This must be the dean’s personal secretary. I glanced ahead at the large double wooden doors with a plaque on the front. I shined my phone at it and the polished gold reflected back at me. DEAN.
Bingo.
I tried the handle and it didn’t turn. What the fuck could he possibly have in his office that warranted locking his door?
I leaned my forehead against the wood and let the light on my phone click off. After a few moments of debating, I went and searched the secretary’s desk, thinking maybe she had a key.
She didn’t.
But she did have a drawer full of paperclips. I snagged one and bent it around so it was straight like a wire. Then I went back to the office door and used my phone to shine on the door handle.
Seconds later, the sound of a lock popping free echoed through the hall. I looked behind me to make sure no one was there and then slipped into the room, closing and the door behind me.
The dean’s office was big, which wasn’t a surprise. The most dominant thing in the room was the massive desk sitting in the center. Behind it was a wall of windows covered with closed blinds.
I wasn’t about to take a tour of the place. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. I surged forward and shone the light on his desk, looking for something I could take. My gaze settled on his nameplate, which was basically a long block of wood with his name engraved on it.
I grabbed it as my cell vibrated in my hand.
I glanced down.
GUARD!
Shit.
The sound of footsteps echoing down the hall, drawing closer, caused my heart to jump in my throat. I raced around the other side of the desk and slipped beneath it.
Seconds later, the handle on the door jiggled and opened. The only sound I could hear was the thundering of my pulse. I didn’t even breathe, just pressed myself beneath the desk and hoped the guy didn’t come all the way in. He didn’t, but the bright beam of his high-powered flashlight roamed about the room, inspecting the corners, suspicious.
After what seemed like eternity, the light clicked off, the door shut, and the sound of footsteps faded away.
I let out a breath but sat there for a while just to make sure the guard wasn’t coming back.
When I was sure he was gone, I crept to the door and let myself out. I stuffed the nameplate in the waistband of my jeans and rushed back into the office where I’d come through the window.
Braeden wasn’t there when I dropped onto the ground. I rushed around the side of the building and almost got caught in the beam of security’s headlights. I dropped to the ground and rolled into the shadows.
Security drove away.
The sound of muffled laughter burst from behind.
I jumped up and turned. Braeden stepped out from behind some landscaping, his white teeth flashing in the dark. “Dude, you should have seen your face.”
“Fuck you,” I said with a grin.
“Did you get it?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Once we were in the safety of Braeden’s truck, he turned to me. “Now what?”
Now I had to hold on to this until the frat party on Friday night, but I didn’t want it at my house. I didn’t trust Zach. I wouldn’t put it past him to call in some lame tip to the dean about the missing item from his office. The next thing I’d know, people would be pounding on my door and searching for this stupid piece of wood.
Yeah, no. I wasn’t going down like that.
I needed somewhere to keep it.
Somewhere no one would think to look.
I rolled my head toward Braeden. “Let’s go to Cypress Hall.”
He gave me a strange look. “The chick’s dorm?”
I smiled.
Chapter Twenty-One
Rimmel
“You stole that from the dean’s office!” I heard myself shriek, and I stared at the nameplate he held out for me to see. I jumped up from the bed and paced the small space in front of Romeo.
He was absolutely nuts.
“Why the hell would you do that?” I asked.
Then I stubbed my toe on the edge of my desk.
“Ow!” I hissed and doubled over while bouncing around on one foot.
“You’re like a one-woman show,” Romeo remarked from behind me. His voice was clearly amused.
“I need my glasses,” I muttered, hopping around and reaching for them somewhere near my bed. I knocked something over and it fell to the floor.
“Whoa there, graceful,” Romeo said and scooped me up in his arms.
I let out a little squeak in surprise. “Put me down.”
“No,” he said mildly. “You are a danger to yourself.”
I made a hmph sound and he snickered. The bed sagged beneath his weight as he sat down. I moved to scramble off his lap, but he locked his arms around me and wouldn’t let go.
“I’m rushing a frat. The Alpha Omegas,” he said.
I glanced up; our faces were so close I could feel his breath mingling with mine. “Are you supposed to tell me that?” I asked.
“No.”
“So you’re saying you took this as part of rush?”
“Yes.”
“Why would they make you do something that could get you in serious trouble?” I asked. That just seemed stupid.
“Because it’s a frat,” he said, like it was obvious.
Then I realized I was dealing with a bunch of men. “Right.”
“Anyway, I just need somewhere to keep it ‘til Friday.”
“What’s Friday?” I asked, suspicious.
“A frat party.”
“Oh.” I thought about when I went to pick up Ivy from the bonfire and the people crowded around him. Something in my stomach churned, and I twisted out of his lap to stand. Somehow during everything that happened tonight, I forgot who Romeo was.
He was popular. He partied. He played football. He had girls vying for his attention. There was no way I could compete with that. I was just a phase. A way to pass time while he was being forced into studying.
I needed to remember that. I couldn’t let him in.
Well, not any further than he’d already gotten.
“Hey,” Romeo said softly and came to stand behind me. I didn’t bother to turn around. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. I certainly wasn’t about to admit that for a little while, I was letting my heart take over for my head.
“Hell-o up there!” Braeden’s voice floated through the still-open window.
Romeo went over and looked down at him. “I’m coming!” He turned away from the window and picked up my cell that was lying on the table by my bed. With my glasses.