Page 80 of InfraRed

“You lied to me.” I try to sound angry, but it comes outwhispered and pathetic. Then I realize we’re in the lobby and people are staring. They whisper behind their hands, point, some snickering, and my already rapid heartbeat feels like thunder during a hurricane. My eyes dart around at the audience we’ve acquired as my throat closes. A couple of people even have their phones out.

Nausea roils through me, threatening to bring me to my knees. Air struggles to reach my lungs as the room spins.

Firm hands grip me, pulling me somewhere despite no conscious thought telling my feet to move. Vague awareness of a door slamming hits my ears, then my face is gripped tightly. Instructions to breathe swirl around me. The voice is stern yet comforting, yet… My damp lashes lift and the tight muscles of his face relax as his relieved exhale hits my face.

As my panic recedes, awareness pulses through me. “You bought this place so Miss Dumond would take me. I was never… I didn’t earn…” The words keep getting stuck no matter how hard I try, and more tears—tears of frustration that I’m letting my emotions get the best of me—fall down my face. “It was all lies. I was right all along.”

“No, Casey, that’s not what happened.” He tilts my lowered chin, forcing me to look at him. “I bought this place so she would audition you. She accepted you because you earned it.”

“I-I don’t believe you.” I swipe my wet cheeks. “It never made sense to me, but I get it now. She took me—praised me—to make sure you kept signing checks.”

“No, baby.” He reaches for me, and I duck under his arm, heading for the door.

The sound that erupts through the room is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. It can only be described as pure fury. It wraps around me, freezing my steps just as I reach the door. Thenext thing I know, I’m pressed against the wall with fingers digging into my jaw, but despite the wrath radiating from him in palpable waves, his grip isn’t painful, only firm.

His other arm braces on the wall next to my head as he leans down, his warm, minty breath tickling my face. “You can be angry, hurt, upset… I don’t give a fuck. Yell at me. Hit me. Butneverdeny me your touch.” He releases my face and grabs my hand. Kisses feather along my knuckles before he presses it against his chest, right over his heart. “And don’t pull away from me. Please. We can’t work through anything if you pull away from me.” His knuckles stroke my cheek softly, and I want to melt into him.

But I don’t. I can’t.

“You lied to me. Both of you. You’ve been paying her to keep me around.” It is a well-known fact Miss Dumond doesn’t accept anyone into her advanced classes if she doesn’t see potential. I suppose you can see anything if the price is right.

“Casey, I made an offer to buy into her school if sheauditionedyou. That’s it.”

“Why? Why did you do any of it? If you thought I was good enough, then why? Why did you lie?”

“I told you—I keep telling you, I may not have been around, but I was still watching you. Casey, I stayed out of your sight, but I was never as far as it seemed. And I had Jagger keeping me informed, remember? He told me how withdrawn you were when no one would audition you after the accident. So I researched. I found Dumond, made an offer, and ensured Jagger got you there, but I did not buy your way in.”

“It’s true, Casey.” I look to my left and see Miss Dumond. “He only asked for an audition, and I told him that wasallI could offer.”

“Sure,” I scoff, “because a guaranteed influx of massive capital wouldn’t entice you to keep me around. I’m your access to unlimited funds. You can sacrifice one little spot if it keeps the doors open, right?”

“Goddammit, Casey.” Graham’s fist slams against the wall beside me, making Miss Dumond and I jump. “Get that fucking bitch’s voice out of your head because every goddamn thing out of your mouth right now sounds like her. She was wrong. She was always wrong. You need to see that.” He steps back, scrubbing both hands over his face, muttering something unintelligible. “The contract was signed before you auditioned. I get twenty-five percent of any profit and your audition. You had to get in on your own ability, and I haven’t given a single damn penny since. Do you want to see the contract? My bank statements? Is that what it will take for you to believe me—usthat you are good enough?”

“Casey, sweetheart, you have always been immeasurably talented. The only thing that has ever held you back is you.”

I blink and a single tear falls. “But you still lied to me.”

“I’ll let you finish here,” Miss Dumond says. “I just wanted to let Casey know Lola and Mena are no longer part of this school. Poppy told me what happened. I don’t allow the mean girl mentality from my middle school girls. It certainly won’t be tolerated by grown women.”

Graham’s head snaps to Miss Dumon, then back to me. “What happened? Miss Dumond smiles meekly as she leaves the room. I don’t blame her. “Tell me what happened,” he demands.

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the fact you lied to me.”

“Fine. I’ll shelf that for now, but you will tell me later.” He rolls his head around his shoulder, then cages me between both arms. “I didn’t lie about this, Case, but I didn’t tell you because I knewthis would happen.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” I whisper.

“Why? It’s no different from you lying to Liam for twenty years.” Any argument I have dies on my tongue and my jaw snaps shut. “I won’t apologize for keeping things from you, and I will continue to do so. I have lied, and I will lie again. My job—the only job that has ever mattered to me is protecting you from anyone and anything that will hurt you. Including yourself.”

He cups my face, and I finally give in, leaning into his touch. “If you only ever believe one thing, then believe this: I love you so goddamn much that there is nothing I won’t do to keep you safe and happy. Laws are meaningless if it means protecting you. Wars are mild compared to the carnage I will inflict on anyone who touches you. Your happiness is all I care about.”

I bite my lip as my eyes shut. Breathing in deeply, I try to force all the negativity away and focus on him. On his words. On his belief in me. I open my eyes with a small, teasing smile. “That’s a little excessive for one girl.”

His lips whisper over mine. “That doesn’t begin to cover what I will do formygirl.” He kisses me, lips pressing soft and gentle to mine. It’s sweet and perfect, weakens my knees, and ends much too soon. “Let’s get out of here.”

I loop my arms around his neck and kiss his scratchy chin. “Actually, it’s girls’ night, so you’ll have to find some other way to occupy your time.”

He squeezes me tight. “Baby, you can call them right now and tell them you can’t make it, or I will because the only place you’re going tonight is home with me.”

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