CHAPTER Eleven
After the last class ended for the afternoon, Monroe walked me back to the dorm. It was safe to say my messenger bag was completely destroyed. Grumpy, I threw it on the floor and grabbed the box that Grandma had given me. I hadn’t looked past the framed picture since that night, but I did stuff that wad of cash underneath a whole bunch of stuff in the box in order to keep it safe.
I hoped Grandpa wouldn’t be too upset that I was using the emergency fund for food and a new bag.
At least Nixon had gotten me a new uniform. Correction, he had bought me three. Each outfit had a different sweater underneath, one was red, the next gray, and the final one was blue. Typical.
That was the errand he had Chase run, and honestly I was super thankful. The last thing I wanted to do was buy a new uniform that cost more than my book bag.
“Ready?” Monroe asked from her side of the room. She’d been eerily quiet since the whole “We’ll bring security this time” talk. Maybe she didn’t get out much? Or maybe Chicago really was as scary as I thought it was.
“Yup, just let me get my cash.” I opened the box and dug for the cash. My fingers hit something cold, curious, I dumped the box onto my bed.
A few things came out. The small picture of Grandma and me and a picture of my parents. Weird. I hadn’t seen one of those since I was really little. We didn’t carry many family photos around the house. Grandpa said it just made him sad.
My eyes focused on the wad of cash and then something totally unexpected. A necklace. A giant silver cross with diamonds in the middle lay effortlessly across my bed. I picked it up, expecting it to be costume jewelry, therefore really light. It wasn’t. In fact, if I wore this thing around my neck and went swimming I’d probably drown.
I examined it in my hands and then flipped it over. “Alfero.”
That word sounded crazy familiar when I repeated it out loud.
“What did you just say?” Monroe asked suddenly right behind me. I tucked the necklace into my jean pocket and shrugged.
“Alfredo, I could go for some Alfredo.”
Monroe’s pale face sagged with relief. “Oh, oh sorry, I just thought…” Her eyes narrowed. “Nevermind. No biggie. You ready?”
I nodded and grabbed the stash of cash, careful to put all the contents of the box away. “Let's shop!”
We walked arm in arm down the three flights of stairs, deciding we didn’t want to talk to anyone if they were in elevators.
The minute we reached the first floor, I felt freedom since the first time I’d arrived five days ago.
Monroe began chatting about Tex, so I wasn’t paying attention to the commotion outside until Monroe stopped talking and let out a heavy sigh. “Looks like everyone is ready.”
I gawked. Four black Escalades were lined up against the driveway with a black Ranger Rover in front. So five cars. “Are we taking the whole school?” I asked breathlessly.
Monroe laughed. “No silly, just us and the guys.”
“Right.” I watched in amazement as the guys, aka the Elect, got out of the Range Rover and motioned for us to get our butts in gear.
“Are all those cars coming?” I pointed behind me.
Monroe shrugged and said nothing.
A guy with aviators and an earpiece ran to the front door and opened it for me. He looked like he belonged on Air Force One, not here at the school.
I mumbled a thanks and got into the car. “Um, does someone want to tell me why we need so much security?”
Nixon started the ignition. “We’re important.”
“Right.”
Monroe was in the backseat with Tex. I assumed Phoenix and Chase were in one of the other cars. My tension increased as we drove down the long tree-lined pavement and finally reached the gate.
The armed guard waved then spoke into his walkie-talkie and motioned for us to go on through.
Had I thought my little grocery excursion would be this ridiculous I would have snuck out. I mean four cars?
I groaned into my hands.
Nixon stopped at the first light and nudged me. “What’s wrong? Are you sick or something?
“No, I just… is it really that unsafe for you guys out there?”
“You could say that.”
He leaned forward to turn on the heat. Great. Now I was going to sweat to death. The guy was already killing me with his good looks. Heat? Heat I did not need right now.
We drove in silence, and for some reason each time I moved, the necklace in my pocket kept poking me in the thigh. Stupid tight jeans. Exasperated I pulled it out and clasped it around my neck.
“Are we almost there?” I asked, adjusting my cashmere sweater so that the necklace dropped over it prettily.
“Yup, in like ten— Holy shit.” Nixon slammed on his breaks. “What the hell, Trace?”
“What? What’s wrong?” I looked around for the obvious danger, but Nixon wasn’t staring out the window he was staring at my chest.
“Where the hell did you get that?” He reached for my necklace, but I smacked his hand away.
“Stop.” He shook his head and then hit his hand against the steering wheel and then he started cursing in some sort of language that sounded vaguely familiar.
“It’s not worth cursing over,” I snapped. “It’s just a necklace.”
“You understood me?” he asked in whatever language he was speaking. I could only nod because honestly I had no idea how I understood what he was saying.
A vague flicker of a memory entered into my brain. A man with dark hair pushing me on the swing and telling me in that special language how beautiful I was. That I looked just like my mother. And then some strange men came and began cursing, just like Nixon cursed.
Suddenly I couldn’t breathe.
“Crap,” Monroe muttered. “I think she’s having a panic attack.”
I nodded and tried to unbuckle my seatbelt. Nixon’s hand came flying down across mine. “We’re in the middle of traffic. You’re staying here. I don’t care if you think your freaking heart is going to explode. We can’t be vulnerable, and right now, we are.”
I nodded through the swell of tears that began pouring down my face. What was wrong with me? And why was I suddenly having flashbacks? Was that man my dad? Who were those other men?
Nixon continued to curse until we made it to the grocery store. Finally, once we parked, he turned to Monroe and Tex. “Leave, both of you. I’ll deal with this.”
They scattered out of the car faster than was appropriate. Geez, it wasn’t like he was going to shoot them or something.
I waited, my chest still heaving with frustration and a little bit of confusion and fear.
“What’s your last name?” Nixon asked quietly popping his knuckles.
“Rooks,” I answered dumbly. “Why, what’s yours?”
“I’m asking questions. You’re giving answers. You understand?” His eyes blazed hot. I tried to back away, but my seatbelt pinned me in place. “Now, I can ask nicely or I can use force. What is your last name?”
“Rooks!” I all but screamed. “It’s all I know!”
He raised his hand and leaned in. I flinched, afraid he was going to hit me. Instead he reached for the necklace and turned it over. “Damn it!”
“What?” My lips trembled. “Look, Nixon, this was a bad idea, just take me back to the dorms. I don’t need the security detail like you guys do. I’ll just come back in a cab or something. Plus, you’re freaking me out. I’ll just find my own way home.”
“The hell you will!” He reached across and grabbed my hand. “Let's just, let's just get this over with, okay?”
Freaked out, I could only nod. My gaze left his face and that’s when I noticed what was on his hip. “Why are you packing a gun?”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Because it’s part of the rules.”
“Of the school?” I asked, incredulous.
“No.” He smiled sadly. “My family. Now, let’s go.”
I guessed this part of the conversation was over.
Begrudgingly, I got out of the car and stomped into the grocery store. Grabbing the first cart I saw, I began mindlessly wandering the aisles. At least I tried to mindlessly wander. It was hard when every time I picked up a can of something or a package, one of the creepy Men in Black suits was staring at me as if there was a bomb hidden in the tomato soup.
Weird.
All I knew was that the Elect were way more important than I could possibly imagine or even believe.
I finished in the dry goods section and made my way over to the candy aisle. I needed a little boost after all the crap that went down today. I settled on Twizzlers and sighed.
“Almost done?” Nixon asked out of nowhere.
I screamed.
And immediately ten men in suits were in my aisle, guns wielded.
Awesome.
Nixon laughed. “I scared her. Nothing’s wrong.”
The guys nodded and disbursed.
“Who are you?” I swallowed as Nixon’s breath fanned my face. Oh gosh, I was going to faint if he kept getting this close to me.
“I could ask you the same thing.” His eyes narrowed as he cupped my face and examined my eyes. “Brown. Interesting.”
“Brown?”
“Your eyes.”
“They’re plain.” I tried to pull my head free from his grip, but he tightened it.
“They are beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you any different, Bella.”
His eyes searched mine and then he leaned in more. Our lips were inches away. My heart was going crazy. I leaned in.
“Hey, Nixon, the guys are getting antsy,” came Monroe’s voice. I wanted to tell her to leave.
Nixon jerked back immediately and shook his head as if he had been the one under the spell, when he very well knew he was the bastard who cast it.
“You done?” He pointed to the cart.
“Um, yeah, I’ll just go checkout.” I pushed my car to the checkout stand. Nixon walked behind me, patiently waiting.
“Glad to see you’re buying enough food so you don’t starve in between classes.” He smirked.
“It’s your fault I have to buy food,” I snapped, a bit irritated and still obsessing over the almost-kiss.
“What do you mean?”
“My key card, you a*shole!”
He rolled his eyes. “Stop being difficult. You have two key cards.”
“Huh? Are you high?” I threw a bag of potato chips at his head. “Phoenix stole my card the night you made him set me up! That same night you were off-campus doing who knows what! I only have the red card that you gave me the other day!”
The color drained from Nixon’s face. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Okay, he was high. I mean, he was there! “In the hall when you said that was the best you could do, and you handed me the card to the Red Cafeteria!”
“Because Phoenix said you were uncomfortable eating with us. The Red Cafeteria is better than the commons—”
He gripped the shopping cart, and I could tell a battle was waging in his mind. Finally, he shook his head. “Bastard. I’ll deal with it. Do you still need this food then? If you’re going to be eating with us now?”
“Yes.” I swallowed, because who knew when I was going to make him or one of the other guys angry and lose my rights to eat meat?
“That will be one hundred dollars and seventy-two cents.” The checker announced, sounding bored out of his mind.
I pulled the roll of bills out of my hand and tugged off the rubber band. The wad of hundreds fell to the ground. This is what Nixon’s stupid presence did to me. It made me nervous and a bit crazy.
I swiped the bills off the floor and froze.
Impossible.
“Something wrong?” Nixon asked in an irritated tone.
“Uh, no, yeah, umm…” I didn’t really know what else to do, so I handed him the stack of bills. The same stack that was wrapped in a one hundred dollar bill, in order to cover the ten one-thousand dollar bills.
“Shit,” he muttered, then pulled out his own wallet. He swiped his card in the ATM and punched in his code, then placed the card on the little table while he pulled out his cell. “No, you ass. I didn’t have cash on me. Yes, I know I can be traced. Who pays you, dipshit? Who? That’s what I thought. Now deal with it.”
“Abandonato,” I whispered under my breath reading the card while simultaneously trying not to eavesdrop. “Is that your last name?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead he was firing off instructions to someone on the other end of the phone and grabbing the receipt.
Well, at least the checker didn’t look bored anymore. Nope, he looked like he was about five seconds away from shitting his pants.
And then things got weird. As in, weirder than they already were.
The men in suits formed a circle around us as we walked back to the car, and that’s when I saw a glimpse of something I’d only seen in movies.
A group of expensive cars in the parking lot and even more expensive-looking men and old men getting out of the cars.
Nixon said nothing as we got into our waiting SUV. Neither did I. I wasn’t sure if I should be freaked out that so many men in suits were surrounding us or what.
“Are we, um… are we safe here?” I asked in a small voice.
Monroe was already sitting in the SUV and put her hand on my shoulder. “Of course, why wouldn’t we be?”
“Oh you know, because of that.” I pointed as a man that looked as old as Grandpa pulled out a gun I’d only seen in action movies, and walked into the store.
“Um, are we witnessing a murder?”
Tex and Monroe laughed while Nixon shook his head and offered a smile. “No sweetheart, just business. That’s all.”
He handed me my wad of cash and looked back at Monroe and Tex. “You guys need to go. We have some more shopping to do, and it—”
Monroe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I can imagine how it will be.” She smiled in my direction. “See ya later!”
They hopped out of the car and walked to the other waiting SUV in front of us.
“What was that about?” I asked, shoving the money back into my purse.
“It’s going to be a long afternoon.” Nixon whistled.
“Why?”
“Because we are freaking living our own Romeo and Juliet.” He smirked and hit his steering wheel. “Alright, new bag right?”
“Yeah, oh, and I need to pay you for the groceries too. I feel so stupid. I had no idea I had big bills, or that they even existed, or that Grandpa…” My voice trailed off. Why would Grandpa give me such big bills? Was that why he wanted me to hide it?
“Those bills went out of circulation in the fifties. You know that right?” Nixon asked.
I shrugged and started playing with the radio. “Sorry, I’ll figure out a way to cash them out so I can pay you.”
“You don’t understand.” He laughed humorously. “I would never accept your money. Ever.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s no good to me!” He snapped. “Just drop it.”
Was it because I was beneath him? Because I was from a farm and poor? I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out the window. We were silent the entire way to the mall.