s maiden name. Your class schedule.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“You ever heard of Baron Samedi?” Voo flexed the musc
les under his tattoo. “He’s a Voodoo spirit, a Loa of the Crossroads between life and death. He’ll be the one diggin’ your grave if you don’t pay attention to what I’m about to say, got it?”
“Fuck this….” Bryan turned his back to go inside the bar.
Big mistake.
“I didn’t say you could run away. Yet.” Voo slammed him against the wall of the alley.
“What the hell is this, man?” Bryan struggled against his hold, but Voo pressed his forearm against the guy’s throat.
“Lex Cooper.”
“What did the little whore lie about now?” he croaked.
“Heh.” Voo grinned. Then he slugged the guy square in the face, snapping his head back against the brick wall. “Unless you want to replace all your teeth, shut your goddamn mouth and listen a spell.”
“What? You fuckin’ her?” Bryan’s chest heaved, and he spat blood on the concrete.
Voo kneed Bryan in the balls. He groaned and doubled over, no longer struggling. Voo propped the asshole back against the wall and bared the dual daggers he kept in shoulder holsters.
“This is the last time you ever mention her.” He slid a blade from the leather sheath and scraped Bryan’s cleft chin. “Or I’ll cut out your forked tongue and serve it at my diner with a side of home fries.”
“You’re a fuckin’ psychopath.”
“Oui.” Voo broke the skin. “Come too close to her again, and I’ll slice off your balls and hang ‘em from my handlebars as a good luck charm. You got me?”
“How close is too close?” He coughed, wiping crusted blood from his lip.
Voo sliced Bryan’s T-shirt and the waistband of his jeans down to the base of the zipper. The clothes slid off his body like a split banana peel. Voo’s knife pierced boxers and dug into skin.
“You don’t want to find out.”
The guy nodded, casting his eyes down with a whimper. Sweat glistened on his pale brows. Voo dropped him, and he slid to the ground. The cell in Voo’s pocket buzzed, and he pulled it out and flipped it open. “What you got for me, Yo?”
“Got into good ol’ Bryan’s laptop, which he conveniently left connected to the campus server. These jock assholes have been videoing girls they sleep with as proof for a team-wide ‘who can bag the most pussy’ contest. Then they post it on amateur porn sites for profit. Including at least three young ladies who are underage. All the files have been transferred to the local PD, and I locked his laptop against deletion.” Coyote’s sigh smacked of contentment. “In short? They’re fucked.”