Elite (Eagle Elite) (12 page)

“Yeah well, life rarely does.” Nixon swore and then groaned. His face was tight as if he was in severe pain. “Look, I was just warning you, that’s all. And just because I’m being nice to you doesn’t change the fact that you have to follow the rules if you want to survive here.”

“Thanks. Got that memo loud and clear once I was drenched with sugar water and drugged.”

“Damn it, then why not just do what I say?”

I shrugged. “I don’t like being bossed around.”

“No shit.” He smirked. “But sometimes it’s for your own safety. Can’t you see that? Maybe the world isn’t as shiny and fun as you once thought. People are mean. Humanity is a cruel joke, Trace. I’m just trying to prevent them from getting the last laugh.”

I sighed. “So, why do they listen? Why do you get to make the rules?”

He froze. A mask slipped from his face and then it was just a boy and a girl in a car, talking. The air felt electric as he reached out and touched my cheek. “I wish that wasn’t the case. I wish I didn’t have to make rules… or enforce them.”

“Then don’t.” I reached out and placed my hand against his chest.

His eyes closed. “Sometimes we aren’t given choices. We just are.”

“What does that even mean?”

Nixon opened his eyes and slowly removed my hand from his chest. “It means that you should have listened to me on the first day of school.” His head tilted to the side. “Don’t touch the Elect. Don’t breathe the same air as the Elect, and don’t…” He cursed. “Just don’t.”

“Why?” My lower lip trembled.

“Because you are up to your eyeballs in shit, and you don’t even know it. And once you know… what everything’s about… the choice will be taken from you too. Hell, what am I saying? The choice was gone the minute your gramps dropped you off.”

“Choice?” I rolled my eyes. “You’re pretty serious and cryptic to boot, you know that right? What are you? Some kind of famous celebrity? A politician’s son? The President’s dirty little secret?”

At that he cracked a smile.

“…Hmm, that dirty little secret thing sure rings a bell. Don’t worry your pretty little head over anything, alright? Go do your homework and relax.”

Apparently I wasn’t going to get any answers. I grabbed my new bag and my purse and hopped out of the car. “Thanks for… everything.”

Nixon’s full lips curved into a smile. “My pleasure. Now go get some work done. I’ll send Chase over in a few.”

“Chase? Why?” I put my hand on my hip. Was I still under babysitting protection?

Nixon shrugged. “So no one bothers you, why else?”

“Why don’t you check on me yourself? Why send a minion?”

He barked with laughter. “A minion, huh?” He bit his lip, making the ring tilt to the side. Damn, I hated how sexy he was without even trying. “If I came and checked on you, I’d definitely be bothering you.”

“Annoying the hell out of me is more like it,” I shot back.

“Bye, Farm Girl.”

And there it was, the perfect ending to the weirdest day of my life.

“Thanks for that.” I flipped him off.

His response was to moo. Classic.

Chapter
Fourteen

Monroe was already in the room waiting for me.

“How was shopping?” She sat cross-legged on her bed filing her nails.

“Oh swell. You know, other than seeing crazy guys in suits with guns and then having the devil buy me a Prada messenger bag to replace my old one.”

Monroe grinned. “Come on, everyone knows the devil wears Prada.”

“Thank you, Monroe.” I glared. “That was really helpful of you. Why’d you bail anyways? Do you always do whatever Nixon says?”

She snorted. “Yes, and even though he’s the devil incarnate — and an ass — at least he keeps me safe.”

“From what? Hormonal college students? Ice cream cones falling on your shoes? I don’t get it, who are you guys?”

“Wanna watch a movie?” She blew her hair out of her face and began searching through DVDs like a madwoman.

“Okay, I get it. Touchy subject. I’ll just do an internet search on your last name.”

Her hand froze over the DVD collection, but she didn’t say anything. Maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal? I quickly got onto the room computer and typed in their last name
Abandonato
.

Holy crap. So not what I expected.

Their names were on everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything Abandonato Enterprises, LLC. They owned the school, like literally owned it. They owned the bank I just went to, the grocery store, the actual mall, the gas stations. And my favorite, not car dealerships — no, because that would be too normal. They owned car brands. A few foreign brands. Crap.

“And I thought the Mormons owned everything…” I said under my breath.

Monroe choked on a laugh. “Heard that, Boots.”

“What don’t you own?”

“Disneyworld?” she offered.

Very funny.

“Is that why you guys take so much security everywhere?”

Monroe peered over my shoulder at the screen. “We’re worth a lot of money. Our dad’s kind of paranoid, you know? He’s worth billions. Imagine if one of us was kidnapped for ransom?”

That made sense. Logically, I could tell myself that people would be afraid of power, but it still didn’t explain why the kid had asked for Nixon’s autograph.

“Are you guys celebrities or something like that?”

Monroe laughed. “Around these parts? Let’s just go with the
something like that.
”

A knock sounded at the door.

I clicked out of the screen and went to open it.

Chase stood there, hands in the pockets of his jeans. A tight sweater hugging his perfect body. I looked away.

“Hey, Chase,” Monroe called.

“Hey, Mo…” His eyes turned to mine. “Hey, Trace.”

“Nixon send you?”

“Yup.”

“You staying?”

“Yup.”

“You gonna say anything but yup?”

He placed his hands on the door frame and leaned forward, his lips about an inch from mine. “I’m not much of a talker. I’m more of an action sort of guy.”

“Bet you are.” I nodded. “Please come in, make yourself at home in our lovely prison.”

“It’s not prison.” Monroe rolled her eyes. “Nixon just wants to make sure you're safe, and although I could probably kick a couple asses on our floor, we’d be screwed if the football team decided to pull a prank on us.”

“And why would they pull a prank on us?” I asked.

“You’re the shiny new thing, who wouldn’t want to play with you?” Chase shrugged. “I know if I had the chance to—”

“—I think it’s safe to say I know where that sentence was going to end.”

“Oh yeah?” Chase plopped down onto my bed in the same manner Nixon had a few days past. “And how’s that?”

“With my shiny new boots up your ass.” I smiled.

“Damn.”

“What?” I pulled out my notebook and opened to English Comp.

“Nixon’s a lucky bastard.”

“Huh? Why?”

Chase grinned. “I was never good at keeping my hands to myself though.”

Monroe groaned. “Chase, don’t. It’s like a death wish, just… don’t.”

“You won’t always be around Mo.”

“No, but if you touch what belongs to the devil he’ll probably damn your soul, just saying. And if you want a part of the businesses when you graduate, you need to be on your best behavior.”

He cursed.

“Right, so that was a weird conversation. I’m just going to work on my paper.”

Nobody said anything.

Three hours later and I was exhausted, but finished. And it was only eight at night. How pathetic. I was a freshman in college and I got my homework done early on a Friday night while being babysat by some boy who was part of the godfather’s clique.

Gossip Girl
had nothing on this school.

I purposefully plopped my book onto the bed, jolting Chase out of his sleep. “Shit! What did you do that for?”

“Fun. It was fun. And I’m finished, you can go. I have done all my homework in peace, because of you.”

I went to open the door.

Chase laughed but didn’t move from his spot.

“Chase! I mean it, you don’t have to stay—”

“—He’s just doing what I told him to,” Nixon said from the door. “You done with your paper?”

I glared at him and then began frantically running around my room throwing clothes into the air and checking my closet.

“Mo, your friend has officially lost it.”

I heard her laugh, but I was on a mission. They had to have cameras or something. How did he know the second I finished my paper? Ridiculous! Maybe I was just being paranoid because of the day I’d had, but come on!

“Trace.” Nixon came up behind me grabbing my arms as I threw a sweater into the air.

“Trace.” This time his lips grazed my ear, and I stopped. Not because I wanted to, because I honestly couldn’t move my arms and speak at the same time when he was that close to me. “What are you doing?”

I hung my head. “Looking for hidden cameras.”

“What kind of guy do you take me for?” He flipped me around in his arms so we were face to face. I looked down. “The kind that carries guns and sends his friends to babysit me at my own dorm. The kind that knows the minute I’m done with my paper and magically appears at my door. That kind.”

Nixon burst out laughing. “Wow, sometimes you are just too much.” He reached into his back pocket. I slowly backed away. I mean, what if he pulled out a gun? Or a Taser or… crap. A cell phone.

“Ever seen one of these?” He flashed it in front of my face. “Chase texted me ten minutes ago and said you were close to being done.”

“He was sleeping. He—”

“—Is a light sleeper and was under strict instructions to tell me when you finished.”

“Why?” I crossed my arms. “So you could send in the next shift? Who’s it gonna be this time? Tex? Phoenix?”

When I said Phoenix he scowled.

“You done?”

“Yes, but—”

“Thanks, Chase, see ya later.” Nixon pulled me down the hall like a bat out of hell.

“Where are we going? And why are we in a hurry?”

Nixon didn’t answer. He swiped his card and the elevators opened. The minute they closed he hit the button for it to stop.

Holy crap. This was how I was going to die.

“Nixon, what the—”

He had me pushed back against the wall before I could finish my sentence. His mouth pressed against mine and his hands lifted me into the air, pressing our bodies tighter together. The metal of his lip ring sent electrical shocks through my system as it rubbed against my bottom lip. Good lord, I’d never kissed a guy like this before. Ever.

With a groan, he released me. I didn’t mean to touch him, I just did it. I grabbed his hand but he jerked free. “Please, no touching.”

Not okay. “Nixon, you can’t just—”

“—Yes, I can.” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the opposite end of the wall. “And I did.” He pushed the button again causing the elevator to continue its descent.

Son of a whore. I wanted to punch him in the face. I think he could tell too, because he kept smiling. Who the hell did he think he was? So, what? People were afraid of him because he was rich? Because his big bad daddy owned everything? That didn’t mean you could make out with a girl just because you felt like it. It didn’t mean you never had to make excuses for your behavior. And it sure as hell didn’t mean you could kiss a girl senseless then order her not to touch you.

“So is that how this works then, Nixon? You take, but you can’t receive?”

He bit his lip and stalked toward me just as the doors opened. “Funny. I didn’t think I was taking.”

“Oh yeah?” My eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah.” He grabbed my hand before I could pull it free. “I was giving.”

I stuck out my tongue.

“Do it again, see what happens,” he threatened.

I kept my mouth shut. Something had shifted between us this afternoon. Something big — I just didn’t know what it was. A day ago I was worried he’d look the other way if a car was barreling toward me. Now… well, now it felt like he would do anything to keep me close — almost as if he’d lost me before and knew what it felt like to be without me. But that was crazy. Clearly I’d never been kissed like that before, because my mind was conjuring up all sorts of crazy stories. I needed to stop reading so much.

We went outside and started walking across campus.

“I didn’t know.” He cursed. “About what Phoenix did.”

“I thought you told him to do that, because of our little challenge earlier about you not offering me protection and stuff.”

He stopped and pulled me next to him. “Do you really think I’m that much of an ass that I would really drug you, set you up to look like the school slut, and then take away your key card so you were up a creek with no paddle?”

I shrugged. “You said you wouldn’t protect me anymore, that—”

“Shit. Girls are so dense sometimes.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I was upset, Trace! You’re so damn argumentative and you never listen! I was trying to scare you for a few days. I wasn’t going to throw you to the freaking wolves!”

“Oh.”

He grabbed my hand and kept walking. My hand felt so small in his.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

And he was officially done talking. We picked up pace when we got behind the gymnasium toward the back side of the fence where a few trees were planted in order to make the place look more like a park than a school, which I guess was somewhat typical for a rich university.

Nixon stopped in the middle of the grass and whistled.

Holy football team.

A few lights turned on almost like a spotlight, and then Tim, the quarterback I supposedly slept with walked out into the spotlight. He looked scared shitless.

I looked behind me. Phoenix and Tex were standing there silently watching. Nixon took off his leather jacket and held it out. Tex slowly walked up and took it from his hands then gave me a wink.

“Tim,” Nixon said in a stern voice. “Do you know why you’re here?”

Tim nodded, his eyes flickering to mine and then back to Nixon’s.

“Words, Tim. I need to hear you say it.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir.” Tim’s voice sounded strained.