Drop Dead Queen (Corium University Trilogy 2)

We square off against each other, and even with all the moves Quinton taught me, it’s not enough to keep me on my feet, not against this man anyway. My curiosity over where Quinton is gets the best of me, and after having the wind knocked out of me on the mat three times, I finally build up the courage to ask him. I look up at him from the floor. Pain prickles across my back. My chest heaves with every breath I take. I’m winded, and we haven’t even done anything.

“What happened to Quinton?” When he doesn’t answer right away, I continue, “You said he’s not here. What did you mean?” I’m afraid of what the answer to my question will be. Turns out, avoiding him really did more harm than good this time around.

“You both act like you hate each other, but everyone with a pair of eyes can see right through it.”

I grit my teeth. “Think what you want. I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“I suppose not, but if you hate him so much, why do you care to know where he is?”

I shrug. “Because it’s better to keep your enemies closer.”

We face off again, and I let out a deep growl when Vito kicks his legs out, and I trip over them, tumbling backward onto my ass.

Like the gentlemen he is, Vito offers me his hand, but I bat it away. I don’t want his help. A long moment passes, and the sounds of others battling around us filter into my ears.

I look up from the mat and straight at Vito, and something resembling guilt flickers in his brown eyes.

“If you must know where he is, he left this morning. Took an early winter break. I guess when your father is who he is, you can do whatever the hell you want?”

“He left?” I speak the words out loud unintentionally. Even saying them makes me flinch. He left. I won’t lie. It hurts. The truth cuts me clean down the middle. He left? Without telling me.

Not that he owes me anything. I should be happy he’s gone, that I no longer have to worry about him hunting me down to have a conversation neither of us is ready for. Instead, it feels like a piece of my soul has been ripped from my body. There’s a gaping hole there, and I have nothing to fill it with.

Whiplash hits me full force when my sudden sadness becomes anger, but not at him, anger at myself. I should rejoice, but in a strange way, knowing he’s gone now makes me miss him.

It’s fucked up. I shouldn’t miss the person who has a habit of making my life completely miserable, but I’ve grown used to his presence, his piercing gaze, and Jekyll and Hyde emotions. Now I’m lost, a life raft drifting at sea with no sense of direction.

“I get the sense you aren’t happy about him leaving?”

I don’t want to come off as a bitch, but I can’t help but lash out. “Can we—I mean can you—not pretend like you care. No one cared about me before you came along, and no one will care when you finally realize that paying me a single lick of attention is bad for you. I’m the plague, a leper. Do yourself a favor and pretend I don’t exist like everyone else.”

Vito’s features twist with irritation. “Like I told Rossi, I already know all there is to know about you, Aspen. Everyone knows who you are, and you’d have to be stupid or living under a rock to miss the mayhem your father has caused.”

“Don’t talk about my father,” I hiss, my hand tightening into a fist.

I know better than to try and fight someone twice my size, but Vito is looking like a good punching bag right about now. Vito seems nice, but so does a dog before it rips off your hand.

“Why don’t you take your own advice and do yourself a favor.” He takes a step toward me. We are toe to toe. Leaning down, he stares me straight in the eyes. “Quinton might seem vicious, but there are worse animals roaming this kingdom.”

I wrinkle my nose at him. I’m not sure if he is threatening me or warning me, and honestly, part of me doesn’t want to know. With Quinton gone, any chance of protection from Matteo ceases to exist, so if Vito tried to hurt me, I am screwed.

Yes, the deal was off before, but I knew he wouldn’t let anyone hurt me. I was learning that while Quinton was a monster, it was only him that could bring me to my knees.

“Are you threatening me?”

“What would you do if I was?”

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly, while biting the inside of my cheek.

A cheeky grin splits his face at my reply. “All I’m saying is watch your back.”