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“And my ignoring them was somehow need to know info for you?” I snapped back as I wedged a notebook in my bag and spun around to face him. An action I instantly regretted when faced with his immense chest.

“Yes,” he answered bluntly not adding anything to make his response less creepy.

“Yes? That’s it? Why would you need to know that?” I tilted my head back so I could see his face, hoping he’d take the hint and step back, but no. He stayed firmly in place, my open locker door blocking me on one side and his body blocking everything else. I could hear other students walking the halls and locker doors slamming, but I couldn’t see a thing around the massive body in front of me.

“I was a little abrupt with you yesterday. Caleb feels like I might have frightened you,” Dominic replied slowly, his jaw tightening at the admission.

“You didn’t,” I denied instantly, even though he technically had for like a split second when he’d first grabbed me. I wasn’t about to admit that though, not even under threat of tickle torture. Showing any type of fear or weakness around Dominic seemed like a foolish idea, and I liked to believe I was smarter than that. “I just don’t like hanging around bullies. Especially weird ones with secrets,” I finished bitingly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to go to class and you wouldn’t want to be found granting me preferential treatment, now would you?”

I stood tall, forcing myself not to fidget as I waited for him to move. I wasn’t about to beg him to move and there was no way I was getting around him unless I wanted to duck between his legs and that had bad idea written all over it.

He shifted an inch to left, giving me the world’s narrowest opening to escape, but I took it without a qualm, brushing past him. I thought I was home free until his hand wrapped around my arm, his fingers settling unerringly over the bruises he’d put on my arm.

His touch was gentle enough that I didn’t even feel pain from the bruise, but his face said he knew they were there.

“Don’t walk home alone. Stay away from High Valley,” he warned cryptically, releasing my arm and I hightailed it down the hall, wondering where the hell Dad had moved us.

Chapter Five

It had been two weeks since the day I’d sat at the Pack table, and things had returned to normal or whatever version of normal my life had become since I’d moved to Banks, Idaho to stay with Dad. He’d bought me a phone, but Mom hadn’t called or responded to the text Dad insisted I send her with my new number. He’d wanted me to call her but I put my foot down on that. If she wanted to talk, then she had to be the one to call. And considering our last conversation, it would be a cold day in hell before it happened.

I sat with Leah and her friends at lunch, enduring endless questions about Coach Dom and the Pack before finally refusing to answer anymore. After my refusal to gossip about the Pack, I thought they’d ignore me, but they didn’t. I didn’t contribute much to their conversations, but they tried to include me. Between school and my new maid gig, I didn’t find much time to go anywhere. I did manage to look up High Valley on my phone though and found out it was another small-town north of here. Why Dominic didn’t want me going there was still a mystery, like so many other things revolving around them, but I also hadn’t made a trip there in some ridiculous fit of rebellion.

I was too exhausted.

Being a motel housekeeper was surprisingly tiring and early morning wakeup calls from the construction crew Dad had hired to remodel the manager’s living quarters didn’t help. He wanted me to be happy and the crappy little motel room wasn’t cutting it. I couldn’t wait till the small apartment was finished, if for nothing else to sleep in the new bed. I could even forgive the fact that my college fund was slowly dwindling away with every new improvement Dad made. There was a steady stream of guests, enough to keep the place in the black according to Dad, and a few of them were actually respectable. Fishermen from out of town, and some visitors to the town. We were the only motel in a hundred-mile radius so that didn’t hurt things.

Dad had managed to drop me off and pick me up every day, but I knew it was getting old. He talked about getting me a car, but it seemed pointless with me leaving in a year. He said I could take it with me, but I didn’t want to deal with a car on campus.