Page 52 of Ruthless Rose

I don’t know if he was going to say anything else because the door bangs open and Micah comes into view.

“Over here, Big Man.”

Micah’s head swivels toward Max’s voice, a scowl on his face when he hears him. The scowl deepens when he sees Max holding me. Micah covers the distance between us at lightning speed. “What the fuck is going on? Why won’t you talk to me?”

I put a hand up. “I’ll tell you.”

Max releases me and pokes a finger into Micah’s chest, drawing his attention. “If you need help kicking anyone’s ass, just let me know.” And then to me, “Daph, I’ll be inside if you need me.” The door slams behind him as he returns to the lunchroom.

Micah stares at me for several seconds, his eyes quietly assessing me.

I suck in a breath and when he reaches for me, I move directly into his embrace, my arms encircling his waist, even with everything Farrah had said still swirling around in my head.

There’s no way this Micah and the Micah she’d described are the same person.

Nothing she said matches up with the guy holding me tightly, comforting me. This Micah cares about me. I feel it in the way he touches me, in the way he looks at me.

I tuck my face against his chest and mumble, “It was Shayne and Carter. Mostly Shayne. Carter just laughed and made some comments.”

“And what did Shayne do to you?” It sounds like the question is being dragged over gravel as it leaves his lips.

“He grabbed me and held me. They were laughing about the day I fell in the hall and—”

“And what?” His voice comes out deadly soft. His muscles go rigid everywhere his body is in contact with mine.

“They were just being guys, I guess.”

“No. Don’t give them a pass. ‘Being a guy’ is no excuse for fucked up behavior.”

“He—Shayne—lifted my skirt. Like he was going to show them what I was wearing … underneath.”

Micah cups the back of my head with his hand, smoothing it over the hair. His touch is gentle, which is in direct opposition to the rough demand of his voice. “Tell me who else was there.”

“Derek. But he told them to stop messing with me. He told them to let me go.”

His chest rises and falls several times before he says anything. “I’ll fucking take care of it. They won’t ever bother you again.”

I’m surprised to find his body trembling against mine. Big, strong, capable Micah is shaking.

One of his hands dives into his pocket, coming up with his phone. His thumb flies over the screen, quickly tapping. “Done.”

I stare up at his face, mesmerized by the hard set of his jaw. “Huh?”

“It’s taken care of.”

“What do you mean?”

“Xander and Beau are relaying to Shayne and Carter that they aren’t to touch you, speak to you, or even look at you ever again.” He growls, “They’ll be lucky if I don’t fuck them up at the first opportunity.” He backs up until he can lean against the building and pulls me snugly to him. “Now, do you want to tell me what you were doing in the locker room in the first place?”

“Oh.” I take a deep breath. I close one eye and squint up at him with the other. “I’m your spirit girl?” It comes out like a question. I’m mildly astonished at my own words because the idea of it is still so bizarre to me.

“You’re fucking kidding me.” I feel the rough chuckle reverberate through his chest. “That was you? The drawings and the cookies and the candy?”

I nod, peeking up at him again. “Yep.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I laugh. “Are you joking? When they first asked me to tutor you, you weren’t exactly friendly. And I was terrified that if you found out they wanted me to take Jana’s place that you’d say you didn’t want me to do that, either.” I shrug. Then more quietly, I add, “And I need it for my college applications.”

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