I’m both confused by, and loving the fact that Cam finds the fucked up shit I can do such a turn on, but I have to say, out of all of them, I’m surprised he’s the one that seems so excited by it. Sure, there’s a darkness in him, but it takes a lot to set him off, and given everything he’s been through this year, part of me expected him to be done with me when he discovered the truth. I genuinely thought it would be too much for him to handle. Of course, I should have known better. When Cam decides something is worth his time and energy, he gives it everything he’s got, and for some reason, he’s decided I’m worthy.
“How did they stop you from just running away when you were out on jobs?” West asks, moving the topic along.
“We weren’t allowed out until we were older and had proven our loyalty to them. Even then, a guard was always assigned to watch over me, since I was Lawrence’s little pet.” I sneer in disgust, the guys' expressions matching my own.
“Fuck, if that asshole wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself,” Hawk bites out, and every single one of my guys murmurs their agreements.
***
“Hello, Michael,” I greet with a bright smile, stepping out from behind a bush into his path as he leaves the library for the night, acting like we’re still friends and I haven’t been to hell and back in the last few weeks.
“H-Hadley?” His eyes dart nervously around us. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“I just had a quick question for you.”
His face is panicked, and his eyes never rest on me for more than a few seconds before they bounce away again. Whether that’s because he can’t bear to look at me, knowing the part he played in Lawrence’s plan, or because he’s worried he’s about to be jumped; I’m not sure.
“Oh, uh, o-okay?”
“Why?”
His gaze jumps back to mine, wide-eyed and terrified looking, before he quickly glances away again. “W-why what?”
I step in closer to him, and he steps back, desperately trying to maintain the distance between us.
The friendly expression drops off my face, quickly replaced with hardened eyes as I channel Hawk, donning his resting bitch face—which is pretty fucking terrifying—and glower at Michael.
“Why did you do what you did?”
“I don’t—”
I take another threatening step toward him, cutting off his words as he scrambles back a step, away from me. “Why did you drug me? Why would you betray our friendship like that? Why would you do what Lawrence fucking Rutherford tells you to?”
He shakes his head frantically, mumbling something that I can’t make out. Before he can react, I jump forward, closing the distance between us and wrap my hand around his tie, yanking him toward me.
“What the fuck did I do to you, that you thought it was okay to hand me over to that psychopath?” Spittle hits his cheeks as he stares petrified into my eyes.
“I-I didn’t kn-know what he w-would do,” he stutters pathetically. “He…he said he j-just wanted t-to talk.”
“Please,” I sneer. “You drugged my fucking coffee. If that’s not malicious intent…”
His eyes narrow, and I catch a flash of something I’ve never seen in him before. A jealous darkness that he’s managed to hide. His lip curls back in a snarl, and I’m momentarily stunned as his face seems to change before my eyes.
“You waltz in here, and get everything handed to you, then you string me along like I’m a fucking dog—flirting with me one second, then running off to fuck one of the Princes the next.”
What the actual fuck is he talking about?
“You were supposed to be one of us, but just like every slut in here, you had to go and fall for the fucking Princes. Sucked in by money, like every other greedy whore.”
My palm cracks him across the face. I have heard enough of that crap from Lawrence; I’m sure as fuck not about to take it from this sorry sack of shit.
“Jealousy is not a good look on you, Michael. Nor does it give you the right to have me handed over to a fucking psycho to be tortured and threatened.”
Something flashes behind his eyes too quickly for me to register, but the dark scowl on his face never lessens. I hear footsteps as the others close in around us, and I lean in with a malicious smirk and whisper, “I’m going to enjoy watching them tear you limb from limb.”
His eyes widen, and the dark expression melts away as fear takes hold. “W-what?” he screeches, squirming in my hold until Mason’s large hand claps down hard on his shoulder.
“Good to see you again, Michael.”
The pathetic shit begins to tremble, his eyes darting from face to face as he takes in the ring of muscle surrounding us.
“N-no. I didn’t know,” he cries.
No one pays him any attention as Hawk and Mason pin him between them and march him toward the forest. The rest of us form a tight circle around them, Emilia on one side and Wilder on my other.
I feel like a fucking god as Michael’s screams for help are ignored by passing students, everyone looking away as we pass them, proceeding on our death march into the night.
Chapter 9
I crack my knuckles menacingly as the eight of us form a circle around Michael. The worthless fuckhead is already on his knees, crying like a baby and begging for mercy, like the pitiful sap I always knew him to be.
Thanks to the cloudless sky above, there is enough light from the moon to light up the clearing, eliminating the need for flashlights tonight and adding a macabre feel to the whole ordeal. Fitting, considering this piece of human trash is about to wish he was never born. No one—and I mean fucking no one—crosses the Princes; and messing with Hadley is something none of us will stand for.
“Please,” he blubbers. I roll my eyes, fucking pathetic.
“Jesus Christ,” Hawk snarls. “Be a fucking man and stand up.”
He doesn’t even try to get to his feet, too busy looking between each of us, hoping he’ll find a sympathetic face—he won’t. Hawk, West, Cam, Beck, and I look like the harbingers of death as we tower over him with stone-cold expressions, while Wilder wears his usual psychotic fucking grin. The dude gets way too much enjoyment from watching others suffer. The rest of us do this shit because we have to; because it’s necessary, but Wilder fucking revels in it.
The guy huffs impatiently when Michael shows no signs of getting to his feet on his own. “Dude, you’re killing my buzz, get the fuck up.” Not giving Michael a second to obey, he stomps into the circle, grabs him by the hair and all but drags him to his feet, screaming and crying. Well, that’s one way to go about it.
“Please, Hadley,” he pleads, turning imploring eyes on my girl. “I didn’t mean to. I-I didn’t know—”
“Don’t fucking talk to her,” I snap, my menacing tone making him jump. “Don’t even fucking look at her.”
My Little Warrior is so fucking strong, standing there with her back ramrod straight and her chin in the air, her signature fuck off expression on her face.
Emilia stands at her side, looking equally disgusted as she scowls at Michael.
“Emilia,” he pleads, trying to gain her sympathy next. “Don’t listen to them. They’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t do anything.”