arm brushes mine, and it’s all I can do not to fling myself at him; that’s how safe he feels.
Alec’s eyes fall to Eli. Ribbons of tension coil between them. This is new territory for me, this standoff. It’s like dogs fighting over a juicy bone. I’ve never been anyone’s bone before. The dark part of me – the same part that remembers the blood splattered on my reflection, the weight of earth pressing down on my tomb – likes it, but only if Eli wins.
“This isn’t your business, Hart.” Alec tries to smile, but it comes out more like a grimace. My skin buzzes with an electrical charge – a surge of power clashing as the two of them face off. Or maybe it’s Eli’s arm resting against mine. Maybe it’s the hint of danger in his friendly eyes – that carefully constructed facade of gentility crumbling away to reveal the feral animal beneath.
Eli tilts his head to the side, his tone friendly, his words anything but. “You’ve got your hand on a woman who’s not yours, and violence in your eyes. I consider that my business. Let go of her.”
Alec’s mouth twists up as he weighs his options. Two of his friends step forward, but from behind Eli, I notice a shadow move. Gabriel slouches up to my other side, peering down at Alec from over a pair of aviator sunglasses. With his leather jacket slung over his shoulder and the tattoos peeking out from his collar and cuffs, he looks tough as shit, but I doubt Gabriel would ever get into a fight and risk messing up his hair.
He doesn’t need to. At Stonehurst, power doesn’t come from your fists, and Gabriel has power Alec can’t buy.
A murmur ripples through the hall. Everyone has noticed who stands on my side. Alec’s two friends step back. Alec flings my arm down like he can’t stand to touch my skin any longer. “Well, Ice Queen. I see you put out for Hart and Fallen. Perhaps it is ghost slut after all.”
A snarl escapes my lips before I can stop it. Alec laughs as he turns back to his friends, but they slink off down the hall. There’s a palpable release of tension in the air, and students turn back to their friend groups. A warm hand slides up my arm. Eli’s dark eyes are full of concern. “He didn’t hurt you?”
Gabriel throws his arm around me. “I think Alec was the one in danger from Mackintosh here.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to thank them, but Mackenzie Malloy doesn’t thank people who come to her rescue – they’re doing a public service. So instead I fix Gabriel with my superhuman glare. “Don’t call me Mackintosh.”
“Why not? It suits you. A macintosh is what we English gentlemen wear outside when Mother Nature decides to piss all over us. You’re just like a mackintosh because you scare the rain away with your sunny disposition.”
I can’t help it. A laugh leaps out of me before I can stamp it down. Eli looks taken aback, while Gabe looks delighted. Behind them, Coal-Eyes lingers, glowering at me. I wonder how long he’s been there, and if his presence has anything to do with Alec fucking off.
“You laughed.” Gabriel squeezes me tighter. My whole body floods with warmth as the Alec incident flees my mind. “That means your nickname is official, Mac. That’s the rules, right, Eli?”
Eli nods. He’s studying me in that way of his, searching for answers to a question I don’t understand. It’s hella intimate and kinda sexy in this possessive, fucked-up way.
“That’s a terrible nickname. I refuse to accept it.” I fold my arms and glare at them both, but there’s no fire behind it. I’m not supposed to be doing this, getting close to people. I’m not supposed to have nicknames. And yet, I can’t bring myself to fling away Gabriel’s arm. I’m only human. “Try again.”
“No can do, Mac. Those are the nickname rules,” Eli’s smiling too, and it’s this warm, bright smile that turns my insides out. I don’t think anyone’s ever smiled at me like that before. “You should be happy. The first nickname Gabriel ever gave me was God Almighty, because he thinks I sound like a TV preacher. I’m so grateful he spread that one to the track team in our freshman year and then left for tour before I could force him to undo the chaos he wrought.”