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I flush scarlet and pray that a stroke takes me out. There is no justice in the world, because my heart continues to beat, and I’m forced to collect my bag and move across the room.
I told you I liked Vanth for your voice. Did you not think I was telling the truth? It was one singer admiring the talent of another, that’s it. Get over it.”
“Let her pass. She needs some rest. Do you need the nurse, Miss Anderson? No? Then head straight to your room, please. The Jackal sends his regards.”
“Looks like you’re not the only one with connections, Floss,” I whisper so only they can hear me.
“Something has been bothering me, Mounty, and I want some answers. I own the teachers at this school. I have since middle school, so how is it a lowly little scholarship student could override my instructions, hm? I’ve had a chat with Mr. Embley, and he nearly went into heart failure at my questions. It seems you’re now scarier than I am.”
Would it kill the guy to be average for once and not smell like living ambrosia? Ugh.
No good deed at this school goes unpunished.
But seriously though. Like it doesn’t matter how much she helps them (well until the end of the book)
There are things I know better than most about myself and the ways of the world. A night of no sleep won’t kill me. A week without food won’t kill me. Finding my mother's dead body rotting on my kitchen floor won’t kill me. A bullet to the shoulder won’t kill me. The bullying at Hannaford Prep won’t kill me.
Calorie deprivation can turn even the nicest girls into bitches.
What I wouldn’t give to be one of them. To be worried about what my parents think about my grades, or what I’m going to wear to the next party I attend. Instead, here I am trying to decipher obscure text messages from gangster kingpins while planning my next move against billionaire sociopaths.
I will pay little Joey a visit. Do not argue with me on this. I glance over to watch Joey as he presses over his group of flunkies like he’s their king, and smile. Occasionally, it’s a good thing to keep Matteo’s dreams about me alive. I wouldn’t dream of arguing with you, Jackal. As I grab my tray to head back out of the dining hall, I see Joey frowning down at his phone, and it feels like a victory to me.
The guy, who still hasn’t even told me his name, slings an arm over my shoulders and his hand ends up hovering over my chest. I have what can only be described as a full rage blackout. One minute he’s laughing and touching me, and the next he’s howling and clutching his now-broken hand to his chest like it’s a baby bird. I’m much faster than he is, and while he’s flailing, I slap a hand over his mouth, so the librarians don’t assume he’s being murdered and come over here to stop me.
It’s been too long since I hurt someone for propositioning me, and they’ve forgotten what I can do.
None of us talk about how exactly it is that I know how to break someone's hand using only two fingers.
“Why the fuck does she flinch like that when you touch her?” Harley snaps, and Blaise backs up quickly like his ass is on fire.
“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.”
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.
“Anyone touches her or asks her for sex from here on out will get the same as Hillsong. You can film it and spread it around, for all I fucking care, but that’s how it’s going to be. We clear?”
“I can organize a cleanup crew if you want to kill him,” I whisper, a smile playing at the corners of my mouth. Harley smirks at me and straightens. “We can talk about how you have access to one of those later, Mounty.”
“Is there a guy in here?” he says as he peers into my closet. My jaw drops. “What—why would there be a guy in here?” “You said you were naked. It’s five o clock, you haven’t just showered, and you’re wearing someone else's clothes. Who did you let win the bet?” He’s damn near hissing at me.
“This place is a literal closet. Check under my bed and see for yourself that there’s no one here.” He actually bends down and does check. My blood heats, and not with desire.
“What exactly gives you the right to police who I fuck, anyway?” He smirks at me and shows me his knuckles. They’re a mess; he hasn’t cleaned them at all.
Yeah he did just beat a bitch to near death for your honor
“I'm sorry I didn't give it to you sooner. I don't even have a reason, I just didn't. Like I said, please just forget I ever had it.” “Lips, this is… I've been trying to get this back for years.”
“Did you know that for the first time in my academic career here at Hannaford, I am sitting on a solid C in math? My dad called me yesterday and offered to buy me the Ferrari of my dreams if I get a B by the end of the year.”
“No, you really can’t. What’s the problem, man? Avery’s lifted the speaking ban. Any other reason I should be staying away from the Mounty?” His voice is too smug, and the smirk he levels at Harley makes my heart stutter. It’s almost as if…they can’t be fighting over me.
He really does think I’m a sad little groupie. Not an awesome, sexy groupie.
“A phone call, Starbright? Is the school burning down? Have you castrated a young, enamored boy? Are you finally coming home?”
Some might even call it flirty, but I just call it a necessity.
My heart stops. Harley. Harley is the mobster’s son. ‘Honor before Blood’ Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Oh, did I mention I have millions of dollars’ worth of cut diamonds, all of the favors I’m owed, hidden in the safe under my floorboards?
“I didn't call him in. He heard the name Hannaford and decided to come up. I am not at fault here. I could have just let him come and ambush Harley, but I chose not to. Do not make me regret that.”
His fingers press down on the perfect circle scar I have on my shoulder, like he always does. Even fully clothed, drunk, and blind, he can find it. It is his reminder and his penance. From the time he shot me. The bastard.
“It’s a thing of beauty, this. You know what it is, buachaill beag?” He waits until Harley finally shakes his head. “It’s a million dollars and a priceless fuckin’ favor.” “Tell him I’m buying Harley’s life with it, too. The envelope alone isn’t worth that, and he well knows it. Tell him I’ve picked my first inductee, and when he has questions, he can call me.”
“I came here to have a little heart-to-heart with you about decisions you need to make, but I see you’ve already made them. It all comes down to this: if you don’t kill the old man someday for what he did to your Ma and Da, then I will. And if I don’t succeed, then your little Wolf here will do it for us both. She’s got one hell of a steady hand.”
I’ve done a lot in life, but I’ve never actually planned a murder.
I want to kick him right in the dick, I want him to piss blood for a week, but he’s hunching so I can’t get to it.
This girl is unbelievable. I just saved her, and she's standing there, demanding answers from me!
“Fuck your money. Just because I have nothing, doesn't mean I need to be paid for being a decent fucking person. That's what's wrong with you lot. You're all so busy stabbing each other in the back that you've forgotten how to be human.”
“If you're willing to do that for your enemy, then what you do for your friends must be really special.”
I decided that karma cannot be a real thing, because how did I deserve that torture?
“You would know if you had answered your phone, but you didn't, so now you can deal with the consequences. Lips, is mine.”
“This isn’t payment, it’s a white flag. And an olive branch. I want to be your friend.”
“What?” “I don't have friends either. I want one, and I want one as fierce as you.” “You can't just—Blaise
I’m your bully to I’m your bestie pipeline goes crazy
I want a real friend that's mine.” “You can't just claim me. I'm not property,”
She could survive the Wolf, my mind whispers unbidden. She’s probably the only girl I’d ever met who could.
“I want a friend I can trust to have my back completely, and no girl has ever looked at me as anything other than competition or a way to get in with my brothers. You took everything I threw at you, and you're still here. Unbroken. Are you in, or not?”
She said this shit like this was the how to be my friends game
“I don't want you to speak to them for me. The boys.” “Well, I don't want to speak to them at all, so you're safe there.
“You have money? You have enough money to pay for that?” I let a smug little grin creep onto my face. “I do. I’m going to be working over summer break, so I’ll just take an extra job to cover his break.” “Take an extra—what the hell is happening right now?”
“Please stop ignoring me. Whatever happened, I can help you fix it.” She laughs, and it sounds like the one she had always used with me; cruel and lacking in humor. “Lips fixed it and wanted nothing in return, so don't concern yourself.”
