Page 52 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

“Am I going to be arrested for owning that gun?”

His voice floated into the hall, the hint of panic tainting it. She couldn’t believe it had been his property that had killed so many, that had been used to try to kill him. What must he be feeling about that? She wished she had a glimpse into his head so bad right then, because it was a complete mystery to her.

“No. You won’t be arrested or charged as an accessory or anything. By your wounds, I’d say it’s fairly obvious you didn’t willingly let him have your gun. Thank you for your time, Mr. Abbott.” There was a pause and shuffling of feet before the officer added, “Hope you get better soon.”

A second later, the policemen strolled through the opened doorway and walked right past Tess without noticing her. Scrambling to her feet, she popped into Jonah’s room before she realized his coach was still inside. Jerking to a halt in the entrance, she watched Coach Whitely’s back stiffen as Jonah glanced warily up at him.

“For bringing a firearm onto campus, which directly led to the death of twelve of our students, I came to let you know you’re off the team, the university is revoking your scholarship, and you are hereby expelled from Granton University permanently.”

His dark eyes bright with a ring of red around them, Jonah stared at his coach for a moment before lowering his gaze. “I understand.” He sounded so gruff and broken that Tess’s chest tightened with sympathy even as her heart broke from all the lies he’d told her this past week.

The coach turned on his heel, only to pull up short when he caught sight of Tess in the doorway. “And thank you, young lady, for telling us exactly where we could find Mr. Abbott. The police had just contacted me about him right before you showed up.”

Jonah jerked his head up to pierce her with a look full of shock and betrayal.

Face flooding with color, she shook her head, horror filling her veins. “But I didn’t—”

Coach Whitely strode right past her and was gone as quickly as the police officers had disappeared. Frozen to the core, she risked a wide-eyed glance at Jonah.

“You told them how to find me?” His voice was low and full of accusation.

She closed her eyes for a brief second before she turned the tables and countered, “You have your memory back?”

He ground his jaw and lifted his chin. His hard gaze dared her to contradict him. “Yeah. I do.”

Pressing her lips together hard to keep her jaw from trembling with unfulfilled tears, she choked out, “Since when?”

“Since I woke up from a nap right before the second time you visited me. It all came back,” he snapped his fingers, “just like that.”

“Just like that, hmm?” Fury, betrayal, and pain as she’d never imagined before whiplashed through her. Storming to his bedside, she growled, “How dare you?”

Winding back her hand, she slapped him hard across the cheek, making him jerk his face to the side. The immediate mark in the shape of her palm that remained looked extra red against the white of his hospital sheets, reminding her why he was there and what he’d been through.

Gasping when she realized what she’d just done, she covered her mouth with her hand.

He rotated his jaw, touched his cheek briefly, and slowly looked up at her. “How dare I?” he said in a low voice, his eyes flaring with anger. “How dare you? You started this, Contessa. The first words out of your mouth when you stepped into this room were a fucking lie.”

“Wha…” She clutched her stomach at his brutal tone. “Okay, fine. I started the first lie. I will admit that. But why didn’t you say something to contradict me as soon as you knew?”

“Are you crazy?” he growled. “Some girl I didn’t know was coming into my room and claiming to be my girlfriend. Trying to get close to me. I had to find out what your ulterior motive was.”

“Ulterior motive?” Instantly shaking her head, she said, “But I didn’t have any—”

“Stop lying already!” Breathing hard after his shout, he shook his head. “I knew who you were. I’d seen you before. With her, with Einstein’s little protector.”

Tess frowned in confusion before it hit her. “Paige? But…but what does she have to do with anything?”

“There’s only one thing you could want from me. Revenge.”

This made no sense. He was making no sense. Tess shook her head some more. “I don’t understand. Revenge for what? I didn’t even know who you were before I walked into this room.”

“Oh, please. You can drop the innocent act. I can guess exactly why you’ve been lying to me this entire time. I know what you’re thinking, that it’s my fault all those people were shot and killed. I’m the big bad bully who pushed Einstein over the edge, I provided him with the fucking weapon to do it, and you wanted to see me pay for that.”

“That’s ridiculous.” She stomped her foot and glared at him. “I didn’t even know you were the one who led the bullying against him until today. And I sure as hell didn’t know about the gun until just now.”

He looked up at the ceiling and gave a hard laugh. “Well, please excuse me while I don’t believe you. Your track record with honesty isn’t exactly stellar in my book.”

“Oh my God!” She threw her hands into the air, still just as confused and frustrated and enraged and hurt as ever. “I’ve never done anything to hurt you, Jonah.”

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