“How the fuck should I know?! I’ve never touched her!”
I flinch again. I know that if I ever do touch him, and if he touched me back, I’d be ruined for life. It doesn’t matter how angry I am at him, how badly he’s humiliated me, how much he loathes me. He could destroy me and I would ask for more. I turn and grab the door, mostly to keep myself upright. I’m so pathetic. Thank god the Jackal can’t see me right now.
“I don’t want him running off to your little shared fuck and telling her I’m stalking him or acting inappropriately. The last thing I need is that bitch starting a vendetta on me. I’d say thanks for the help up here, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to make me pay for it later.”
I enjoy the twin looks of shock on their faces as I slam the door on them both.
Chapter 22
It takes two days to be able to go back to class.
I still can’t breathe without being able to feel exactly which ribs are broken, but my concussion has eased. For those two days, I can’t sit up for longer than ten minutes without a migraine splitting open my skull and rummaging around in my brain matter. I’m once again saved by the fact that I’m so far ahead in all of my classes.
When I take my seat in math class and I see that I got a solid A for my workbook re-do, I’m so relieved I could slump in my chair. I remember at the last second that the action would hurt me dearly, and I smile instead. It feels strange on my face. I’ve only winced and grimaced for days.
Only Harley beat me, a defeat I’ll take gracefully thanks to him carrying me back to my room. He’s smug about it, and I keep my mouth shut about Avery’s little pyromaniac episode. Another boon I’m granting. I’m practically a saint.
At the end of our class, he waits for me to pack up. Avery doesn’t share our math class, so I don’t have to worry about the repercussions of Harley speaking to me. I look at him curiously, and when he gives me a slow smile, I fight the blush that’s creeping up my neck.
“Let’s take a walk, Mounty,” he says with a voice full of honey, rich and thick.
We walk in silence as I let him lead me through the school. I forget sometimes how big this place is when I’m sprinting from class to class. I get jostled a few times by passing students, and I push out my elbow to try and force them around me instead. Being so damn short is a pain in the ass sometimes.
“Kyle and Nicky have both been expelled.”
Harley doesn't look down at me as he says this. They must be the guys that held me while Spencer whaled on me. The pace he has set is brutal on my ribs, and I'm panting so hard to keep up with his ridiculously long legs. His sculpted, swimmer’s legs.Dammit, stop thinking about his legs!
“What did you get them for?” I ask. I'm not sure if he'll give me a straight answer or not. I certainly didn't give him one when I'd led him out to watch Joey get arrested. Harley grins savagely.
“Kyle got done for doping. He was on the track team, and there are students on the fast-track to the Olympics. They don’t take kindly to their teammates taking banned supplements. Nicky… well, little Nicky Bianchi has some strange sexual adventures, and he likes to take pictures of himself doing what it is he does. Half of the classrooms in the school are closed for cleaning today.”
I wrinkle my nose. Guys are disgusting. If I've touched that guy’s DNA matter just because he's a fucking deviant, I'll be pissed.
“So what do you have planned for Hillsong, then? What skeletons hide in his closet?”
If anything, the grin on Harley's face gets even more savage. He looks imposing, vicious in the best possible way. The kind of darkness my heart reaches out for because it recognizes it. I swear to god my panties damn near disintegrate at the look of him right now.
“No explosion for Spencer. I told you, I'm going to end him.”
A shiver takes over me. This could get out of hand fast, but that only makes it more exciting. “Give me details. I need to know what I'm signing up for.”
I'm running through lists in my head, equations and formulas on how I can help. Minimize the witnesses, something to transport the body, clean-up crew so no evidence is left behind, a deep grave somewhere remote and unrelated to either of us. It's a lot to figure out on the fly, but fuck it. I'm all in. I didn’t become the Wolf because I’m afraid of getting my hands dirty.
“I'm going to beat him bloody until he needs a tube to breathe. Anything less and he's getting away too lightly. It'll be hard, but I'll stop myself from taking him out. I'm not sure you'll be able to keep your scholarship if you're aiding and abetting a murderer.”
“The Beaumonts want me out anyway, what a way to go,” I mutter. Harley either ignores me or he doesn't hear me as he steps into the rose-colored light streaming down in the chapel. A senior who is even bigger than Harley shuts the door behind us and slides the bolt into place. My hand slips into my pocket, and grips my knife. I feel the urge to put my back against the wall. After everything that’s happened to me in this room, I guess it’s to be expected.
Spencer Hillsong is already there, bare-chested, frowning over at us both.
“Why the fuck did you bring the Mounty? You know the rules. No girls.”
The rules. Harley has challenged him to one of their little fight club matches. Spencer has no clue what he’s in for. My heart surges in my chest as I watch them both circle each other.
“Fuck the rules and fuck you, Hillsong. You've already shown everyone what a coward you really are. You need your friends to hold a girl down while you hit her. That’s fucking pathetic.”
Spencer scans the crowd, but he doesn't find what he's looking for. I'd bet it was Joey. He's hoping the puppet master would leap to his rescue. What a dumb ass. Joey only saves himself.
Harley shrugs out of his blazer, and for a single heart-stopping second I think he’s going to take his shirt off too. Disappointment burns me when he rolls up his sleeves instead. Shouldn’t he be worried about getting blood on his crisp white shirt? God, I’m such a pervert.
