Page 96 of Rear View
“Ah.” He swiveled his chair to face me and folded his hands over his stomach. “The one interfering with her work.”
I cocked a slow brow, took another step deeper and stretched my neck. “’Scuse me?”
He cleared his throat. “She’s at a critical stage of her education and can’t afford your interruptions.”
Pretty sure she was smart enough to sort that for herself, which meant the laugh I huffed was dark as hell and just as dangerous. “That so?”
“Yes. Your presence has become problematic for her.”
Guy was used to having control—to the title stuck on his door getting him his way. It was written all over him. Too bad for Barlowe, I’d grown up with Peter Bosch as a father, so I wasn’t about that shit. “Pretty sure you’re crossin’ some kinda line right now, boss.” I clenched my fists so hard, the skin creaked. “And I ain’t one of your students, yeah. So, I suggest you step off.”
His jaw ticked. He looked away.
I rolled my shoulders. “You seen Ryah or not?”
“No.”
“That’s all I needed.” I pivoted on my heel and left. Pulling out my phone, I shook off Professor Shithead and fired off a text.
Me: You heard from your sister today?
The response came quick.
Miles: Yeah. She texted about 20 minutes ago. Just got home. Why? Everything cool?
Just got home? The hell was going on? I was supposed to get her. Take her driving. Yeah, the weather’d been an obstacle, but still. Had I messed that up? I scrolled back, scanning our messages from the night before. Nope. I’d gotten it right.
Me: I’ll let ya know.
I made for my Jeep and dialed her again. It rang and rang. Nothing.
Hadsheforgot? Didn’t seem like something she’d do, but nothing else was making sense. When I hopped in my vehicle, I popped it in gear and fought not to speed when I drove my ass over to her apartment.
* * *
Pulling into Ryah’s lot, I parked, jumped out, and hit the code for her apartment. The security lock clicked free. I took the stairs to the second floor two at a time, then stopped at her door and knocked.
A shuffling sounded from the other side. The entrance cracked open, and Ryah appeared. Her copper eyes were bloodshot and red around their edges. They lifted and held for a beat before she looked away.
I set a hand on the frame and peered past her, but no one was around. “What’s going on, darlin’? I waited for you at your school. You weren’t answerin’ my calls or texts.”
Shaking her head, she stepped back and sniffed.
I furrowed my brow as that earlier knot in my guttwisted tighter. I caught the door and crossed inside, completely lost. “I’m missing somethin’, Ryah.”
She faced away, her small hands on the counter like she needed the support, and answered, “You know what happened, Xavier.” Her soft voice hitched. “You were a part of it.”
My heart damn well dropped, ’cause the sight of her back near gutted me. I closed in, my palms landing on the counter beside hers when I pressed myself flush against her. She was hurting bad, and—fuck me—the pain in my chest made it tough to breathe. “What’s wrong?”Christ. Just tell me what’s wrong.
She slipped outta my hold and edged away. “Please tell me you’re joking?”
The shake of my head was sharp. “Not even a little.”
Aiming for the living room, she scooped some papers from the coffee table there, then shuffled back to the kitchen and set them in front of me.
My stare narrowed as it held hers, only releasing to peer down at those pages. TheNSMarticle. I scanned the photo of me and Alec before my attention flicked to the headline. The more I read, the more pissed I got.
Single In Sport: How Two Bachelor Racers Are Changing The Face Of Rally And Flocking
