Blood Ties (Book 3 of The Blood Bond Series)

36. Commencement

Quinn missed her afternoon class and emailed her teacher on her way home. She didn't want Marcus following her around the campus, so she tried to figure out how to make him go away without chance of him following her at a distance. If he knew which building she had each class in, it was only a matter of time before he would figure out which classroom.

Or worse—try to wait outside for her and accost her between classes.

And Adam was insistent they head home so they could have a talk. Quinn could already tell he was thinking up ideas that she would hate, and could barely manage to eke out a smile at Viv, who said she would get together with another friend of theirs to get any work she needed to have for her afternoon lab. She wasn't happy, but at least she had a good attendance record before this and a quick email and promise to get caught up would suffice until she figured out how to avoid a very troubling matter.

The ride back home was quiet, neither of them speaking with the radio on low. Some soft rock and pop songs played, and Quinn watched the scenery along the road instead of ahead or over at Adam. She was a bit miffed that she had to miss class in order to talk about an unpleasant topic that should have been all the way on the other side of the country.

As he drove, he made her a promise. "I'll have Michael and Delia drive your car home from the school on their way from work. They're heading over to pick up something my dad left for him, so it's actually not out of his way." He paused, looking over at her and laying a hand on her knee. She stiffened, and he took it away before she could brush him off. He knew she wasn't very pleased with him. "Quinn, sweetheart, Marc is dangerous. You saw what he was like. He had a crazed look in his eyes until that campus police officer walked by. Then he was all smiles and acting like he wasn't a lunatic. He's sly. Sneaky. He didn't transfer to UCLA just to give up after one interaction with you. He is the kind that will—"

He hated to think about it, because ten months ago, he'd been just as desperate and had made a horrible, grievous error.

"He's just the type of man who would kidnap to do you harm." He talked more quickly. "I mean, I kidnapped you, but I didn't mean you any harm and never had. I made a mistake out of the bond fucking with my head. He's making one out of jealousy or his idea of possession. If he thinks you belong to him, me coming to your rescue once isn't going to deter him. He'll just be wilier the next time you see him and you probably won't even see him until he has you in the trunk of his car."

His voice had risen, a clear sign that he was getting highly agitated. Adam remembered hearing about his mother's abduction from his parents, but it had almost been like an old wives' tale having been passed down from generation to generation. He hadn't really thought of it as something that could happen to him nor to his mate. It made him irascible and edgy, and he didn't like feeling nearly helpless.

Quinn, for her part, scoffed like she didn't believe him. "I doubt he'll go that far." She hoped not anyway. "This may be his last desperate grasp, and he may just fade away into the background. You never know."

Adam made a sound that rippled up his throat and was bit off abruptly when he scowled. "That's foolish and dangerous to think, Quinn. He's a predator. You can tell by his demeanor. Like a viper, but much sneakier. He has brains. He's going to be a lawyer and will be thinking outside the box. You think that you can merely tell him to go away and he will? Not a chance. He thinks you two are destined. He is quite wrong in that."

They were starting to travel up the hills to home by this time, and Quinn got quiet, trying to think of some way to reason with Adam about Marc. She didn't really believe Marc was capable of anything illicit, though she had to agree that his attitude was startling and disturbing.