The class drags, but only because I’m waiting for the big reveal I know is coming. When the bell finally goes, I shove everything into my bag as quickly as I can. Harley notices and does the same, his eyebrows drawn in tight as he stares at me.
“If you enjoy watching Joey get what he deserves, you should probably follow me,” I murmur, just to get to see the look on his face. It doesn't disappoint.
“What did you—fuck it, lead the way, Mounty.” He gestures with his arm, and I take the lead. He falls in step with me and he's got his phone out, texting with one hand. We get some looks as we walk together, the other students aware of the animosity between us.
“The twins might have a heart attack if they see this, so you might not want to tell them,” I say as we approach the crowd that is slowly building in the front courtyard. Harley gives me this sort of dazed look, but he shakes his head and shoves his phone back in his pocket. I push through the crowd, and when I finally get to the front, I school my face into a blank look so the shit-eating grin doesn't accidentally pop out.
Joseph Beaumont Jr. is in handcuffs.
The crowd is full of gasps and whispers already, and all the voices are laced with a reverent kind of fear. To see the self-appointed king of the school being subjected to something so pedestrian, so scandalous, as being put in handcuffs. There's three police officers, and while one holds Joey’s wrists, another is talking to him quietly. The third one, a tall imposing man, is talking to the principal in a heated discussion. I'm sure this is a first for Hannaford.
“What. The. Fuck,” I hear Blaise say behind me. I glance behind me and see he's standing with an arm slung casually over Ash’s shoulder. They’re both dressed for the gym, the track team if I remember correctly. Ash’s face is ghostly white, and his eyes are haunted as he takes in the scene. Harley nudges me and leans in to whisper in my ear, his breath dancing over my throat.
“Please explain to me what the fuck you did?”
“Did you know he's an addict? Cocaine was found in his room this morning. It seems the police were called in without Trevelen’s knowledge, what a shame Joey couldn’t talk his way out of it before law enforcement arrived.”
Harley swears under his breath and leans away from me quickly as Avery arrives, with Rory close behind her. Harley shoots him a dark look full of loathing, but he doesn’t say anything, and Avery doesn’t notice. She doesn't have the same haunted look Ash does. Instead, she stares at the police officers reading Joey his rights with calculating eyes. Joey doesn't struggle or make any sort of scene; he just nods along amicably. I suppose he knows his dad will bail him out the second his ass hits the bench at the station, so why bother putting up a fight? Avery looks over at me, and she really looks at me for the first time. She's trying to read me, get some insight on my involvement. I wonder how much Harley put in the text message to her.
“If this was your doing, you’d better hope he never finds out,” she says, and I shrug. I know they're all looking at me again, but this time I feel powerful. I've made my own move on the board, and now I have to wait to see what Joey does next.
Mr. Trevelen finally notices the huge crowd and starts to order us all to disperse. Avery tugs Harley away. He's hesitant to go, like he'd rather watch Joey be dragged away until the image is burned into his corneas for life. My eyes trace the tattoo that curves along his jaw:Honor before Blood.The necklace is in my pocket. I think about giving it to him now, but there are too many people watching. It feels wrong to keep it.
I wait until the crowd has thinned right down and Joey looks over to catch my eye. He doesn't look upset or surprised, he tips his head at me and grins. It's his maniac grin, the one that lets me know he will never be a good or kind person. I tip my own head back just a little and let him see the challenge I'm setting him. Let him come for me.
* * *
By dinner, the entire school knows about Joey’s arrest and subsequent suspension from Hannaford.
I fill my tray with all the meats and vegetables I can fit—I’m starving and a little worried about possible scurvy after my week of surviving on protein bars—and then I find a seat at the long table. No one spares me a second glance, which I’m smug about. I get to listen to the rumors already circulating about what Joey has done to land himself in handcuffs. My personal favorites were prostitution, money laundering from street fighting, and involvement in his family’s business.
Avery and the guys are also at the table, and Harley is staring my way. He’s not trying to be discreet, just openly glaring my way as he chews on his meal. Avery is chatting to Blaise and, though their tones are light, I can see the strain in her shoulders. Ash is scowling at his plate. No amount of cajoling by Avery will get him to talk. I’m busy observing them, so I miss Harlow arriving at the dining hall. She doesn’t miss me.
“Move, idiot,” she snaps at the guy sitting across from me. He startles and glances between us both. I get my first real look at the damage I’d done to her face as he scrambles up and away from us, leaving his tray behind. Both her eyes are black and swollen, her nose has been taped and braced, and her cheeks are mottled with bruises. None of her pretty features are visible anymore. She looks horrific, like she’s been the victim of a violent crime, and the smile I give her is all teeth.
“Is there something you want, Roqueford? I’m busy.” A hush falls over the dining hall. Even the teachers further down the table have stopped to watch our confrontation. I wonder if they’ve been warned off from me as well.
“You’re dead. The minute Joey gets back, he’s going to fucking kill you, Mounty scum.” She spits at me, literally spits; I feel it land on my cheek. I fight the urge to wipe it away.
“Why would he bother with me? He’s already extracted his revenge for me turning him down.” I laugh at her, and she flinches back at the icy sound.
“He’s not stupid. Obviously, it was you who snitched on him.” Her knuckles are white as she grips the chair. I let my eyes roam over her face again with pride. I really do feel proud of what I did to her. There’s only the strong and the weak in this world, and it didn’t matter what Joey and his fucked-up flunkies did to me. I’d always be stronger than them.
“How about you prove it?” I whisper and smile at her again. She curses at me again and turns on her heel to storm out. The room seems to hold its breath for a second, and then the conversations resume, quietly at first and then with some gusto.
I enjoy my dinner and I don’t waste another second thinking about Joey Beaumont.
He’s out of my hair for a few weeks.
Chapter 14
Iget a week’s reprieve from Avery and her minions. I don’t know if I’ve rattled her, or if she’s still recovering from whatever it was that happened between her and her siblings, but I enjoy the silence. I throw myself back into my studies and focus on my vocal work for choir. I have worked out that if I wear earplugs, I can go through the exercises Miss Umber has assigned us, but that means I have no idea how I sound. If the class didn’t directly affect my overall grade, I wouldn’t care whatsoever about it, but my scholarship required a near-perfect GPA to stay eligible. There was no way I was letting my PTSD lose my chances at a decent future.
During my training with the Jackal, I’d been subjected to torture. There was no other word for it, no pretty little name that changed what happened into a useful lesson. I’d been taught how to withstand extreme levels of pain without screaming. The side effect of that training was that now I couldn’t hear my own voice, screaming or singing, without the bone-deep fear of the consequences the Jackal had set for me. I had the scars to show for the punishment I was dealt, and the thought of going through that again made my brain switch firmly into fight-or-flight mode.
It was one of many reasons I had run away from Mounts Bay, and why I could never love Matteo the way he loved me.
Sometimes, when I didn’t keep myself busy or on high alert, those memories would creep into my mind unbidden and I’d find myself shaky and nervous, twitchy even.
