Broken Wings (Dark Legacy #1)

Returning her smile with a false one of my own, I tilted my head. “Well, actually, I spent most of the time on my hands and knees, because it’s hard to fuck four dudes when you’re on your back.”

Her smile faltered for a beat, because she’d clearly been hoping I would run crying from the school. Riley Jameson was made of tougher shit than that.

Eddy joined me then, her eyes narrowed on the bitch. “Fuck off, Kate. No one gives two shits what you say.”

A deep voice joined us then, and I realized we were drawing a bit of a crowd. “Last time I saw you, Kate,” Evan said, slipping in next to me and putting an arm over my shoulders to draw me closer. “You had Jimmy’s dick in your mouth. He said you suck like a fucking fish, gulping all over his dick, but the rest of us were grateful that it at least shut you the fuck up.”

She opened and closed her mouth, like she was demonstrating Evan’s words for him. Some girls nearby were laughing, and when Kate looked around and saw no allies in the vicinity, she took off across the parking lot and into the school.

Tilting my head up to him, I was surprised by how happy I was to see Evan. His smirk was almost comforting as he winked. “Always getting into trouble, Spare. Looks like we’re not going to be able to leave you alone.”

Over his shoulder I could see Beck and Dylan talking, and the conversation was tense. I couldn’t help but let my gaze linger on Beck’s broad shoulders and trim hips. I recalled every naked detail of his perfection. Those tatts which I’d traced with my hands … and mouth.

His eyes snapped to me, and I gulped at being caught checking him out. The air practically sizzled between us, despite the distance. I’d just made up my mind to walk toward him, when he turned away and started talking to someone I couldn’t quite see.

Or rather, I couldn’t see her until Evan, his arm still around my shoulders like he was staking his claim on me, started to maneuver me toward the school.

Her shiny chestnut hair was the first thing I saw, draped across Beck’s arm as she hung from his side. My teeth slammed together as rage clouded my mind for a beat. Fuck. Brittley. That fucking skank was hanging off Beck like he was the last dude in school.

He didn’t push her away either, if anything, this was the most animated I’d ever seen him as he stared down, talking to her. Dylan stood by, watching his friend with an odd expression on his face.

With a low growl, I forced myself to stop staring at that spectacle, and instead focused on Eddy.

“We have calc or history today?” I asked her, desperate to think about anything other than the raging jealousy coursing through me. Those were the two classes we shared, and having Eddy with me, made them almost bearable.

Beck was not mine. We’d fucked, end of story, and he’d shown me exactly how he felt about that this morning.

Fucked and forgotten.

Eddy pulled up her schedule, and I remembered that mine was on my old phone. I hadn’t memorized it yet, and apparently neither had Eddy.

I was just wondering if I was going to have to head back to that snobby bitch in the office for a new schedule, when a reminder popped up on my phone to tell me I had English in ten minutes. Must have synced across somehow.

“Calculus and history are both after lunch today,” Eddy said, scanning her phone. “Damn. Guess I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Ugh, okay, girl. See you then.”

I set off to homeroom alone. Or at least I thought I was alone until Evan slipped in after me. He stopped at the table next to where I’d just dropped my bag, and stared at the guy sitting there. He wasted no time scrambling out of his chair and leaving the seat free for Evan.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, my eyes darting around the room as I realized how much attention we were drawing.

He grinned before stretching back in his chair. He didn’t have a book, or computer, or fucking pencil in sight. “I’m on Riley duty today.”

I must have looked like a stunned idiot as I blinked at him, but I couldn’t quite figure out what he meant. “Riley duty? Why?”

Reaching out, he ruffled my hair, that smirk he did so well firmly in place. “Because you belong to us now.”

The teacher walked in before I could refute that claim.

Facing the front of the room, there was this odd feeling in my chest. It was warmth, and for the first time since my parents died, a little piece of me felt … okay. When Evan said us I knew he wasn’t referring to Delta in that situation. He meant them. I was one of them now, and … I fucked Beck.

Damn. I had no idea how that was going to go, but hopefully we would both just pretend it didn’t happen.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out before checking on the teacher. She wasn’t paying us any attention, so I quickly read the text.

Dante: I’m out front. I need to head back to Jersey for a few days, but I wanted to say goodbye first. It’s been too long since I got a Riley hug.

The bell rang then, and even though I knew I’d be late for my first class, I rushed out the door and headed toward the parking lot. Despite the light hearted nature of that text, I was worried. When Dante took off abruptly, it usually meant something was going down with his gang. Since Eddy’s words about him being a leader, I was now even more stressed about what his absence meant. The dangers he would face.

Evan caught me just before I made it down the stairs, sliding in front of me and blocking my path. “You need to get back in school, it’s not safe out here for you.” For the first time he was serious, the smile gone, and his eyes much darker than usual.

“Dante is waiting for me,” I said shortly. The Delta heirs might have been scary as fuck, but I wasn’t letting them walk all over me. Not today. Not. Ever.

Evan shook his head. “I don’t give a fuck, girl. It could be God himself waiting for you, and I’d still be here stopping your ass from walking out into danger.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I said, getting irate. Maybe it had been a bad idea to befriend these controlling fucks. “I’ll be five minutes.”

Shaking him off, I tried to step around him, but he was much larger and moved a lot quicker than my injured ass. Before I could start screaming, and I was pretty damn close to that, a shadow washed over us, and Evan swung around, his body moving into a defensive position. He placed himself in front of me, and I wondered if maybe I’d underestimated how dangerous it was here in school. I mean, I hadn’t forgotten that someone had forced our pilot to blow up the plane, but I’d thought I’d be okay in public.

Evan was acting like we could be taken out at any moment, and a trill of fear raced along my skin.

This time though, it was only Dante, dressed all in black and wearing a fucked off expression. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, getting right in Evan’s face. “If you step in front of Riley one more time, I’m going to end you. I don’t even care who your family is.”

Evan was a few inches shorter than Dante, but he didn’t look remotely intimidated. The memory of the boys stealth missioning it in the forest was strong in my mind, and I feared for my best friend. He had no idea how dangerous Delta was.

Edging around, I tried to slip in between Dante and Evan, but before I could, strong hands wrapped around my biceps and lifted me full bodily out of there. Beck’s face was awash in fury as he maneuvered me behind him.

“What the hell?” I shouted, slamming my hands on his back, and getting … stinging palms in return. I legitimately wanted to hurt Beck, but he didn’t even turn his head.

“What are you doing here, gangbanger?” he said, his voice low.

I’d heard this sort of lethal tone from him one other time, and it turned my blood to ice, because I knew Beck was pissed. I glared and edged toward Dante. “Leave him alone, he did nothing to you.”

Dante was smirking at them, taunting them, because that was his style. But he had no idea how dangerous they were. Especially Beck.