Page 125 of Shadowface

“Just ignore him,” I tell her. “I’ll take care of him.”

Dani frowns and runs her hand over my arm. “Be careful with him, Summer. He’s not a good guy.”

After one final grimace at Xander, she struts toward the main part of campus.

Emphasize the strut.

I wait for her to disappear before I gather myself and walk over to where Xander is waiting for me. He knows everything about me, he must…and now, I’m thinking he knows a lot about Dani, too.

He’s leaning against a tree with his arms crossed when I approach.

“What do you want?” I snap at him. “I don’t appreciate you staring at us.”

He smirks. “I thought you like being watched; I heard it’s your thing.”

I can’t help but notice the flex in his jaw or the way the vein pops out of his neck. His hands are so massive, they could squish me like a bug. The thought of him squishing Dani is even more terrifying.

I cross my arms and keep a steady distance. “Stay away from my friend.”

His jaw ticks as his dark gaze drifts to where Dani just walked off to. “Sure, but I don’t think your friend wants to stay away from me.”

“She does, I assure you.”

His dark eyes flicker. “Is that why I found her hiding in my room with barely any clothes on?”

My mouth slinks open. “She was looking for me, and her choice of clothing doesn’t give you the right to stick your tongue down her throat. Was this before or after you held me down?”

He leans his shoulder on the giant elm and chomps on that damn lip. “Is that what she told you happened? I guess you wouldn’t believe it if I told you that she kissed me, would you?”

I don’t bother answering because absolutely nothing would surprise me anymore. “You know who she is, don’t you?” I ask him carefully. “Your family put an innocent man in prison.”

His jaw ticks. “All I know is he’s a convicted criminal and did very bad things to good people.”

“Bullshit,” I snap at him. “You were protecting someone in your group. Lincoln told me everything; I know exactly what you are. I’m not letting you anywhere near my friend, so go away.”

He tilts his head. “I actually came here to talk to you. I’m trying to help you.”

I place my hand on my hip. “What do you possibly want to talk to me about?”

He sneers. “I don’t like you, Summer.”

I bark out a laugh. “I don’t like you, either, Xander. Is that all?”

He crosses his arms. “But I do care about Lincoln, and I think you do, too.”

I blink at him and shoot him a dead stare as I lean against the tree next to him, mirroring his cocky body language. “Of course I care about Lincoln.”

His eyes darken. “Well, he doesn’t give a fuck about you, and I think you know why.”

I shake my head. “You’re wrong about him. He does care about me, he loves me.”

He has to love me… Xander isn’t with us at night. He doesn’t see how soft Lincoln is. How complex, kind, focused and caring he is. I don’t believe he’s soulless.

Xander’s blue eyes sparkle beneath his hood. “Mikael’s the one who’s obsessed with you. If you let him out, Lincoln will get put in the psych ward. My grandmother won’t let him walk free.” There it is… Mikael. It always comes back to Mikael, doesn’t it?

My breath grows heavy, my body listless at the mention of his name. I pause for a moment before I say, “Mikael’s already here, Xander. He’s always in the background. How do you not see that?”

He shakes his head as if he was looking for my confirmation of what he already knew.