Fallen Crest Public (Fallen Crest Series) by Tijan Page A

couldn’t see who it was. A hood was pulled over his face, casting it in a shadow, but he was large and muscular.
    I needed mace. Why the hell hadn’t I listened to Logan the one time he joked about that? “Who are you?” I demanded, taking deep breaths so my heart could settle.
    His hands went in the air, surrendering and he used one to pull his hood down. “I’m sorry. Really. I’m not here to hurt you. I just …” He took a deep breath and I heard his voice shaking.
    It was Brett Broudou.
    My eyes got even wider and my heart started racing again. His words weren’t very reassuring. I started backing away. “What do you want?”
    “Nothing.” He held his hand out to me. “Stop. Please. I’m really not here to hurt you or scare you.”
    “I beg to differ. I’m scared shitless right now.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “You’re huge.”
    “I know,” he grimaced and slunk back a few steps. His shoulders went down, like he was trying to make himself smaller. “I’m really not here to scare you. That’s my brother. He’s like that.”
    I hadn’t taken much account of how he looked in Manny’s the other week. I’d been too focused on avoiding them and the guys hid me right away at the gas station, but I had a better view now. He had a square face that was a little meaty from his bulky size. His nose was crooked, like he had broken it once and it never healed right. A slight scar ran down from his nose to his top lip. His lips had formed into a tentative grin. Peering closer, I tried to see his eyes better. Mason always told me that you could read a person’s intent through their eyes, but I couldn’t see his. It was too dark. Again, because we were in an almost emptied parking lot that only had one working light over it. Not the best meeting place to pick.
    He didn’t look ready to attack me, but looks could be deceiving. My tone went flat. “Tell me what you want or I’m leaving. Next time find me in a crowded place if you want to talk, or better yet, don’t.” But there had been something in his tone. Regret? Maybe something else, friendliness? I wasn’t sure, but my heart slowed a little and my chest wasn’t as tight.
    “I know.” His head went down, and he made a show of taking another large step backwards. “I … um … whoa. This isn’t going how I thought it was going to at all.”
    This? How he wanted it to go? I frowned. What was he talking about?
    “Um,” he cleared his throat and tried another smile. “So … you’re friends with Jax?”
    “Jax?”
    “Heather.” He gestured inside. “Channing, her on-again-off-again whatever they are, goes to my school. He’s pretty cool. So’s she.”
    “She threatened you guys.”
    “Well,” he shrugged, shifting on his feet, “I mean, I can understand. My brother can be mean … sometimes …” he trailed off, glancing around.
    Was he checking for witnesses?
    “Um.”
    He didn’t sound like someone getting ready to attack.
    “So …”
    Yes? My heart began pounding again. Thump. Thump. Thump.
    “I was wondering,” he stopped, and looked around once more.
    Seriously. The guy was going to give me a heart attack. “I’m going to go home.”
    “No. Wait.” His hands fell down and he cupped them together; his head lowered too. “Heather doesn’t seem to like us coming to Manny’s, so I’ve stayed away, but I don’t know you. I’m figuring you don’t go to our school. I was looking for you this past week.” A self-conscious laugh came from him. “I don’t even know your name. She might’ve said it, but I was just paying attention to my brother. Budd can be a jerk sometimes … Shannon too, though she’s a girl. There’s another name for that.”
    “I know. It rhymes with ditch.”
    The corner of his mouth curved up. It started to transform his face, from what I could see in the shadows. “Yeah. So …” His nervousness was now all-too clear.
    My heart sank. I was starting to figure out where this was going.
    “I