Page 69 of Veil of Lies

“Yeah, I will. I bet they do fuck all though. The dean already wants me gone. If I give him evidence of a security breech, he’ll probably use it as an excuse to toss me to the curb like week-old trash.”

We both jumped at the sound of hysterical shrieking. “Oh, I don’t think Cassie wants to do her civic duty,” Tessa smirked. “Can’t understand why….”

I smiled but honestly, what Cassie wanted was not on my radar. She probably cheered while whoever did this wreaked havoc in my room.

Harley reappeared a few moments later with a visible red handprint on his cheek. His expression was grim. “Cassie says she heard nothing and saw nobody.”

“And you believe her?” Tessa asked in disbelief.

Harley shrugged. “She might have slept through it. Short of subjecting her to a polygraph, I guess we’ll never know. But that’s for another day. Right now, I’m taking you back to our apartment.”

I backed away but he pulled me into his arms anyway. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.”

Tessa looked amused as her eyes flicked between us.

“What’s the hard way?” I had to ask.

“I’ll throw you over my shoulder and spank your ass when we get back.”

As upset as I was right now, I couldn’t help the twinge of need that shot through me at his words. Fifty Shades had done nothing for me, but the thought of Harley spanking me while I lay over his knee was all kinds of hot.

“Yeah…on that note, I’m outta here. I don’t need to hear about your kinky sex life Harley Jackson,” Tess smirked. Then her amusement faded. “Go with him, babe. I don’t like the idea of you being alone in this room.” She reached out and took my hand. “If you don’t want to be abducted by this poster boy for toxic masculinity, at least come and sleep in my apartment?”

Harley rolled his eyes at her comment but stayed quiet. I appreciated he was letting me choose, despite his threat.

“Thanks, Tess, I appreciate your offer, but I’ll go with Fred Flintstone. His apartment is probably safer.”

Tess pulled me close for another hug. “Please report this,” she murmured in my ear. “Text me later, too.”

“I will,” I promised.

Chapter 56

Stella

Three days on from the story that blew my privacy out of the water and people were still staring at me wherever I went. I tried to ignore them for the most part, but it wasn’t always easy. The insidious whispers, veiled threats, and pitying looks ground me down. I was used to projecting a hard outer shell to the world, pretending I didn’t care. It was a means of protection. Of keeping other people at arm’s length.

But it wasn’t working so well for me this time. Coming here had changed me. Against my better judgment, I’d made friends. Harley was my shadow most days. We had no classes in common, but he usually met me after class. Quinn had taken to studying with me in the library every evening, and even Brax sometimes joined us for lunch. The three of them formed a protective guard, keeping the poisonous comments and outright hostility at bay.

Tessa was also proving to be a loyal friend. She didn’t care what my father had done. Every time someone said something in her presence, she shot them down and I loved her for it.

It was mid-afternoon and my economics lecturer was droning on. Professor Chan knew his shit but boy, he was boring. The guy made watching paint dry look like an interesting activity. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t concentrate on what he was telling us.

I caught him frowning at me a couple of times when it was obvious my attention was miles away, but he chose not to single me out. For which I was thankful.

The faculty had mostly been sympathetic to my plight. I guessed none of them had lost their life savings thanks to my father.

When students said shit to me in class, my teachers shut them down pretty quickly. It enabled me to concentrate on my work and forget about the things happening outside of class. I couldn’t afford to fall behind.

The dean had warned me if that happened, I’d be kicked off my course and asked to leave. Not even threats from Harley’s father would help me if I failed to achieve the rigorous academic standards expected from students on my course.

I wasn’t an idiot. The dean was looking for any excuse to remove me from campus. Having a press pack camping outside the main gate was causing him a massive headache. Whatever Harley’s father had said to persuade him to let me stay only went so far.

If I messed up, I was out. No second chances.

For that reason, I was making damn sure I studied hard, even if my head was a mess most of the time.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a message from Dad’s lawyer.

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