The shock cleared a little and I struggled in his embrace, trying to free myself. All he did was tighten his grip further, and my anger flared. Shifting my weight, I crossed my fingers that my aim was true and brought my knee up. Hard.
Bullseye.
Beck immediately released me, groaning and clutching his junk as I side-stepped out of reach.
“What did I fucking tell you about touching me, Beck?” I snarled at him. “And no chick wants to be locked in a cage, you deranged psychopath.”
With a disgusted sneer, I left him cradling his family jewels while I snatched my jacket out of the Mustang and stalked across the abandoned lot to where Dante waited ... with Jasper.
“What the fuck ishedoing here?” I snapped at Dante, barely sparing a cursory glance at Jasper. My winning mood was officially soured.
Dante heaved a sigh and exchanged a look with Jasper. Since when the fuck did Dante and Jasper know each other well enough to share looks?
“Riles, babe, I think—” Whatever Dante was about to say, I didn’t want to hear it.
“Nope.” I threw up a hand to cut off his words and shook my head. “You’re on my side or theirs. No middle ground.” Dante opened his mouth, and I knew he was going to argue, just based on the set of his jaw, so I glared at him harder. “Them or me, Dante.”
He held my gaze for a long time, like he was checking if I was serious or not.
“You, obviously,” he finally said on a long sigh. “Always you, Riles. But—”
My sharpened death glare made him think twice about whatever he was going to say, and he just shook his head instead.
“Can I say something?” Jasper asked, putting his hand in the air like we were in elementary school or some shit.
“No,” I snapped, grabbing Dante’s hand and stalking back toward the Mustang.
Beck was limping in our direction, his face drawn, but I breezed past him like he didn’t even exist.
“So much for a fun night out,” I snapped when Dante joined me in the car and I revved the engine. I could see that the other racers who’d just finished looked confused that I was leaving, but fuck them. I had zero desires to hang around those lying, traitorous bastards a second longer.
We drove in silence for a long time before Dante shifted in his seat to stare at me.
“What pissed you off more?” he asked. “The fact that they played you? Or that you fell in love with that asshole?”
My jaw dropped, and I shot Dante a glare. “I didnotfall in love with him,” I spluttered my denial, but my cheeks heated and my stomach churned.
“Uh huh,” Dante murmured, then cranked the stereo and wound down his window. Apparently that’s all the conversation he was in the mood for.
Fucking fine by me. The last thing I wanted to do, was examine whether I was more pissed off at Beck for forcing me to kill a man, or the fact that he made me ... care.
5
Dante dropped me off at Jefferson the next morning, and I waited until the very last minute to get out at Ducis Academy. A uniform, makeup and hair shit, had been delivered to Dante’s last night, so I was dressed the part. Even if I was all broken inside.
“See you later, Riles,” he called through the window. “Call me if you need anything.”
I nodded and blew him a kiss. “I will. Drive carefully back to Jersey.”
He had shit to do this week and couldn’t hang around to babysit me. Which was fine. I was planning on keeping my head down, ignoring Delta, and moving into my new apartment. One promise Catherine was going to keep.
“Go away,” I growled as Evan fell into step beside me on my way to class.
“Would if I could,” he muttered on a sigh, but it was his irritated tone that had me pausing in the empty hallway and scowling at him.
“What the fuck does that mean?” I demanded. “I didn’t ask you to stalk me, so justgo away.”
Evan rolled his eyes, scrubbing a hand through his brown and blond streaked hair. “Cut the shit, Riles. It’s Beck you’re pissed at so quit taking it out on the rest of us.”
