“This isn’t over, Nixon. You can’t just break away from this — from us! You’re making a huge mistake. I hope you realize what you’re doing.”

“I do,” Nixon said confidently. “And I hope you enjoy working in fast food. Because it’s the only place that will hire you if you as much as breathe in her direction again.”

Phoenix spat at the ground and jerked away from his dad, disappearing into the shadows of the night.

His dad, the dean to be exact, stood there helpless. “Are you going to… tell—?”

“No.” Nixon cut him off. “This is between us, was between us. Just keep him away, and it won’t go any further.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Nixon nodded. And the dean left.

“What the hell kind of school is this?” I muttered under my breath.

It was Tex who answered. “I thought you’d have known by now. It’s his.” He pointed at Nixon.

“Says who?”

“The American dollar.” Tex put his arm around me as I shivered. “A couple billion of them to be exact… well, that and the Abandonato family.”

“So the last name Abandonato covers a multitude of sins, is that it?”

Tex sighed. “The last name Abandonato either covers the sin or gets you killed. Either way the outcome is the same, I guess.”

“And what’s that?”

“You’re never free.”

“Of what?”

His answer was silence. Which scared me more than anything. When I entered the lottery to go to this school, all I could think about was how I would be practically set for life.

And now, it seemed like I’d stepped into an action movie where the star has more power than the President of the United States. Just who were the Elect and why was it such a big deal getting kicked out of a clique?

I needed answers, but I wasn’t so sure Nixon would give them to me.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Do I have to say yes sir too?” I said in a shaky voice.

Tex burst out laughing. “She’s all yours, man.” He walked off into the dark still cracking up, and I was left with the Ultimate Fighter.

Chapter Fifteen

“You okay?” I asked in a small voice.

Nixon nodded. “I’m good.” Blood was crusted across his knuckles. I wondered if it hurt. With a curse he handed me his jacket and took off his tight fitting Henley, revealing a tight black sleeveless shirt underneath.

Using the shirt he discarded he wiped off his hands and put on his jacket.

“So…” I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say thank you or what the hell were you thinking.”

He shrugged. “They had it coming. Tim should never have listened to Phoenix, and Phoenix should have stayed the hell away from you. He had rules and he didn’t follow them.”

“There we go with the whole rules thing again,” I mumbled.

“Rules make the world go round.” Nixon laughed and then put his arm around me. “The rumors should die down now, okay?”

“Yeah, but aren’t people going to talk about this? And why was the dean so chill? I mean, he’s like twice your age.”

Nixon shrugged. “We have an understanding.”

“Right.” I nodded. “What type of understanding? He follows your rules or you shoot him in the face?”

Nixon laughed again. “Wow, thanks I needed that.” His eyes glistened in the moonlight. “Is that what people do on TV, shoot people in the face?”

“Yes, well. No. I guess. I don’t know.” I sighed. “What are you? Some sort of gangster or something?”

“Sure.” His fingers moved to the back of my neck caressing the skin just below my hairline. “Let's go with that. I’m a gangster.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?”

“Have you?” he fired back as if offended I would even ask.

Well, that shut me up. His hand moved to my cheek sending shivers down my spine. “It's not fair,” I said breathlessly.

“What?” His eyes were on my lips.

“That you can touch me, but I can’t touch you.” That you look like a god and I look like a poor farm girl. I sighed and stepped away from him.

He tilted his head to the side. “Would you rather I not touch you?”

“No!” I blurted. Then covered my face with my hands.

He chuckled and pulled me into his body so my head rested against his chest. “I just don’t understand. What’s so different? I mean we’re touching now, but…”

“I’m in control of it.” He exhaled and tilted my chin toward his. “I know it sounds crazy. I just… I don’t like it when people touch me without permission. Ever since I was a kid, after—” He swallowed. “Anyways, it doesn’t matter. It’s just this thing I have.”

“Like the rules?” I whispered.

“Yeah, like the rules.” His thumb grazed my lower lip. “You’re beautiful, you know.”

I laughed awkwardly and tried to tilt my chin down but he wouldn’t let me. Why I was letting the guy who put the fear of God into the dean touch my face, I don’t know. But… there was something about him. Something that made me want to touch him, made me crave his touch, and I hated that I responded to him, especially after the way he treated me at first.

“Don’t,” he whispered against my cheek as he bent his lips to my ear. “Don’t pull away from me, please.”

“Okay.” My voice was shaky and wobbly and my heart sounded like I’d just run a marathon. Breathe. I just needed to breathe.

His lips found my neck and I let out an involuntary gasp.

“So sensitive,” he murmured as his tongue wet his lips and then drew a design just below my ear. “So damn sensitive. Your skin’s so soft right here.”

I shivered as his mouth met my jaw. His hands moved to clench my hair, forcing me closer. “Nixon.” My voice was weak. “What are you doing?”

His lips met mine. The kiss was brief. He sighed. “I wish I knew.”

“You can’t just…” I swallowed. “You can’t just go around kissing people you hate.”

“Who said I hate you?” He released my head and stepped back.

“Well, you weren’t exactly shaking my hand and shouting my name a few days ago.”

Nixon licked his lips. His hooded eyes blazed a hot trail across my body until I thought I might die from wanting him right then and there. “So you want me to shout your name? Is that what this is about?”

Laughing, I pushed him away. “Stop being such a guy. I’m serious.”

“Oh, believe me…” He ran his hand along my shoulder and down my collarbone until his fingers brushed the first few buttons of my shirt. I had no doubt in my mind that the guy probably had an A+ in stripping women of their clothes with one hand. “I’m dead serious.”

I swallowed the nervous laughter bubbling up within me and stepped out of his reach. “So gangster, you gonna tell me why you’ve taken personal interest in running this school?”

Taking the hint, he shoved his hands in his pockets and fell into step beside me. “I like things to be fair.”

“Wow, then you’re at the wrong school for that.”

“You know what I mean. I do what I can when I can. Besides, it’s kind of one of my jobs, to keep the peace around here, keep the secrets, keep everyone happy. It’s exhausting actually.”

“I have a hard time imagining anyone making you do anything.”

He laughed bitterly. “Then clearly you haven’t met my dad.”

I stopped walking and pulled his hand. “What do you mean? Is he… is he bad?”

Nixon sighed. “Well, he’s no Mickey Mouse or Santa Claus if that’s what you’re asking.” He bit his lip and opened his mouth as if he was going to say more. Instead he grunted and grabbed my hand. “Doesn’t matter. Anyways, I was going to ask you earlier but then I got distracted by all your drug money…”

I rolled my eyes.

“Does the name Alfero mean anything to you?”

“Alfero?” I repeated. “Hmm…as in Alfredo without the D?”

“Yes. As in the food.” He glanced at my necklace and sighed. “It’s on the back of your necklace.”

“So?”

“So…” He nodded his head. “You know it’s okay for you to tell me. I won’t say anything. I mean, I know I’m an Abandonato, but it’s not like, you know, I’ll set Jimmy on your or anything.”

I burst out laughing. “Are you high?”

His eyes narrowed. “No.”

“Wow, then you have to know I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” He sighed, and kicked the ground. “That’s, wow… that’s really, really good.”

“I think you must have lost more blood than you realize in that fight.” I nudged him with my elbow.

He laughed. “At least I can say I’d freaking bleed for you, if that’s what it took.”

“Took?”

He stopped and reached out to touch my chin, lifting my face toward his. “To keep you safe.”

“So you’d die for me?” I joked trying to break the awkwardness.

“Don’t you get it?”

My breathing became erratic as he leaned close enough to kiss me again. “I’d give my life for yours.”

“Why? You don’t even know me.”

His eyes closed, and when he opened them all I saw was pain and regret. “You have no idea what I know, and believe me when I say, your life is worth a hell of a lot more than mine. And yes, after tonight, you better believe I know you better than anyone, even better than you know yourself, and I hope to God it stays that way, Trace.”

Just as I was about to open my mouth to ask more questions, because basically that’s all I had ever since coming to this school, headlights were on us. The dorm was in front of us, and the road was suddenly blocked by a few expensive-looking cars.

Of course they were all black.

Did no one believe in color around here?

“Trace, go inside.”

“But…”

Nixon gripped my arm and turned me toward him. “Trace, I need you to listen to me right now. You take this.” He handed me his black key card. “You don’t walk. You run until your legs burn. You run into the building, you run into the elevator, you run down the damn hall, and you lock your door until I come and get you. Do you understand?”

Freaked out, all I could do was nod. Nixon gripped my hand closed over the key card and whispered it again. “Run.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I ran like hell. And as I ran all I could think of was why I wasn’t safe in my own school? And how did those cars get in if they were bad?

I swiped the card and ran into the dorm. Once I was inside the elevator I looked up and saw twelve guys in suits walking toward the dorm. As the doors to the elevator closed, I could have sworn I saw Grandpa.