36. Milo
36
Milo
5 AM and still no sign of Thea. Where was she?
I’d seen her leave campus a few hours earlier. Some older guy arrived in a rental van to pick her up. When I ran the plate, the hire company database had no useful information. According to their records, a customer called John Jones had hired the van for a week.
I scoffed to myself. If John Jones wasn’t a fake name, I’d invite Olivia to my room for an orgy.
Good job that I knew it was fake. The chances of me letting that skank touch any part of my body were somewhere between never and hell no. Even Landon wouldn’t go there, and he was not known for being choosy.
My back rested against Thea’s door as I shuffled on the hard floor, trying to get comfortable. The minutes ticked by. Outside, the sky slowly lightened, turning from indigo to deep gray. Just as I was about to give up and head back to our apartment, the sound of a low whimper from the stairwell caught my attention.
Had a wounded animal found its way in here?
I hopped to my feet, pausing for a moment to loosen a crick in my neck. Then I heard a second whimper, followed by a muffled groan. That wasn’t an animal.
Since there was no other way down to the ground-floor other than via this stairwell, I had no choice but to investigate, even if the thought of coming across a random person and being forced to give them aid curdled my stomach.
I wasn’t a huge fan of touching random people.
The dim lighting in the stairwell was wholly inadequate. Considering how much money the college attracted in fees, it was a disgrace the management didn’t spend more on basic fixtures and fittings.
Mentally composing a shitty email to the administrator, I hurried down the first flight of stairs. When I came across Thea lying slumped against a wall, her beautiful face bruised and beaten, I nearly lost my shit.
“What…the?” She peered up at me through her one functioning eye.
“Help me…upstairs,” she coughed, clutching her side with a groan.
I didn’t hesitate. Hooking my arm around her waist, I carefully lifted her. I could tell her ribs were badly bruised or even broken from the way she winced every time I touched her torso. Had someone beaten her? It didn’t seem possible. We’d all seen the girl fight. She was lethal. There was no way someone had gotten the better of her. And if they had, I hoped they were lying dead somewhere.
The minute we reached her door, I used my keycard to open it. She peered at me suspiciously but didn’t question how I had a card for her room. No doubt that conversation was in my future. But I didn’t care.
All I cared about was making sure she was OK.
“You need to see a doctor,” I told her as I gently placed her on the bed, but she didn’t reply. Her legs were blue from the cold and streaked with dirt, her boots caked in mud. She needed a shower, but I wasn’t sure whether she’d accept help.
Or that I was the best person for the job.
“No doctor,” she croaked eventually. “I’ll…be fine.”
Before I could second guess myself, I pulled out my phone and called Landon. It was early, and he was probably still asleep, but I gave no shits. I couldn’t leave Thea in this state. If she had any open wounds, she was at risk of tetanus or another potentially lethal bacterial infection.
The mere thought of an infection made me shiver with distaste. I hated hospitals. Nasty, germ-ridden places.
Thea’s eyes had closed again, but from the way she winced every time her chest rose, she wasn’t asleep.
“Why the fuck are you calling me?” Landon grumbled when he finally picked up.
“I need your help with something.”
“This better be good! I was in the middle of the most amazing dream starring…”
“Thea’s room. Now.”
“Thea?” Now he was wide awake. “Why are you in Thea’s room, Milo?” He didn’t sound happy.
“Doesn’t matter why. Get here.” I ended the call and dropped my phone on the carpet. When I looked up, Thea watched me with her good eye.
“Who…the…fuck…did…you…call?” From the way she clenched her fist, I had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking. Thank God she was in no position to fight me on this, or I’d be toast.
“You can’t stay like this, so I called Landon to help clean you up.” I gestured at the state of her, trying my best to ignore the skimpy top she wore. It didn’t cover much, and underneath all the filth, her skin looked deliciously smooth, like silk.
“I’m not good at…touching girls.” Embarrassment made me want to claw my face off, but I fought against it, choosing to focus on her body instead. She might be black and blue, but it didn’t detract from her sex appeal. Not at all.
My fingertips itched to explore her curves. Test out all the ways I could make her moan and writhe for me.
It wasn’t until she stiffened that I realized I’d popped a boner. Bad Milo.
“Sorry,” I muttered, socially aware enough to know that getting hard while Thea was so badly hurt was pretty fucking terrible by any standards. She must think I’m some kind of animal!
“It’s OK,” she rasped. “And thank you…for…helping me.”
A sharp rap at the door interrupted anything else she might have said. When I cracked it open, Landon pushed in, closely followed by Kyril.
“Why’s he here?” I asked Landon, but he was too busy staring at Thea in horror. “Who did this to you?” He was at her side in an instant, reaching out to grab her small hand.
When I turned back to Kyril, his face was like thunder. Kyril never gave a shit about anyone. Certainly not a woman. Yet seeing Thea in such a state obviously bothered him.
Reading facial expressions and cues wasn’t easy for me, but even I could tell Kyril was on the verge of a meltdown. The tension in his bulky frame, plus the way he kept clenching his fists like he wanted to punch something - or someone - gave it away.
“Tell me who and I’ll kill them,” he rasped.
Thea made a good attempt at rolling her eyes. “Forget it. One dead body…is enough…for one night.”
“Um, what is she talking about?” Landon voiced what I was thinking, but neither Kyril nor Thea responded. Hmm. Kyril was hiding something. From the way his clothes stunk of smoke and roast pork when he came back earlier, I figured he’d stopped for food at some hole-in-the-wall place, but maybe the explanation was a lot darker.
“It’s not important right now,” Kyril said eventually. “We need to clean her up and check out her injuries.”
Landon shook his head. “Help me lift her. Milo, get the shower nice and hot.”