He groaned before hugging me back. “If you need me, Riles, I’ll be here so fast their heads will roll. And I mean that literally. I can have a lot of very bad people here...”
It’d be war if that happened, and I was so scared that I might lose one of the guys I cared about. Which unfortunately also included the stubborn assholes in Delta.
“I’ll be okay,” I promised, letting his familiar arms hold me for a minute more.
Dylan cleared his throat, and I shot him the meanest glare I could muster. But I did step back, my eyes hot and irritated as I tried not to cry.
“I’ll text you,” I told Dante. His jaw had a dark red splotch on it, and I wondered if Beck had broken anything. “Please be safe.”
“I love you, Riles.” He was so serious. “I’ll be watching.”
That appeared to be directed at both me and the two guys behind me. Then Dante turned and left. I watched him until he got into the unfamiliar car and then disappeared.
A part of me broke then, and I couldn’t stop the tears that trailed down my cheeks.
Evan and Dylan moved so they were framing me on either side, and while neither of them said anything, they did reach out and take my hands. Holding me while I fell apart. I wanted to hate them, because they were insane and damaged and violent. They’d forced my best friend out of my life, the controlling fucks, but … maybe it was for the best. If my life was as dangerous as they were implying, then Dante could only be in danger being around me.
It was the five of us against the world.
“Let’s go to class,” I said, freeing my hands to wipe at my tears. Dylan’s fingers gently wiped away the ones I missed.
“You’re not alone, Riles,” he said softly. “It’s better this way.”
I shrugged because I somewhat agreed with him, but they needed to work on their delivery.
All the violence was exhausting.
17
We’d missed the first class, but my teacher didn’t even bat an eyelid when I slipped into my second class with Evan’s arm wrapped around me possessively. I was too emotionally drained to argue with him about this “Riley Duty” bullshit, and his closeness was bringing me a weird level of comfort. Especially in the wake of Beck’s macho bullshit with Dante.
Evan guided me to the back of the room where two younger boys—younger as in my year group—hurried to grab their shit and abandon the desks they’d been sitting in, so we could have them.
“That was rude,” I murmured, sitting down so we weren’t causing any more of a fuss. “We could have just found empty seats.”
Evan shrugged. “I wanted these. Now stop chatting and learn things.”
The rest of my morning classes were strangely enjoyable, thanks to the little paper airplane notes which kept landing on my desk. Apparently I needed to learn, but Evan was bored as shit.
“How do you know that?” I whispered to him as we left my last class before lunch.
He grinned and waggled his brows at me. “How’d I know that Mr. Bundaing likes to dress in women’s clothes and occasionally wears the underwear to school?” He snorted a laugh. “For one, our company holds leverage over every employee—teachers included—and for two, I saw the lace thong one day when he bent over to pick something up.”
“Wait, Delta owns the school?” I frowned. Did I already know this? “Is there anything Delta doesn’t run?”
Evan shrugged. “Huntley.”
The mention of the rogue group who tried to have us all killed was like a bucket of ice water over my mood, and by the time we reached our usual lunch table, I was firmly under a dark cloud.
“Hey, girl,” Eddy greeted me with a bright smile. “Saved your seat!”
“You save it every day,” I replied, my smile much weaker. Still, I placed my food tray down and sat with a heavy sigh. Evan had finally peeled himself off my hip and gone to sit with the other boys—minus Jasper. Thinking of Eddy’s brother sent my gaze wandering over his usual spot, which so happened to be beside Beck’s.
That’s when my mood soured even further.
Brittley was sitting in his lap. Like … right in his fucking lap, and he wasn’t shoving her to the floor where she belonged.
Worse. Beck made eye contact with me over Brittley’s shiny chestnut head, and when she reached over and pressed her lips to his neck, he didn’t shove her trashy ass away. Blood rushed to my face and bile curdled in my belly. Obviously, I’d known last night was a one off but what the fuck was this all about? Did he seriously think that I was so pathetic that I’d fall in love after one—admittedly mind blowing—fuck? Was that what this was? Proving he was a player?
Fuck. Him.
Just as I was about to snap a witty, sarcastic remark, Brittley lifted her face and shot me a look of pure triumph. For a moment, a rage so potent hit me that I was half out of my chair, ready to rip her right off him, until I remembered that Beck didn’t belong to me.
That was what this little display was all about, after all.
Gritting my teeth, I sank down again and grabbed at the sandwich on my plate. Two bites and it tasted like shit, so I threw it down, and concentrated on breathing in and out and not looking in his direction.
“You okay?” Eddy asked, shooting me a concerned stare.
“Can we get out of here?” I asked. “I could use some decent food and something about this is turning my stomach.” By “this” I meant the company, not the sandwiches.
Discounting that this place served food that was like a Michelin starred restaurant compared to my last school, it was really about getting away from Beck and his whore.
Eddy’s gaze shifted to their table then, and when she came back to me, her face held understanding and sympathy. Then, like the best fucking friend ever, she threw her sandwich down as well and declared that she needed a burger. We were up, moving through the cafeteria, and I didn’t turn my head once to see if the guys noticed. “They’re going to follow us,” I said urgently the moment we were out of the door.
Eddy nodded, and before I could say another word, she grabbed my wrist and we were sprinting. With bruised ribs.
“Come on, girl,” she said in a breathless laugh. “Pick up the pace.”
I groaned, almost stumbling over a slightly uneven surface. “I’m injured!” Thank fuck I’d swapped the heels out for sneakers though.
Somehow we didn’t die, making it to the parking lot before anyone ran us down. Eddy’s car beeped before we even reached it, and we slid inside. I held my side, feeling the tenderness of my ribs, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t done too much damage. Eddy peeled out in a screech of tires on pavement, and then we were zooming away from the school and heading into the main part of the town. Since I’d arrived here, I’d never gone any further than the school, so I was actually interested in taking it all in.
“It’s small, but the elders of Delta like it that way,” Eddy explained as we stopped at a red light. “They control everyone in the town, and no one gets up in their business.”
They were going to be so pissed that I’d taken off without one of them. Tension pressed on my chest at the thought of what would happen when they caught up with me. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this?” I said in a breathless whisper.
Eddy eyed me with a strange look on her face. “Too late to chicken out now.”
Reaching out to grab the “oh shit” handle, I sighed. “It’s dangerous to be around me. I shouldn’t be risking your life like this, even if I’m cool with risking my own.”
“Everyone knows I’m a Langham,” Eddy said, sounding completely unconcerned. “Danger follows our family around. I’m not in any more just because we’re together.”
I wasn’t sure I believed that, but I felt somewhat better.
Eddy pulled into what looked like a miniature mall.
“Center Court,” she said, shifting into park and opening her door. “It’s small, but it has some wicked designer stores. Half this town is rich thanks to Delta.”
When we got inside, I realized that small did not equal lame. It was fancy, like marble floor with gold inlaid patterns-similar to the Delta mansions—chandeliers, leather couches, and security on all entrances. “Wow,” I said softly, trying to take it all in. “Kinda wish I had a credit card now.”
Eddy threw her head back and laughed. “You’re literally the daughter of one of the richest people in the world, and you don’t have a credit card.”
I shrugged. “Catherine doesn’t want me having any freedoms. Money is a freedom I might use to escape her.”
She didn’t say anything, but I knew Eddy was thinking the same thing as me. There was no escape.
Passing the fancy stores, we ended up in the food area, and I wasn’t even surprised to see tablecloths on the tables, with cutlery and wine glasses. In the middle of a friggin mall food court.
“Pick your poison,” Eddy said, waving a hand around.
There were multiple choices, and we settled on Italian. Deciding to split a pizza and salad between us.
“You want wine?” Eddy asked.
I blinked. “We’re not even eighteen, let alone twenty-one.”
She shrugged. “Age is just a number, and here no one asks for numbers.”
“Sure,” I said, deciding I might as well. I’d pretty much decided I was too scared to venture back to school today and face the wrath of the guys, so getting wasted seemed like a decent alternative.
Eddy squealed before she jumped up and returned a moment later with a bottle of Moscato in an ice bucket. “Figured we’d start on the light stuff and see how we go.”
I already had my glass in hand, because I was ready to let loose. Eddy filled both of our glasses almost to the top, and just when I was about to take my first sip, a flash caught my eye. It was a brief illumination, but I thought the guy sitting at a table across from us had just taken a photo of us. I couldn’t see any camera though, and he was focused on a menu in front of him. A dark suspicion took root in my stomach as I watched him for a moment longer.