Page 20 of Their Wicked Secrets: Untouched, Vol 5 of 6

Luke

Moves and countermoves. That’s why I ignored Mr. Wick this morning during first. It’s why I checked in with some of our allies when I could. It’s lunchtime now. We can’t just go out. We have to be present. We have to look into the eyes of the people who are trying to take us down and let them know we’re still here. We’re still fighting.

Our biggest enemy at school is Zach Gray.

I can’t just go up to Zach Gray and fuck him up. Even though I want to. It would be satisfying to drive my fist into his gloating face over and over. But that’s where my control works for me. Going to him would give him the power.

No. I need to make him come to me. Make him present himself at my table. Easy to do with almost anyone else, but Zach isn’t just some random guy.

He’s a leader in his own right. He’s got the most popular girl in school sucking his cock. How much of a hand did Sidney play in the nominations of the Homecoming Court? Or was Zach secretly behind it all? If he’s been working against us behind the scenes, this could be his moment to shine.

He may be manipulating Sidney, but she’s willing to do whatever it takes to take down Harper. Maybe, before, she didn’t know about his attempted rape, or maybe she didn’t want to know, but on some level she has to know he’s a fucking creeper. She has to see the looks he gives Harper, but maybe she’s too busy looking at me to notice.

It doesn’t matter. She picked her side. They go down together.

I walk into the cafeteria with Jack beside me. We don’t really look at anyone in particular but take in the whole. We missed the parties this weekend. Not normally a big deal, but we rarely miss parties.

The guys I talked to told me about Tanner’s appearance. How chummy Zach and Tanner appeared.

People will expect repercussions for Tanner showing up. They want us to hold the line. They want us to lead so they can follow. So they don’t have to make decisions.

I sit at our table and look out over the others. Zach sits with Sidney. One of his guys, Trace, has his arm around Ashley while he talks to someone else. She looks annoyed, but that’s not unusual for Ashley.

Eli’s right. She makes the most sense to raise up when we take Sidney down. As long as she doesn’t think she can get her hooks back into Eli. Something tells me Ashley is bored of all this. High school can’t end fast enough.

Emma and Hannah aren’t at the basketball players’ table. They’re sitting with the other cheerleaders, closer to us. Emma waves to Jack, who gives her a nod. When he turns to me, I lift an eyebrow.

“It’s not against the rules to have friends who are girls.” Jack picks up his sandwich and takes a bite. “That’s all Emma and I ever were. Friends who would fuck. She’s never tried to claim me like Sidney does you. That’s not our thing.”

“We should definitely review the rules.” I rub my jaw. Things are changing so quickly. I’m not planning on fucking another girl, but I may have to push one away or threaten one. My gaze goes to Sidney. She smiles when she notices me looking. Yeah, there has to be a way to make her finally understand she’s not it.

She never has been. But somewhere along the line she must have thought she could be more. Where did she get that idea? I’ve always gone back to her because she was convenient, but I’ve never given her a hint of more.

Her mom is on the board with my dad though. My father may be the reason she thinks she has a chance. He’s controlled me all my life. It would track that he would try to set me up with someone as a life partner.

Someone he approved of. Someone he could control.

The air shifts, and the loud voices hush a little. I turn to watch as Caden walks in with Harper. He has his hand on her back. Her gaze darts around before it settles on mine. She straightens, drawing her strength from me.

I can’t help the smile that comes over me. My heart feels lighter. It’s dangerous as fuck to love her, but I couldn’t stop it if I tried. She’s mine. She’s ours.

When they round the table, I hold out my hand to her. With no hesitation, she takes it and lets me draw her down onto my lap. She sits sideways so we can see each other.

“Where’s Eli?” she asks. Caden goes to get their lunches.

“Checking in with people.” I brush her hair over her shoulder and a little shiver races through her.

She glances around the cafeteria.

“Not in here, princess.”

She turns her face back to mine and searches my eyes. “What people?”

“Later,” I assure her. “I’ll tell you later.”

Because right now, this room is not the place to talk about anything important. Too many ears strain to listen to what’s being said. Eli is working on figuring out who we can trust and working the ones we don’t. That’s what he does best.

Our job in here is to maintain the status quo. Having a horseman taken out at a game makes us look weak. Even if it’s a normal consequence of sports. We rallied around him like we should, but we didn’t show up this weekend to show our strength.