The Damaged (The Insiders Trilogy #2) - Tijan by Tijan

Kash wasn’t paying them any attention.

I knew Kash went on his own at times. I knew he was a weapon himself. But maybe we should slow down, wait for the guards?

Before I voiced that concern, Kash kept on.

“He knew you were there. He waited. He staged that whole thing. He knew you met Busich. He requested Busich to be on that tour, and he promised them a thirty million donation. He picked the time. He picked the place. He knew you would go with your classmates to lunch at that time. He knew the path they would take to get there. He fucking knew everything.”

His words pierced me.

For Calhoun to do that … someone had talked. I didn’t even know where we would go for lunch. The other students knew.

“He could’ve asked staff?”

“Staff go back to their offices. They don’t pay attention to who goes to eat, or where, or how they get there. Students do. He has someone in your class on his payroll.” He punched the steering wheel, that jaw clenching again, then in a whoosh he eased back on the brake. “Fuck. I’m sorry.” He glanced over, worried. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just wor—”

“You didn’t scare me.” But I kept from saying that his grandfather did scare me. If Calhoun could affect Kash like this just by getting some information and showing up, I didn’t want to know what Kash would do if something actually did happen to me.

I chose to share this concern with him.

He expelled a harsh breath of air, leaning back and forcing one of his hands to loosen on the wheel. “I know.”

I stopped, frowning. “You know?”

“I’ve been ready for him to go after Peter or the family all my life. Half expected it. But you’re new. And you mean more to me than anyone, and he knows that now, and I fucked up. I let him get to me.”

“You mean more to me than anyone…”

I whispered, “More than anyone?”

Kash glanced over, saw how my face was literally melting, and a grin tugged at his lips. He eased back dramatically on the accelerator, but still switching lanes like he was a pro driver, and reached over for my hand at the same time. “You do. You know that.”

I was preening now. “It’s nice to hear.”

His eyes darkened before moving back to the road. They were close to smoldering, and my thoughts were fast leaving Calhoun, fast going elsewhere, to rooms with beds, and then it hit me. “I still have a class today.”

Kash’s hand tightened on mine before switching to my leg. He slid his fingers to the inside of my thigh, and whoa. Class who?

“I’ll make a call. You’ll be fine.”

That wasn’t really my concern. I hated to say this, but I had to. I rested my head against my seat and rolled it to face him. “I’m already a week behind. I can’t miss more class time.” Not to mention what the others thought about what just happened.

Kash changed the subject, his fingers moving back to the top of my leg. “You mentioned that classmate, Mansour. Was she one of the girls with you just now?”

My head lifted from the seat. “Not the petite one, the other one.”

“The bitchy one.”

I loved that he saw it right away. I grinned.

He nodded. “I had Torie look into her and made another call this morning. Already they’ve found out that she lied on her application. There is no Holden Mansour, and every time he’s scheduled to work, a Hoda Mansour shows up.” He hit the signal and took the exit off to the right. “That’s grounds to fire her. Did you want that?”

I frowned. “You’d fire her, just that quick?”

Why did she lie in the first place? That didn’t make any sense.

“We fire for less, but lying on your application is a solid base reason to fire someone. It’s your decision. She’s your classmate.”

I let out some air.

“No. I can tell she dislikes me, but I don’t want to give her any more reason. I have to be around her the rest of the year.”

Kash’s hands flexed over my leg. “You mean two years.”

“What?”

“You said a year. Your degree takes two years.”

Right. He didn’t know …

I coughed. “The next two years.”

He sent me a short frown. “How long’s your lunch break?”

I pulled up my schedule and checked the time. “I have another hour.”

“You’re set on going back?”

I relaxed, more fully grinning. “Stupid school, huh?”

He shot me a grin. “I know a place.”

We went to the local Burriotle, and the nationwide burrito chain that had eclipsed all the other competition was filled with students. We should’ve known that. The line was out the door, trailing down the block and in front of the bookstore next to it. That didn’t deter Kash. He made a call, then took my hand as we left his car, which was already getting a lot of attention. Our fingers entwined, he led me toward the door, then let go and switched our positions so he was behind me. His hand was on the small of my back.

He was guiding me inside, and once we had to squeeze past the people in line, his hands went to my hips. He guided me that way, turning me, moving me, and reaching over my head for the door. Once inside, a younger man was waiting for us.

He flashed a giant smile. “Kashton! You’ve decided to grace us with your presence. Finally.”