I do a double take, and sure enough, that’s my girl pressed up against the marble wall with some asshole touching her face.
What the hell is going on? She’s not even supposed to be here.
And who is that prick laying hands on my girl?
Anger blooms in my chest, and I don’t think twice about abandoning the promise I made to my team captain just seconds ago.
I cross to where my girl is pinned up against the wall, and it’s all I can do not to shove the asshole who’s getting up in her face.
Piper spots me and her blue eyes go wide. For the first time, I can’t read her expression. Can’t tell if it’s fear or panic or relief that’s got her looking like she wants to disappear into the marble wall.
“What’s going on here?” I drop my bag and use my size to force a wedge between Piper and the creep harassing her.
Piper’s shoulders slump, but she remains pressed to the wall, an overnight bag dangling from her hand.
“We were just having a little chat,” the creep replies smoothly. “Isn’t that right?”
I turn to my girl, searching her face. Her lower lip trembles and it nearly breaks me.
She’s always so strong, always thinks she has to handle everything on her own.
Whatever’s upset her must be a bad fucking deal.
My mind immediately goes to the worst and I flex my hands at my sides. “Did he hurt you?”
I swear to Christ if he harmed a single hair on her pretty head, I’m going to break his face.
Piper exhales, chest heaving. “It’s not what you think.”
“That’s probably a good thing.” I glare at the asshole, who has the good sense to keep his mouth shut. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, darlin’?”
“I—” She clasps her hands together and when her eyes meet mine, a silent apology passes between us. Whatever she has to say, I’m not going to like it. “Mike is a TA in the education department and he found out about my Fangirl channel and he’s been blackmailing me all year.”
The words come out in a rush and I’m sure I’ve misheard because. What. The. Actual. Fuck?
“You wanna run that by me again?” I shift my weight, widening my stance. “Because I thought you just said this asshole is blackmailing you.”
She ducks her head. “You…heard right.”
“And this has been going on for months?”
Why would she hide something like this from me?
For the same reason she hid her Fangirl channel.
Dammit. She still doesn’t trust me.
That, or she thought she needed to handle it on her own.
Whatever the reason, being shut out leaves a sour taste in my mouth. But even worse is the knowledge that this asshole took advantage of her. He’s a TA, for fuck’s sake. He knew exactly how she’d react if he threatened her with exposure, and he leveraged his position of authority to get her under his thumb.
Blood rushes through my ears, a frantic hum I can’t ignore.
My fingers curl and I force out a breath.
I need to stay calm. The last thing Piper or I need is a scene. There are too many people around. Too many prying eyes.
Too many witnesses.
