Page 12 of The Queen's Knights

“That Dr. Brennan was attacked. Sexually assaulted. Then one of them said something I’d rather not repeat, and that’s when I lost my shit.”

He utters a soft curse and shakes his head. He reaches for a sterile wipe and grips my jaw, dabbing the alcohol-infused cloth to my split lip. I wince, but look into his eyes.

“Is it true? Did someone attack her? They said that’s why you’re here. You’re not just her TA, are you?” It’s a dumb question, considering what I know, but he doesn’t need to know what I know.

“It’s no one’s business. You shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

“It’s a little late for that. Tell me I didn’t get a black eye and probably some broken ribs for nothing.”

He gives a wry smirk. “They deserved it. Let me take a look at your ribs, see what the damage is.”

“Are you a doctor? Maybe I’d rather keep my shirt on.”

“Former Navy medic. You’ll at least want to ice it, if not wrap it soon. You’re on the swim team, right? It’s going to slow you down as it is, but will for a lot longer if you don’t take care of it.”

“Fine.” I relent and start unbuttoning my shirt while he heads to the freezer and grabs an ice pack. I thought he was prepared with a hair tie the other night, but I had no idea.

I slip out of my shirt and hold it up to inspect the damage. Maybe I can get it repaired, or just survive without an extra dress shirt. Most of the students at this university are upper-class spoiled brats who didn’t get the grades for Ivy League, but I’m on scholarship, so I don’t exactly have a lot of spare cash to throw around.

When I drop the shirt to my lap, Percy freezes a few feet away, staring at me in shock. Or rather, at my upper arms—my tattoos.

“Ah, fuck,” I mutter.

“Percy?” comes a familiar female voice from the hallway, then the door opens behind me and my spine tingles at Dr. Brennan’s very presence. She’s breathless, her tone agitated, on the verge of panicked. “Percy! Chloe just called. She says there was a security breach at the club Saturday night. Did you notice anything off? We need to go back out there this afternoon and watch the security footage. What if he was there? What if he got through and came after me?”

I don’t dare turn around. Instead I watch Percy look from me to her, then back to me. I know the moment she registers my presence and sees my back. I won’t get up, because I’m pretty sure Percy would put me back down, and not in a nice way, so I just turn, and the absolute fear in Dr. Brennan’s eyes breaks my heart.

“Oh god. Oh god, no. It was you.”

ChapterNine

Gwen

My stomach drops when I see the top half of a tattoo I recognize on the back of the man in the chair. I freeze, staring at Percy in disbelief.

“Please, no. Please tell me it wasn’t him.”

Percy squares his shoulders and closes the distance to me, shootinghima warning glance as he passes. The man in the chair looks worried when he turns his head, and he should.

When Percy reaches me, he grips both my shoulders and looks into my eyes. “Gwen, it wasn’t him. He’s not the man who attacked you.”

“H-How do you know?”

He huffs a breath through his nose and glances back at the other man. “Believe it or not, this guy got that bloody nose by defending your honor. He seems to like winding up on his back.”

I stare at the bruised and bloody face, distorted by the cotton stretching both his nostrils. He’s still craned around to watch, eyes wide like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. Some of the coiled tension in me eases. Cautiously I walk around the chair to face him.

My subject.

Mystudent.

“You’re Lance Lacosta from my Intro to Women’s and Gender Studies class. You always sit in the back of class with those other…boys.”

“They aren’t my friends, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he says.

“Did they do this to you?” I’ve endured the leering looks of those particular students all semester, but Lance has always stood apart. It’s a relief to know he doesn’t associate with them.

He nods, and I wince as I take in the split lip and darkening bruises spreading beneath his eyes. One side of his well-muscled torso is red and beginning to purple.

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