Page 75 of Claiming Pretty

Sighing, I handed the books back to him.

His grin widened like a cat who’d just stolen cream.

“You’re both not seriously planning to sit in on class with me, are you?” I asked as we descended the stairs.

Neither of them answered. Ty walked in front, Ciaran behind me, like they were trained for some sort of protective detail.

The idea seemed absurd—until we stepped outside, and they flanked me, Ty on my left, Ciaran on my right.

They moved seamlessly, too seamlessly, their eyes darting toward the towering oaks lining the path like they expected a sniper to jump out of the branches.

“There’s no way this is going to work,” I muttered, glancing between their ridiculously sculpted profiles.

“What do you mean?” Ciaran asked, feigning innocence.

I didn’t even need to answer. A passing redheaded senior threw me the nastiest side-eye, her gaze flickering to the boys on either side of me like they were gods descended from Olympus and I was… me.

“That,” I said, thumbing over my shoulder.

Ty and Ciaran exchanged a look above my head, something silent and conspiratorial that made me want to scream.

“We didn’t see any threat,” Ty said flatly.

“Threat?” I barked. “That wasn’t a threat! That was toxic clique warfare.”

Another group of girls on a nearby bench openly gawked at them before turning their sharp eyes to me. They whispered behind their hands as we passed them, their voices trailing after us. My back prickled as if they’d shot daggers at me with their stares.

“You didn’t see that?” I demanded, waving a hand back toward them.

The twins traded glances again, shrugged in unison, and kept walking.

Lord help me. These men were clueless about the effect they had on the world around them.

“You’re drawing too much attention,” I hissed. “How am I supposed to sneak around campus and investigate the Darkmoor Alumni with two overgrown rottweilers at my shoulders?”

Ciaran grinned, a mischievous dimple appearing on his cheek, and I could practically hear the collective sigh of the girls on campus.

Ty, on the other hand, glared at anyone who dared look our way. His scowl didn’t make him any less hot. If anything, it made him look even more attractive in that ‘bad boy gonna eat you up and leave no crumbs’ kinda way.

Lisa was right. “Under the radar” wasn’t an option.

By the time we reached the quad, I could feel eyesburning into me from every angle. The closer we got to the main college buildings, the louder the whispers grew.

“I can’t be guarded by you two all the time,” I argued. “We’ll get nowhere.”

“This very campus is involved with the Sochai who want you dead,” Ty said, his head swiveling as though expecting an ambush.

I couldn’t really argue withthat.

“So we aren’t leaving your side,” Ciaran said as he slung an arm around my shoulders.

A nearby campus loudspeaker crackled to life.

“Ava McKinsey,” came the tinny voice. “Ms. Ava McKinsey, please report immediately to the dean’s office.”

If the twins on either side of me hadn’t already drawn enough attention, this announcement sealed the deal. The entire quad seemed to pause, heads turning, whispers surging like a wave.

I repressed a shiver as my mind flashed to the faces of the men we’d spent most of last night investigating: Cormac Foley Senior. Dean McCarthy. Commissioner O’Neill.

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