The Pandora Principle

“Oh, right.” He chuckled. “Marcus Baxter. He’s a business major.”

 

 

A chill ran up my spine. Sheridan had mentioned her attacker had been named Marcus. I didn’t know how many business majors there were named Marcus, but something told me this wasn’t a coincidence. I had found my daimon. I stood, said my thanks to Marty, and headed out the door. With a few hard punches, this could be all over tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 21

 

 

 

I knocked on Marcus’s dorm room and waited with my arms crossed and foot tapping. I felt kind of stupid trying to talk to the boy who attacked Sheridan alone in his room, but if he really was a daimon, I didn’t need witnesses. A boy with sandy blond hair walked toward me with a basket full of wadded up clothes and nodded. He stopped in front of the door and looked me up and down.

 

“Hey there,” he said.

 

“Are you Marcus?” I asked.

 

“Maybe.” He grinned. “For such a pretty girl, I might be.”

 

My temple twitched, and I gave a long sigh. “Can we talk somewhere private?”

 

“Sure, come on in.”

 

He turned the handle and pushed the door open with his butt as I slid past the plastic basket and stepped into the room. Clothes lay lettered across the floor, the two beds, and the small desk in the corner. He dropped the basket in the closet and slammed the door shut with his foot. I stood in the center of the room with my arms crossed, trying to ignore the way his gaze lingered on my breasts. I could see why he caught Sheridan’s attention. His t-shirt stretched across a good expanse of muscles, and his biceps flexed when he crossed his arms.

 

“So, you know my name, but I don’t know yours,” he said.

 

“Cassi.”

 

His white teeth flashed against his tanned skin when he smiled at me. “My reputation has to proceed me if you’re coming to my door.”

 

“That’s one way to say it,” I muttered. “I came here to ask about you ex-girlfriend, Tessa.”

 

His smile disappeared. “Again? I thought people were over that.”

 

“What?” I frowned. “It’s barely been a month.”

 

He sighed. “Look. You’re a reporter, right? Come sniffing around again? Like I told the nerd with the glasses. We were through before summer break started. If she was upset, it wasn’t over me.”

 

“Do you even care?” I glanced down at my wrist and felt nothing.

 

His lips twisted in a sneer. “It sucks she died, but I’m not losing sleep over it.”

 

I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes at him. He may not be a daimon, but he was still an asshole. He stood there with that smirk on his face, and his eyes returned to my breasts. He’d barely looked me in the face during our whole conversation. My hands tightened into fists as the heat rose and settled in my chest and face.

 

“What about Sheridan?” I asked softly. “Are you losing any sleep over her?”

 

His eyes rose to meet mine and he scowled. “What?”

 

“I know what you did to her last night.”

 

“That bitch is lying. She better not be spreading any rumors.”

 

“Or what?” I took a step forward.

 

He glared down at me with his mouth working into a scowl. “So, you came here to throw your little accusations around?”

 

“I came to learn the truth.”

 

“What truth? The bitch is lying.”

 

“It’s funny how you say she’s lying and you don’t even know what she said.”

 

“Fuck you. You print one word saying I did something, I’ll take it out of your ass.” He stepped forward and poked his finger in my shoulder.

 

“Get your finger away from me.”

 

A sly look replaced his grimace. His hand moved up and gripped my shoulder. I grabbed his wrist and pressed my thumb into the tendon in between his two bones. He gave a surprised yelp as I twisted his arm and pulled him forward. I slammed my knee up into his face.

 

“I’m not Sheridan,” I said. “Did you think I’d be stupid enough to come here alone and not know how to defend myself?”

 

He straightened up as he backed away with his hand trying to hold back the red tide flowing from his nose. I raised my fists up in a defensive position and met his glare with a determined gaze.

 

“You bitch,” he said in a muffled voice.

 

He was quick on his feet and came at me with a low punch. I stepped to the side and sucked my stomach in so his hand flew by me. I grabbed his arm and jabbed my knuckles into the soft spot just under the inside of his elbow. His shoulder went limp, and his body fell forward, putting all his weight on his front foot. I jammed my heel into the back of his knee cap and brought him to the ground.

 

“You turned out not to be what I was looking for,” I said. “But how can I pass up the chance to teach you a lesson?”

 

He groaned. I leaned in close to meet his gaze.

 

“You need to rethink the way you treat women.”

 

The palm of Marcus’s hand jabbed into my abdomen and sent me staggering back a few steps. I wheezed and hacked as the blow sent my insides rumbling. Marcus got to his feet with a small grin on his face.

 

Noree Cosper's books