Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 266

"The first time, you got dragged into drinking with a bunch of guys at a bar-good thing I was there to get you out. The second time, you nearly got assaulted in that alley, and thank God the cops showed up when they did. And now tonight? If I hadn't happened to be passing by, you would've been in real trouble. That's three times, Mandy."

As Liam spoke, a chill ran down his spine at the thought of what might have happened.

If he hadn't run into Vincent halfway home and taken him to the hospital, he'd have been back at his apartment already and would have missed Mandy getting hassled. Only after dropping Vincent off and heading home did he stumble on her. "You're a college student. Don't you have any sense of self-preservation?"

Mandy listened to his lecture with barely a reaction. She simply said, "Thanks."

If she didn't know he was good friends with Victor Lewis and Ethan Linwood, she might have actually thought well of him.

But unfortunately...

Birds of a feather flock together. Anyone who's close to someone like Ethan Linwood couldn't possibly be all that decent.

Liam frowned. He wasn't looking for a thank you-he just wanted her to start thinking a little more about her own safety, especially at night.

He opened his mouth to say more, but when he glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Mandy turn her head to stare coldly out the window at the passing streetlights, he lost his urge to keep talking.

The car sped through the near-empty streets, finally pulling up outside the gates of Cresthaven Institute of Technology.

lit only by a handful of dim

"Alright,

attitude. Without a word, she opened the car door and walked

the curfew had already kicked in. The gate was locked, and the

there for a moment, frowning

I'll just go

started walking along the empty road toward her

and couldn't help but let

dorm, and she still

he'd snapped at her? It was for her own good, and

already past eleven. The thought of her running into trouble again

pulled up beside her, and

walking, her voice icy. "I don't need your

on the horn-*BEEP!*-making Mandy

around, glaring. "What's your

"No, what's your problem? You're a young woman walking around by yourself past midnight. What if I hadn't been there tonight? What if something worse had happened? Even if you'd made it back here, the gates are locked-you'd be stuck wandering the streets all

with him. Her gaze was cool,