All I’ve Never Wanted(21)

Luckily, he did. "Listen, I just wanted to apologize," James said quickly. "For Saturday night. I let my temper get the best of me and…well, I kind of feel like you're only in this predicament because you wanted to—protect me?" His voice lowered a bit at the end of the sentence, uncertain.



I pondered this a bit. I was surprised to find his conclusion was, in fact, right. I had wanted to protect him, because he'd been so nice and down-to-earth, which was ironic because I felt like he had wanted to help me by going toe-to-toe with Parker. At the same time, though, I had been motivated by other factors to ream Roman out. "You don't have to apologize," I assured him. "Trust me, it's not your fault I—" I stopped. Something he'd just said finally registered. "Wait, what do you mean by my 'predicament.'?"



James took such a long time to answer I thought he'd hung up. Finally, reluctantly, he said, "Well, what's happening to you in school right now would be considered a predicament…" His voice trailed off.



"How did you know about what's happening?" I didn't bother trying to deny it. What was the point?

"Some of my friends told me."



Yeah, and they've probably participated, I thought, feeling bad even as I thought it. It wasn't James' fault Valescans were such assholes.



"Yeah, well, I'll survive." I shrugged, even though I realized he couldn't see me. "I mean, it's not—"



I broke off when I noticed a distinct black-and-electric-blue Ferrari pulling up beside me. I was so shocked I didn't even notice when my phone slipped out of my hands and crashed on the sidewalk, the back cover and battery promptly spilling out.



This was what I got for still using an old-school Motorola instead of an iPhone like everyone else.



I just stood there, stunned and paralyzed, as the window rolled down and Roman Fiori's irritated face, half-hidden by dark designer shades, emerged.



"Get in," he ordered gruffly.



I just stood there, mouth agape, wondering what the hell was going on.



Noticing my lack of response, the irritation on his face grew. "Get in!" he repeated, more forcefully.



This time, I had recovered enough to muster up a fairly strong and defiant, "No way in hell!"



Before I could say anything else, Roman, obviously exasperated, got out of the car, gripped my arm, and dragged me into the passenger seat.



The residual traces of shock were still in my system, slowing me down, and everything happened so fast I barely had time to think before Roman peeled away from the curb.



"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I demanded angrily, having finally found my voice. "Let me out right now!"



He didn't even look at me, that bastard. "Or what?"



"Or…or…or I'll call the police!"



He snorted, making a sharp right turn. I let out a small shriek as I slammed into the passenger side door. Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, I immediately buckled my seatbelt.



"You and what phone?" he asked, casting a pointed glance at my empty hands. "Besides, it sure looks like you're making yourself comfortable in here."



"I am not making myself comfortable, I merely do not want to die," I snapped. "Now stop this car this instant! I don't want to be here!"



"Too bad," came the detached reply. It was followed by pounding rock music that drowned the car and nearly deafened me, and I noted with resentment that Roman controlled the sound system on his steering wheel. No way would I be trying to manipulate those, not unless I wanted us both to die.



As we sped through town at breakneck speed, however, it finally dawned on me that I was essentially being kidnapped by the heir to the most powerful family in the world, and there was not a damn thing I could do about it.



Have I mentioned how I really, really, really hated my life?





CHAPTER 5





There was a look of grim determination on Roman's face as he guided his car through the town's pristine streets, narrowly avoiding hitting a pedestrian on several occasions and dangerously ignoring more than a few stop signs.



"Where are we going?" Maya demanded, her voice managing to rise above the thumping music to make its way into his ears.



Roman ignored her, pressing his foot down harder on the gas pedal. The Ferrari's quiet, powerful engine let out a satisfying small roar in response.



"Where are we going?" Maya repeated, this time sounding even more pissed off.



Roman gripped the steering wheel, trying not to explode from irritation, because in all honesty, he had no fucking idea. Not about where they were going, or why the stupid girl was in his car in the first place. He hadn't planned to drag her inside, it had just… happened.