"She gave you at least a fifty percent discount, you lucky bastard" said Marcus, his voice buzzing with genuine disbelief through the Shelby’s Bluetooth speakers. "That place is fucking expensive. I have a minor operational suite in that exact same building and it costs me twelve million a year. They don’t sell those units, and they don’t lease them cheap, no matter how much cash you throw at them."

"Wow..." said Alexander, a low, smooth chuckle escaping his lips as he guided the muscle car through the financial district. "Maybe I really am just way better looking than you, you bastard."

"Get bent" said Marcus, letting out a rough laugh. "By the way, aren’t you coming to the college today? I heard a little rumor going around that your beloved librarian is missing a few screws lately. You should probably go keep an eye on her, hehe."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" asked Alexander, his eyes narrowing as his dark gaze locked onto the road ahead. "Hey... damn it, Marcus... answer me."

"Hehe, see you around, kid" said Marcus, and the line went dead.

"Shit...!" muttered Alexander, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat.

He glanced down at the electronic keycard resting in his cup holder. Vanessa hadn’t specified that the full payment needed to be delivered today, which gave him a narrow window of time to clear his schedule. He pushed his foot down on the accelerator, making the supercharger howl as he redirected the Shelby toward the academy grounds.

When he pulled into the secure student parking lot, he glanced down at the heavy stacks of cash resting in his jacket pocket. Knowing it was an unnecessary risk to carry $60,000 in hundred-dollar bills across a crowded campus, he reached under the driver’s seat, sliding the tight bundles securely into a discreet recess beneath the frame.

He stepped out of the vehicle, checking the clock on his wrist. It was mid-morning. He adjusted his collar and walked with a slow, deliberate stride toward the central library complex. The moment he pushed through the heavy glass doors, his eyes immediately caught Marcus standing near the courtyard entrance, leaning against a pillar and laughing with a different girl than the one he had been with the day before.

Marcus caught Alexander’s gaze across the lobby. He flashed a wicked grin, gave a subtle wink, and pointed his chin toward the main reception desk inside the quiet zone.

Alexander turned his head, and his breath caught slightly in his throat.

Lilly was standing behind the high wooden counter. The long, heavy winter trench coat she usually wore to conceal her figure was gone. Instead, she was wearing a remarkably tight, low-cut designer dress that explicitly accentuated the dangerous, soft curves of her waist and the full swell of her chest. Alexander understood what Marcus had been implying. A dark, possessive smirk crossed his face, and he threw a quick nod back to Marcus, acknowledging the view.

But as Alexander began walking toward the reception desk, two tall, athletic students stepped up to the counter, leaning in close to aggressively flirt with her.

An immediate, white-hot spark of jealousy flared deep inside Alexander’s chest. His expression remained a perfectly calm, tranquil mask, but his eyes turned cold as he closed the distance, stepping right up to the counter beside the two intruders.

"Morning, Lilly" said Alexander, his deep voice smooth and steady as he offered her a quiet smile.

The two guys immediately snapped their heads toward him, their expressions twisting into sharp disgust.

"Can’t you see she’s busy, man?" said the first guy, stepping back to block Alexander’s path. "Get in line or lose yourself."

"Honestly, no..." said Alexander, his dark eyes locking onto the guy’s face with an unsettling stillness. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"You’re begging for a fucking beatdown, idiot" said the second student, his chest puffing out aggressively as he stepped into Alexander’s personal space. "You better get the hell out of here right now."

Alexander let out a low, gravelly chuckle from the back of his throat, stepping even closer until his chest was inches from the guy’s shoulder.

"Seriously?" asked Alexander, his voice dropping into a chilling whisper. "Why don’t you show me exactly how you’re going to do that?"

The two subjects moved their faces twisting with rage as they lunged forward to strike him. But to Alexander’s hyper-tuned nervous system, their movements were laughable. Compared to the living hell and the lightning-fast world-champion fighters he had faced in Stephen’s simulation the night before, these boys looked like they were moving underwater. Their swinging fists appeared in slow motion.

Alexander smoothly slipped inside their guards without breaking a sweat. With two rapid strikes, he drove his fists straight into the solar plexus of both men.

The impact was devastating. The two students folded in half, the raw power of the blows short-circuiting their diaphragms. They hit the carpeted floorboards hard immobilized, clutching their stomachs as they violently vomited bile.

"Alexander, what is wrong with you?! You are insane!!" shouted Lilly, her voice echoing frantically through the quiet library corridors as her eyes went wide with pure panic.

"Looks like you and I have a few things we need to discuss in private" said Alexander, turning his cold gaze back to the floor. "So these two should probably just get the hell out of here instead."

"You are an idiot!!" screamed Lilly, her face flushing crimson with a mixture of terror and overwhelming distress.

She didn’t wait for an explanation. She turned on her heel and sprinted away from the counter.

Alexander watched her retreat, his dark eyes tracking the violent sway of her full ass as she ran, but the sheer rejection sent a wave of fury straight into his veins, making his aura darken into something thoroughly lethal. He snapped his head down and delivered two brutal, crushing kicks directly into the ribs of the groaning men on the floor, his mind out of control from the chemical overload before he leaned down to whisper a cold promise. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"If I ever catch you bastards breathing near her again... I will fucking murder you."