A muscle beside my eye twitches.When have we done any of those things?

“You know,” she throws at me, “I was hurt yesterday, and all you could think of was shoving your cock in my mouth. That’s not exactly caring, is it? And then I go back to my room, and Lex makes out like he’s going to take care of me, and all he wants to do is fuck me in the shower.”

“What the fuck, Vani?” Lex exclaims. “You were into it.”

“Was I into it when I was crying?” She spins toward me, her eyes shimmering behind a pool of tears. “Was I into it when I couldn’t breathe, and I was on my knees in the dirt?”

My jaw drops open. Is she seriously accusing us of what I think she is?

I sign,Fuck you, Venom.

“He says fuck you,” Lex translates, “and actually, you can take a ‘fuck you’ from both of us, too. Don’t even make accusations like that unless you plan on backing them up.”

Tears stream down her face, and she shakes her head. “I was just trying to say you’re hardly caring people, are you? The only reason you’re into me is for the sex.”

This hasn’t gone the way I’d hoped it would at all. I reach for her, but she shrugs me off.

“Like I said, all I want is some fucking space. I need you to leave me alone. All of you. No more intimidating me in class, no more dragging me away from my friends in front of everyone.”

A low growl rumbles from Saint’s throat. “No. You’re ours.”

I wish I had my voice so I could say the same.

But she shakes her head. “The only person I belong to is myself.”

CHAPTER 13

Vani

I run away from them,barely able to see through my tears.

How does everything keep going so horribly wrong? I hadn’t meant for it to sound as though they’d sexually assaulted me. I’d just wanted them to see that there are ways of treating a girl, and getting her on her knees in the dirt just after she’d been injured in a crash isn’t exactly loving.

Not that they love me. They barely know me, and I barely know them.

So why the hell does this hurt so much?

I push through the doors, back into the building.

I’m not even sure where I’m heading. If I go to my room, they’re bound to follow me up there. I can’t even jump on my bike because I still haven’t checked out what state it’s in after the crash. I realize something else. I don’t know what happened to the keys. The guys used a truck to get it back here, so the keys might have fallen out on the road where I crashed.

I allow myself a moment to see how I feel about the possibility of riding again. Does it spike fear through me? What if I’m traumatized by the accident and I can never face getting back on my bike again? The thought of having a panic attack every time I tried is worse than the crash itself. I wouldn’t knowwho I was without my bike. It’s part of my identity. I literally grew up on the back of a Harley.

“Ivani?”

A male voice stops me in my tracks, and I buff away at my tears with the heel of my hand. It’s Dean Rossi. Great. This is just what I need…not.

I clear my throat and come to a halt. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since I ran out of his office last night. He was always bound to want to see me, especially after the crash.

“Hello, sir.”

“I think we need to talk. Can you follow me to my office?”

I want to throw my head back and scream, but I don’t. Instead, I push it down and remain silent and follow him along the imposing hallways, toward his office. I remember how he caught me trying to put back Reagan’s file and cringe inside. That was probably one of the most humiliating moments of my life, and then to find out Reagan was dead, and how she died, only moments after…it’s hardly surprising the night ended the way it did.

I follow him into the office. He goes to his desk and sits. “Shut the door, please.”

I do, and then take a seat opposite him.