Page 111 of Under the Lies

He smirks in answer.

My fists clench tighter “You made me miss my lunch with Brin!”

He keeps his smirk. “You’re welcome.”

Momentarily, my anger washes away, replaced with confusion as I stare at him and his smugness. “Excuse me?”

“You. Are. Welcome.” He punctuates each period harder than the last.

“Noah, if you don’t stop being vague-mystery guy I am going to—”

“There was suspicious activity around your car while you were in class. Thea went to go check it out and noticed something strapped underneath it.”

Air leaves my chest.

He stands from his desk, walking toward me.

“Wh—what?” I whisper, unable to process much of what he said, only that it’s left me cold. Numb. So numb, I barely feel his thumb brushing my cheekbone.

Jerking away from his touch, I demand an explanation.

“Will a video do?” he responds.

He has a video?

I nod, making a hand motion for him to hand it over. He doesn’t, instead, he holds the phone in front of me.

I press the play button.

In black and white images, a person with a hood pulled over their head glances around the parking lot before dropping to the ground and crawls under my car.

The video feed doesn’t show what happens underneath, but after a few minutes, they crawl out and walk away.

Oh my God.

“We thought it was a bomb,” he says, returning his phone to his pocket. “Turns out he only cut the brakes.”

My eyes widen. “Only?”

“Compared to an explosive, yes.”

So many thoughts float in my head. Wrapping my arms around my waist, I look to find his face blank. “Did you catch him?”

He shakes his head. “We’re working on it.”

I nod, but it does nothing to reassure me. Why me? What did I do to bring this on? According to Noah, nothing. But cutting my brakes doesn’t feel like nothing.

“They’re not going to touch you,” he growls, protectiveness creeping in.

“But if they do?” I can’t help but worry.

“They won’t,” he vows. A promise as strong as a contract, as the mountain ridges.

“Noah—”

“When are you going to realize that you’re mine?” He pulls on my hair, voice husky. “That no one is going to touch you.”

“Around the same time you realize I’m not a pet to be owned.”

---