Chapter 7

"Liam, help me! Please, save me!"

Riley's tearful cries were filled with terror and desperation. Liam rushed into the room and shoved Quinn violently aside, sending her crashing to the floor. Shards of broken glass dug into her skin, and the searing pain drained the color from her face.

But Liam had eyes only for Riley. The sight of her looking so helpless and vulnerable sent him into a rage, and he kicked the man pinning her down hard enough to knock him away.

"Do you have any idea who the Grant family is? You dare lay a hand on my woman? Do you have a death wish?"

He immediately stripped off his jacket and draped it over Riley before turning his furious gaze on the three men. They looked terrified at the mention of the Grant family, and Derek, the ringleader who had forced the drink down Quinn's throat, instinctively glanced toward her for help.

Liam caught the look. Following Derek's gaze, he spotted Quinn sitting on the floor.

"Quinn Walker." His voice was dangerously quiet, barely concealing the violence brewing beneath it. "Is this what you've become? Someone who'd stoop to something this disgusting and despicable?

"Do you have any idea how often Riley has defended you to me? And you're so determined to destroy her that you'd actually go this far?"

Quinn had barely recovered from the excruciating pain when Liam began hurling accusations at her.

After what had just happened, she understood perfectly well that Riley had set her up. It was such a ridiculous, poorly executed scheme that anyone who gave it a moment's thought would have seen through it.

Anyone who knew Quinn knew she had always played fair. She could accept victory or defeat with equal grace, but resorting to something so underhanded was beneath her.

Yet of all people, Liam had fallen for it.

He actually believed she was capable of this.

"Liam Grant, we've known each other for nineteen years."

A faint, humorless laugh escaped Quinn. She'd managed to hold herself together when she'd first heard Liam insult her, but now, faced with his accusations, the hurt she'd been suppressing finally came crashing down. It was so overwhelming that even the physical pain faded beneath it, leaving her feeling as though something inside her had been torn open.

She turned away, struggling against the tears gathering in her eyes. Whatever happened, she couldn't let herself fall apart in front of him.

Liam's breath caught. Almost unconsciously, he took a step toward her, only to stop when Riley cried out in pain beside him.

Looking down, he found her gazing up at him with frightened, trusting eyes. Her face bore a slight resemblance to Quinn's, and her eyes were filled with frightened dependence as she looked up at him.

"Liam, don't blame Ms. Walker. She..."

Riley bit her lip, looking so pitiful that anyone might have felt sorry for her.

"She's just heartbroken. She didn't really mean to hurt me. Besides, I'm only a poor student. I'm hardly worth someone like Ms. Walker going to all this trouble over."

Quinn couldn't help laughing at that.

"You have a very interesting attitude toward poverty, Miss Sutton. You resent people for being rich, but you hate being poor yourself. Seems to me your only problem with wealthy people is that you're not one of them."

Riley's expression twisted for a moment before she fell silent. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the sofa, breathing in soft, uneven gasps.

"Liam."

Quinn forced herself to breathe steadily, fighting the restless heat spreading through her drugged body as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the cracked little crystal cross.

"You broke your promise. From now on, you and I have nothing to do with each other."

She spoke slowly, with unmistakable conviction, and something tightened in Liam's chest as he instinctively looked toward her.

Quinn was sitting in a pool of her own blood, caught in an appalling situation, yet she still held her head high, refusing to bow even an inch.

The sight stirred something ugly and confusing inside him. Was it anger? Or something more contemptible? He couldn't have said. All he knew was that he despised the way she looked at him, with that infuriating pride, as though nothing and no one could ever touch her.

An ugly impulse surged through him. He wanted to break that pride.

Liam seized Quinn by the chin, gripping her face hard.

"Who do you think you're fooling, Quinn? You're nothing but a bitch who'd do absolutely anything to keep me under your thumb. So quit acting like you're above everyone else."

With a cold laugh, he shoved her away.

Quinn was already in such terrible condition that she couldn't keep herself upright. She fell heavily to the floor again, and the cracked crystal cross slipped from her hand, striking the ground with a sharp, brittle sound as it finally shattered.

Liam didn't even seem to hear it.

His attention had returned to Riley, who was suffering so badly from the drug that she'd begun tugging at her own clothes. The sight made his eyes turn red with fury.

"You actually dared to do this to Riley, Quinn Walker."

His voice was as cold as ice, his expression almost demonic as he turned toward the three men.

"Whatever Quinn told you to do to Riley, you're going to do to her instead. Exactly the same thing. And if you don't, I'll make sure every last one of you dies for it."

He then bent down and carefully gathered Riley into his arms. Without sparing Quinn another glance, he turned toward the door.

Quinn stared after him in disbelief.

"Liam Grant, you know perfectly well I didn't do this." Her voice trembled with incredulity. "Are you seriously going to leave me here alone with these men?"

Liam's steps faltered, so slightly it was almost imperceptible. But he never looked back, and a moment later, he was gone.